Aluminum investment across North America and Asia: Who leads reshaping the next phase of growth?
Aluminum investment has been spreading across the entire value chain, from primary smelting and alumina refining to recycling, rolling, extrusion and battery foil, building more integrated and higher-value supply chains. During the past 5 years, the US and Canada in North America and China in Asia have been grabbing headlines pertaining to the aluminum industry. These updates have involved growth stories or have shed light on volatile market situations. How have these headlines contributed to a greater picture for the benefit of the aluminum industries of the two continents? Between 2021 and 2026, major projects across North America and Asia have targeted new primary capacity, lower-carbon production, recycled aluminum and higher-value downstream products. But the investment pattern is...
AL Circle Analysis: From 13% costlier cans to 317 GW solar, aluminium trade enters new territory
As aluminium continues to draw the spotlight as a strategic variable in global trade rather than a merely traded commodity. Tariffs imposed at the border are now showing up in the cost of cans, auto components and downstream products, while high copper prices are encouraging manufacturers to redesign products around aluminium. Meanwhile, India is tightening protection around selected aluminium products even as domestic downstream manufacturers question the cost of protecting primary metal. China’s extrusion industry is adjusting to weaker construction demand by moving towards solar, batteries and other clean-energy applications. In North America, deeply integrated supply chains are confronting the consequences of suddenly changing tariff economics. To know the global production, demand...
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Cigweld increases safety with 220 and 300 ACDC aluminium welders
Cigweld introduces two new welding inverters designed to produce excellent seal quality on some of the thinnest materials. Cigweld’s Transtig 220AC/DC and 300AC/DC Series aluminium welders combine the finest hardware with the latest digital software control systems, and come with DC stick, AC/DC Lift TIG and AC/DC HF TIG. In TIG welding setting, the Transtig 220AC/DC and 300AC/DC are capable of pulse welding, spot welding, 2T (Normal) and 4T (Latch) modes, making them ideal for a range of applications from boat building and panel beating to precision work in chemistry, wine or water tank installations. The Transtig 220AC/DC and 300AC/DC welding inverters are packed with the latest safety features to allow the operator to weld harder confidently, while the increased number of controls at...
Speculations on the fate of aluminium in 2015
Predicting the market conditions for the new year is always a tricky business and it becomes even more so when it is in regard to a volatile market like aluminium which has seen such ups and downs in the previous year itself. Yet industry experts are making tentative predictions about what may happen in 2015 in the aluminium industry. At present, the common consensus that is being heard in the industry is that the unnaturally high premiums seen in the first quarter is likely to dip in the second and third quarters as warehouse financing deals expire and there is more inflow of metal into the market. However assuming that the premium will come down enough to make the LME price the larger part of the all-in price is still assuming too much, as something similar had been said last year as...
Talgo constructs aluminium coaches for high-speed pilgrim train project
High speed train manufacturer Talgo has shipped its first trainset to Saudi Arabia. The shipment includes 13 coaches and two power heads and will form the first part of the highly anticipated high-speed pilgrim train project - a multi-billion dollar project linking the holy cities of Makkah and Medina via the King Abdullah Economic City and Jeddah. The first of those trains is now inbound to Jeddah aboard a specially adapted cargo ship. The model of train supplied under this project is the high-speed TALGO 350, commonly known in the railway industry as "El Pato" (The Duck), because of the aerodynamic shape of its power heads. The Duck and its passenger coaches are constructed from lightweight aluminium which not only cut power and energy requirements, but allow the trains to accelerate up...
Rusal celebrates its 5th anniversary on Hong Kong listings through Facebook
Rusal, the Russian aluminium company, is celebrating the fifth anniversary of its Hong Kong listing in an innovative new way – through a Facebook Quiz. On Rusal’s “Friends of Russia" Facebook page, those who are interested in participating can find the Quiz with a lucky few eligible to win the new Russian-developed smartphone called YotaPhone 2, as mentioned in the company statement. The phone has already received a fair bit of media coverage not just because it is the world’s first and at the time only phone with a dual screen but also because the phone was gifted to the President Xi Jinping by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin. People may question, why Rusal is celebrating at all considering its dismal state at the stock market which reveals a price of HK$5.23 which is far below its...
Demand for flexible packaging in Europe to rise in future
Flexible packaging, like the ones made of plastics, paper and aluminium could reach a volume of 19.2 million tonnes in the European market by 2021, according to a Germany-based research group Ceresana. The demand for flexible packaging is constantly increasing as there are many options available in this type of packaging as opposed to its rigid counterparts. Ceresana includes in its study not just the flexible packaging that is available to the end user through the retail stores but also the secondary and tertiary band of packaging that I used to pack and transport goods, including the heavy duty industrial packaging like sacks and flexible intermediate bulk containers. The fact that these kind of packaging have low weight while providing most of the benefits of rigid packaging means that...
