AL Circle Analysis: Import rise meets demand growth on aluminium extrusion chessboard
Aluminium’s downstream trade network is getting more fragmented as import dependence, changing end-use demand and trade-policy interventions reshape regional markets. From North America and Europe to Asia-Pacific, the aluminium industry is navigating a market where access to supply, competitive...
US industrial policy needs to be systematic, not just ad hoc – Part 2
Our current approach can win economic skirmishes, but not the geopolitical conflict. – Part 2 Impact #5 of ad hoc industrial policy: Failing to use all required tools Industrial policy is often caricatured as just tariffs and subsidies. Mis-framed debates that evaluate the merits of tariffs in...
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Western Kentucky aluminum smelter to buy power on open market in wake of rate dispute
A western Kentucky aluminum smelter involved in a rate dispute with a regional utility says it plans to purchase power on the open market. State Rep. Tommy Thompson told the Messenger-Inquirer on Friday that Century Aluminum Co., which employs more than 700 workers in the region, had sent the...
New development in the Century Aluminum Power subsidy case
There's a new development in the energy feud between Century Aluminum and Big Rivers Electric. The Hancock County company recently sent a notice to the utility signaling its next move. Big Rivers says it received a notice from Century late last Friday saying that the smelter plans to purchase power...
Constellium aluminum plant workers finished their strike voting in favour of a new 5-year contract
Hundreds of striking Constellium aluminum plant workers voted in favor of a new, five-year contract Wednesday, ending a nearly seven-week strike. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and Sens. Joe Manchin and Jay Rockefeller announced the deal late Wednesday. Workers with the United Steelworkers Local 5668 voted...
Rise in LME price expected to boost Aluminum shipments in North America
A continued run-up in the London Metal Exchange aluminum price and the Federal Reserve’s recent decision to extend quantitative easing could boost aluminum shipments from North American distributors in the coming months, market sources said. "I’m optimistic for the next few months. The metal...
Rochester Aluminum Canada installs new furnace at its Concord facility
Rochester Aluminum Smelting Canada Ltd. has installed a new furnace with a capacity of 100,000 pounds at its facility in Concord, Ontario as it looks to keep pace with a "very competitive" deox market. Rochester started up the reverberatory sidewell melter Sept. 1, allowing it to idle two...
Ormet Corp wants more power subsidies to avoid layoffs
A large Ohio aluminum manufacturer that has benefited from deep electric-rate subsidies says it needs an even better deal to avoid mass layoffs. Ormet Corp., located near Hannibal in eastern Ohio, has benefited from a unique electric-rate subsidy that has reduced its costs by more than $150 million...
Century Aluminum reviewing new electricity rate plan for Ravenswood plant
Century Aluminum says it's reviewing a plan offered by West Virginia regulators as part of the quest to restart Century's Jackson County smelter. The state Public Service Commission ruled Thursday that Century's Ravenswood plant could pay a special rate for electricity for up to 10 years. That rate...
Novelis Wins Georgia Governor's International Award
Novelis, the global leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, was named winner of the 2012 Georgia Governor's International Awards in the International Deal of the Year category for opening its Global Research & Technology Center in Kennesaw earlier this year. The award recognized Novelis for its...
Novelis CFO to Present at Deutsche Bank's 20th Annual Leveraged Finance Conference
Novelis Inc. Chief Financial Officer, Steve Fisher, will present at Deutsche Bank's 20th Annual Leveraged Finance Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona on Wednesday, October 10, 2012 at 2:20 p.m. MST (5:20 p.m. EDT). Mr. Fisher will give an overview of the Company, discuss the Company's strategy and...
Hydro Aluminum to add fabrication capabilities to its Phoenix plant
Hydro Aluminum is adding fabrication capabilities to its Phoenix, Arizona, extrusion and remelting plant in order to create an integrated fabrication center, the company said Tuesday. The company said it wanted to improve overall service to its North American customers and this expansion is the...
Ball Corporation to Acquire Extruded Aluminum Packaging Business in Mexico
Ball Corporation announced today that it has entered into agreements to acquire Envases del Plata S.A. de C.V., a leading extruded aluminum aerosol packaging producer with a manufacturing facility in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, and to form a new joint venture in Argentina that will combine Ball's and...
Tredegar buys aluminum extrusion manufacturer
Tredegar Corp said on Monday that its subsidiary Bonnell Aluminum has acquired 100-percent ownership of AACOA Inc, a U.S. manufacturer of extruded aluminum for machinery and equipment. The purchase price of about $50.8 million was funded using financing under Tredegar`s existing $350 million credit...
Demand for aluminium aerosol cans still going strong
After a record production of 6.6 billion aluminium aerosol cans in 2011 the worldwide demand stays solid in 2012, too. According to AEROBAL, the International Organisation of Aluminium Aerosol Container Manufacturers, total production increased by another 4 percent in the first half of 2012. While...
Alcoa promotes its top leaders
Alcoa recently announced promotions for three top leaders at Alcoa Warrick Operations. Ed Hemmersbach, who previously served as the facility’s Location Manager for its packaging business unit at Warrick Operations, has been named the Vice President of Operations, Alcoa Global Packaging-North...
AkzoNobel Expands Capacity In US To Meet Semi-Conductor Demand
Dutch paint and chemicals AkzoNobel NV said Thursday it will expand the capacity at one of its US specialty chemicals production sites in order to meet increasing demand from the semi-conductor industry, particularly for the production of light emitting diodes (LED's). Financial details were not...
Taber Extrusions Upgrades Sawing Capabilities
Taber Extrusions, a major aluminum extrusions company, has announced the addition of two new equipment improvements at its facility situated in Arkansas. With the inclusion of these machineries, Taber Extrusions has upgraded its precision saw-cutting capabilities for customized aluminum extrusion...
Study Finds Alcoa Forged Aluminum Wheels can Cut Carbon Footprint Dramatically
Alcoa today released the findings of a peer-reviewed life cycle assessment (LCA) which concludes that Alcoa aluminum wheels substantially cut the carbon footprint of commercial vehicles. In North America, the study found that substituting 18 conventional steel truck wheels with Alcoa aluminum...
GM to use new aluminum welding technology to increase fuel efficiency
In an effort to improve the fuel efficiency of its vehicles, General Motors Co. plans to use a new aluminum welding technology "more extensively" starting next year. According to the Detroit-based automaker, the resistance spot welding process, which GM says is an industry-first, is expected to...
