Novelis, world leader in aluminium rolling and recycling, has opened a new aluminium recycling and continuous casting line at its Pieve Emanuele facility in Milan, Italy. The 12 million euro expansion represents the largest single investment by Novelis in Italy in the past decade and is a key part of the company's aim to enhance the competitiveness of its Italian operations. “The Pieve plant has over 50 years of experience in rolling and recycling aluminium,” said plant manager Gianmatteo Martinelli. “This investment and the wider programme in Italy will strengthen our operations here. The new line will also enable our Pieve plant to supply more recycled sheet to our operations in other parts of Europe, generating significant logistical and environmental advantages.”
Nachdem die BMW Group zwischen 2010 und 2012 bereits knapp 20 Mio. Euro in neue Anlagen und Strukturen in Eisenach investiert hat, folgen nun weitere Investitionen für eine langfristige Standortssicherung. So erhält das Werk eine Servo-Einarbeitungspresse der neusten Generation sowie erweiterte Werkzeugaufbauflächen mit erhöhten Kranlasten. Dies führt zu einer Steigerung der Werkzeugausbringung und zur Erhöhung der Effizienz bei der Werkzeuganfertigung.
The European Commission has approved the joint venture of the aluminium extrusion businesses of Sapa and Hydro, owned 50/50 by Orkla and Hydro. The transaction has already been approved by the US and other authorities, and final completion is now subject to a decision from the Chinese authorities.
Schmidt + Clemens, the stainless steel specialist based in Lindlar, Germany, can look back on a successful year 2012. While group sales fell by around 5% from the previous year’s level to €274m, the result was significantly higher. The intake of new orders grew from €285m to €320m, with the order books at the end of 2012 standing some 30% above the previous year’s level.
Responsibility for the 17th Arab International Aluminium Conference (Arabal) was officially handed over to Emirates Aluminium (Emal) in February, which is another indication of the continuing rise of the United Arab Emirates as a major player in the industry. The conference will be taking place from 5 to 7 November 2013, and will be hosted for the first time by Emal in Abu Dhabi.
Innoval Technology, a leading provider of independent technical expertise to the global downstream aluminium industry, is celebrating ten years in business in 2013. Formed in May 2003 following the closure of Alcan’s Banbury Laboratory, the company has grown year on year and now boasts over 300 clients and a turnover of £2 million.
Aluminium Middle East 2013, the leading exhibition for aluminium products, technologies and investments in the Middle East, concluded recently in Dubai with several trade exhibitors closing high-value deals during the three-day event held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Event organiser Reed Exhibitions registered a record turnout of more than 3,000 attendees from over 70 countries and a total of 165 exhibitors from 28 countries.
The May Special of the International ALUMINIUM Journal focuses on the aluminium rollling industry and its equipment suppliers. ALUMINIUM talked to Stefan Glimm and Manfred Mertens from the European Aluminium Foil Association about the Global Aluminium Foil Roller Conference (Glafco) in Dubai early next year, and about the development of the global aluminium foil market and the importance of resource efficiency and sustainability for the positioning of aluminium foil in the market. Further articles are about the various slitting tasks in the new slitting centre of Constantia Teich in Mühlhofen, Austria, and about the recent operational experience with Siemens Vai’s ‘Dynamic Shape Roll’ technology on aluminium cold mills.
LOI Thermprocess GmbH has signed an agreement with the European Capital S.A. Sicar for the acquisition of MTH (Metall Technologie Holding). The acquisition remains subject to the approval by the relevant antitrust authorities.
Constellium has renamed its three core business units to reflect increased proximity to customers and to show more accurately the business and commercial sector focus of each unit. The renamed business units, which retain their existing scope of activities and products, are:
Aerospace and Transportation (formerly Global Aerospace, Transportation and Industry)
Packaging and Automotive Rolled Products (formerly Specialty Sheet)
Automotive Structures and Industry (formerly Extrusions and Automotive Structures)
UC Rusal has signed a memorandum of understanding with Israeli company Omen High Pressure Die Casting, which specialises in the production of automotive components from non-ferrous metals. The companies intend to create a joint venture in Russia to produce automotive components made of aluminium, to be supplied to carmakers in Russia and the CIS.
The thermoprocess industry around the world is looking forward to a first-rate new conference with an international line-up in 2013. ITPS 2013 – the International Thermprocess Summit – is attracting capable participants and speakers to the CCD Süd Congress Centre in Düsseldorf from 9 to 10 July. The high quality of the participants is already apparent: experts from Germany, the USA, China, India or Mexico will be presenting an in-depth review of the latest developments in the industrial furnace field.
Impression Technologies Ltd is bringing to market a novel technology for forming aluminium. The technology, known as Hot Form Quench (HFQ), enables lighter, stronger solutions to the automotive and transport industries, and has the potential to reduce carbon footprints.