New extrusion coating die eliminates edge bead and enhances coat weight uniformity
When Korea Aluminium Installed Nordson Extrusion Dies Industries EPC™ Die on an Existing Coating Line, Thickness Tolerances Were Narrowed by 50 to 60% An advanced extrusion coating die designed to reduce edge bead has enabled one leading producer of aluminum foil and foil-laminate flexible packaging to actually eliminate edge bead, as well as reducing coat width variation by half or more, it was announced today by Nordson Corporation. After a die for applying LDPE on an existing production line for flexible food packaging had been causing problems with die lines and leakage, Korea Aluminium Co. Ltd. recently replaced it with the Nordson Extrusion Dies Industries Edge Profile Control (EPC™) die. The new die has not only eliminated the previous problems but has also made it possible to...
Gulf Extrusions organizes Supply Chain Excellence Program for its senior management
Gulf Extrusions (Gulfex), a leading global manufacturer of extruded aluminium products, in partnership with the American University of Sharjah , has recently organized a workshop on Supply Chain Management (SCM) for its senior management team at (Waldorf Astoria-The Palm). The objective of the workshop was to build a strong learning base in the management of the flow of goods for its employees and contribute towards human resource in the field. The workshop included assessment of detailed case studies and hands-on training with enough time for participants to assimilate the material presented. The 3 days Excellence Program was divided into various sessions and covered key topics, including Introduction to Supply Chain Management, Demand Management and Forecasting Techniques, Master...
District collector suggests queue system to truck owners for bauxite transportation
When the District Collector of South Goa, Venancio Furtado heard of the row over bauxite ore transportation from a mine in Betul on Monday, he immediately directed the two fighting parties to establish a queue system for transportation. Furtado heard the argument from both parties and assured them that their woes will be eased by adopting the queue system which is just and fair. Both the parties have agreed to adhere to the suggestion according to sources who know about the meeting. It was also decided that the local truck owners would get the first trip in the bauxite ore transportation. The issue had first been presented to the deputy collector, Quepem, but when there was no conclusive solution derived from the meeting, the issue was forwarded to the district collector. The row was...
Guinea project’s maiden resource estimate confirms bauxite potential
The independent maiden inferred mineral resource estimate for the Toubal bauxite deposit, in Guinea, West Africa, has been labelled an important milestone for Irish-registered Anglo-African Minerals (AAM) subsidiary Tougué Bauxite and Alumina Corporation (Toubal). AAM CEO James Lumley said in an update to shareholders on Tuesday that the estimate gave the board, partners and shareholders confirmation of the project’s potential, noting that it represented a large resource base in a location that was likely to benefit strongly from third-party infrastructure developments in the country. The bauxite and alumina project had an inferred mineral resource estimate of 722-million tonnes, averaging 42.6% total alumina and 3.7% total silica, within three main deposit plateaux, namely Sibiko,...
Great gathering of aluminium “ALUEXPO 2015”
ALUEXPO 2015 4th International Aluminium Technologies, Machinery and Products Trade Fair is organized by Hannover Messe Fuarcilik A.S. a subsidiary of Deutsche Messe, between October 08-10, 2015, at Istanbul Expo Center Halls: 9 – 10 – 11 Since 2009 edition ALUEXPO has preserved its importance as an international gathering for aluminium industry. ALUEXPO 2015 4th International Aluminium Technologies, Machinery and Products Trade Fair organized with the full support of TALSAD - Turkish aluminium Industrialists Association In Aluexpo 2015, leading national aluminium producers including TALSAD - Turkish Aluminium Industrialists Association members and global aluminium supplier companies will have a unique opportunity to exhibit their products and marketing. Aluexpo will be organized fourth...
Breaking ground for new aluminium facility in Germany
Hydro, the leading European aluminium company, started construction Monday, January 5, of a new, modern automotive production line for lightweight car body sheet at its plant in Grevenbroich, Germany. The EUR 130 million investment will boost Hydro’s annual capacity for aluminium car body sheet from 50,000 tonnes today to 200,000 tonnes. The new facility will meet the future market growth of lightweight automotive body panels, using Hydro´s new formable aluminium alloys. Lightweight design with aluminum enables vehicles to save fuel and emit less CO2 through the entire lifecycle. "The investment is meeting customers' increasing demand for high-performance aluminium sheets for lighter car bodies," says Kjetil Ebbesberg, Executive Vice President and head of Rolled Products. “Innovative...
“Aluminium is a green metal and it is going to replace a lot of other materials in many places”, Mr. Niu Heng, Senior Manager, Chalieco
Mr. Niu Heng is the senior manager of China Aluminum International Engineering Co. Ltd (Chalieco). He has almost 26 years of experience in the non-ferrous metals industry and more than 10 years of working relationship with Indian Aluminium Industry. He started with international technology and equipment procurement in China National Non-Ferrous Metals Industry Corp. (CNNC) and joined Chinalco in 2001 in the field of Chinese alumina and aluminium technology. AlCircle had the opportunity to interact with Mr. Heng during the IBAAS Symposium in Vizag and he shared some interesting inputs on the Chinese aluminium industry as well as on the aluminium situation in general. AlCircle: Chalieco has been working closely with the Indian aluminium industry for pretty long. Please share with us your...
Oman government plans sale of stake to meet OMR2.5 billion deficit
Oman government is set to divest its stake in several state-owned firms in a move to cover an unprecedented budget deficit of OMR2.5 billion in 2015. The semi-government or state-owned companies that have been identified for privatisation include Majan Glass, National Aluminium Products Company, and Muscat Electricity Distribution Company. The government will divest its stakes in these companies either by an initial public offering or selling ownership to strategic partners or a combination of both. The planned privatisation programme of a number of state-owned firms is under preparation and would be carried out in the next three years (2015-17), after getting necessary approvals, said the Ministry of Finance in a statement. Apart from borrowing from within the country and outside,...
Brazil suffers the first trade deficit of $3.93 billion since 1998
Brazil has been a sufferer in the aluminium business in 2014, with exports dipping by 23.5% year-on-year as the primary producers in the country cut production capacities. In 2013, 404,847 tonnes of unwrought non alloyed metal was shipped abroad which fell to 309,878 tonnes in 2014 according to the figures released on January 5, by the Brazil’s foreign trade mininstry, MDIC. The company that is partly owned by Norsk Hydro and partly by the Japanese Nippon Amazon Aluminium Corp. is the only primary aluminium producer that has not cut production in the year due to its prior commitment to its Japanese vendors. The total revenues generated from export was $225.1 billion in 2014 while $229.03 billion was the import costs resulting in the $3.93 billion trade deficit seen last year which is the...
Heavy Engineering Corporation may build parts for BrahMos
Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) here is all set to manufacture components for the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos. The country's biggest integrated engineering complex is in the final round of talks with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and is likely to bag the order early this year, said B K Sharma, general manager (marketing) at HEC on Monday. HEC will build the aluminium chassis of the 10m-long supersonic cruise missile that can strike from air, sea and land to hit a target over 290km away. Sources said the company is also planning to build BrahMos's engine components at its sprawling facility on the fringes of the capital. A joint aerospace programme between India and Russia, BrahMos is a supersonic stealth cruise missile that has a flight altitude of...
Nanshan Aluminum Inks Cooperation deal with CSR Qingdao
Shandong Nanshan Aluminum Co. signed a strategic cooperation agreement with CSR Qingdao Sifang Locomotive Co. on January 5, it said in a statement filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange yesterday. Under the agreement, both sides will cooperate in raw material and product supply, domestic and overseas market development, light aluminum alloy material technology and capital. Shandong Nanshan Aluminum Co. is a large, vertically integrated aluminum extrusion and flat-rolled product producer.
New technology allows sealing of porous die-castings
Surface finisher, Midland Impregnations, is now offering a subcontract service using a US technology that seals micro-porosity in castings and die-castings. The HVLV system from the American manufacturer, Godfrey & Wing Inc, is said by the manufacturers to offer space savings, unmatched impregnation performance, cost reduction and environmental gains. Chris Gilmore, president of Godfrey & Wing, said: “We are seeing the benefits of the system with manufacturers in a range of industries – from the automotive and military sectors to general engineering, foundries and die-casters – all of which, of course, are highly active in the UK.” He says the capabilities of the HVLV are shown in its effectiveness in sealing porous materials. Sealing results exceeding 99% on micro-porosity in aluminium...
New South Wales to introduce rewards system to boost recycling
New South Wales is getting ready to adopt the container deposit scheme aping South Australia which offers people some monetary returns for recycling bottles and aluminium cans. NSW Premier Mike Baird and State Environment Minister Rob Stokes had sent out a letter addressed to the National Packaging Industry Authority (NPCIA) stating the government’s intention of adopting new ways to achieve recycling and litter reduction targets. Coca-Cola Amatil confirms having received such a letter on New Year’s Eve. A reverse vending machine is one of the options where people can feed aluminium cans, glass and plastic bottles and in return they will get rewards. The City of Sydney Council has put up two vending machines at two points, one at Circular Quay and one at Dixon Street mall, Haymarket which...