Alcoa’s pre-treatment bonding technology ‘Alcoa 951’ – an enabler for adhesive bonding of automotive structures – has been licensed to Chemetall in an exclusive global distribution agreement. Chemetall is a global supplier of surface treatments to the automotive industry. Alcoa 951 is suitable for sheet, extrusion and casting suppliers across the automotive industry. It is a patented, non-chrome approach for enhancing bond durability and enabling more cost-effective mass production of aluminium-intensive vehicles.
The April Special of the International ALUMINIUM Journal focuses on the aluminium extrusion industry and its equipment suppliers. ALUMINIUM had the opportunity of viewing the new extrusion line at Richter Aluminium. The management outlined the special features of this highly productive plant and expresses confidence that even regardless of trade fluctuations, production can be extended. Furthermore, ALUMINIUM talked to Axel Bauer, sales director for Extrusion Presses at SMS Meer, and Uwe Muschalik, head of Development and Technology for Hydraulic Presses, about new approaches for the sale of extrusion presses. In future, SMS Meer will build medium-sized standard presses for the Chinese market at its manufacturing shop in Shanghai.
Pierburg China Ltd., a member of the KSPG Group,has opened in Kunshan (Greater Shanghai) a new production plant. The internationally operating first-tier auto-industry supplier is manufacturing at this additional facility in China pneumatic exhaust-gas recirculation valves and electric throttle valves to be followed, very soon, by the production of solenoid valves.
Russian aluminium flagship UC Rusal and Aluminium Corporation of China (Chalco) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in order to cooperate in areas such as R&D of new technologies in the aluminium industry, development of bauxite resources and investments in integrated hydro powered aluminium production. The cooperation will contribute “to look for new technological responses and replace outdated high cost production facilities with new advanced energy-efficient production capacity in Eastern Siberia,” said Oleg Deripaska, CEO of Rusal.
Hydro has decided to nearly double capacity of a continuous annealing line at its aluminium rolled products plant in Grevenbroich, Germany, in order to serve growing demand in the automotive industry. After expansion, the annealing facility AL2 will be able to produce up to 50,000 tonnes of aluminium car body strip annually for the European market. This market for aluminium car body components is expected to grow by 15 to 20 percent each year between 2011 and 2018.
With its Ecoline Pro, Switzerland-based Bühler AG has launched a new cold-chamber die casting machine series that seamlessly supplements its existing machine portfolio. The machines are available with a locking force range of 3,400 to 8,400 kN. The shot unit creates a high degree of freedom for using a wide variety of dies, thanks to its possibility of flexible adjustment. Ecoline Pro is perfectly suitable for manufacturing cast components of low complexity. It combines reliable die casting technology with very easy handling and unrivaled productivity.
Hydro is studying the potentials for testing next-generation electrolysis technology at a pilot plant with annual production capacity of about 70,000 tonnes at Karmøy in Norway. Hydro’s technology centre in Årdal is striving for the development of new and more energy-efficient cell technology. It is this technology, together with new anodes and raw materials, that the aluminium company wants to test at a large new pilot plant.
In December 2012 Nanshan Aluminium commissioned Siempelkamp with the supply of the world’s largest closed-die forging press, with a press force of 50,000 metric tonnes or 55,116 US-tons. The machine builder will supply the complete press from a single source. This includes the design, the casting and machining processes of the component parts as well as their installation and the start-up of the press on site. This press will be the centrepiece of a newly designed forging mill of Nanshan Aluminium.
Car manufacturer Audi is joining the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative to help develop a global standard for sustainable aluminium. As a pioneer of unitary aluminium car bodies, the company is taking the opportunity to influence the entire value chain of one of its most important materials – one of the objectives of Audi’s corporate-responsibility strategy.
As part of Century Aluminum’s plan to restart anode production at the Vlissingen plant in The Netherlands, the company placed an order with LTB to supply a fume treatment system for the baking furnaces, which offers the newest technology for lowest emission values. The primary aluminium producer supplies standard-grade, high-purity and value-added products at a rated production capacity of 785,000 tpy. The company acquired the former Zalco anode manufacturing plant in Vlissingen to ensure the supply of anodes for their smelter in Grundartangi, Iceland.
Based on the success of the first Cold Rolling Day in Cologne in 2011, the nine supporting companies decided to hold a second Cold Rolling Day in order to present their latest developments and the possibilities of application. This second Cold Rolling Day will be taking place in the Niko Hotel Düsseldorf, Germany on 16 May 2013. There will be a get-together with dinner in the Traveller’s Restaurant in the evening of 15 May.
Programme of lectures:
The international journal for industry, research and application of aluminium is published monthly. It provides information on all topical issues concerning the material, its production, processing, recycling and application. Furthermore, economic topics and ecological consequences of aluminium application are discussed. Thirty percent of all articles in the journal are written in English.
The trade journal is the leading title in the whole German-speaking area. It provides information on material-specific characteristics of aluminium, latest processing technologies and innovative applications in various branches and sectors of industry.
