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.
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.
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.
Rüdebusch Baustoffe und Transporte ist seit vielen Jahren Kunde von Alcoa. Nahezu alle ihre Lastwagen und Anhänger sind mit Rädern von Alcoa ausgerüstet. Dies verringert das Gewicht der Fahrzeuge und garantiert maximale Ladekapazität. Auf diese Weise kann bei jeder Fahrt Geld gespart werden.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The moderate increase in demand and deliveries for aluminium foil products from European manufacturers, seen during the first three quarters of 2012, was maintained in the fourth quarter. The year ended with total production of 818,400 tonnes (+2.1%) according to the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA). The deliveries in Q4 2012 were up 5% compared with the quarter a year earlier.
The German company Decker Anlagenbau, a specialist for wet chemical processes in plant engineering, has supplied an innovative anodising line for the Dura plant in Plettenberg. The line will be used by the US automotive supplier Dura Automotive Systems for the surface treatment of sophisticated exterior trim components. The length of the line is extraordinary at 80 metres, significantly increasing the capacity and flexibility of the plant.
Alcoa received a 2013 Accessory of the Year Award in the category of Best Safety and Energy Savings for the contributions of its forged aluminium wheels to China’s bus manufacturing industry. The annual awards are organised by leading Chinese trade publications CNbuses.com and shangyongqiche.com and supported by the China Tourism News.
“We have been supplying Alcoa forged aluminium wheels to the Chinese bus market for nearly a decade,” said Tim Myers, president of Alcoa Wheel and Transportation Products. “This award acknowledges the important role our lightweight, durable wheels play in helping improve the performance and efficiency of commercial vehicles throughout China.”
The Euroguss trade fair will be taking place from 14 to 16 January 2014 to celebrate its tenth anniversary. What began as a trade fair with 93 exhibitors in Sindelfingen in 1996 has been developing into a successful exhibition for die casting technology with about 400 exhibitors and more than 8,500 trade visitors at the last event. The organiser has already started preparations for the 2014 show in Nuremberg. Exhibitors registering by 5 March 2013 benefit from the early bird discount.
The Your Tube Award competition, held for the very first time in 2012, presents new, attractive design solutions for the aluminium tube. In a six-month submission phase the Aluminium Tube Committee of the European Tube Manufacturers Association (etma) looked out for outstanding and innovative design concepts for the aluminium tube in the area of graphic and product design. Over 60 extraordinary ideas of an exceptional quality were submitted by designers, young professionals, students, or design schools from eleven different countries and critically appraised by a jury made up of experts from the design, packaging, and industrial sectors by the end of 2012. The top three places were awarded to design professionals and design students from France, Iran, and Mexico, while the special prize for the ‘Best Holistic Concept’ went jointly to two young designers from Germany and Mexico. The award winners of the international design competition for the aluminium tube shared a total prize pot of 10,000 euros.
The Brazilian Aluminium Association ‘Abal’ and the Brazilian Association of Cans of High Recyclability ‘Abralatas’ have reported that the country has recycled 248,700 tonnes of aluminium beverage cans of a total of 253,100 tonnes available on the market in 2011. This corresponds to a recycling rate of 98.3%, keeping Brazil ahead in the world leadership since 2001.
The European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA) has announced that the third global aluminium foil roller conference (Glafco) will take place from 15-17 January 2014 in Dubai. Delegates from the international aluminium foil roller industry are expected to continue the coordinated actions on foil sustainability and promotion to support market growth globally and highlight innovative developments.
Stefan Glimm, executive director of EAFA, commenting on the conference said: “Our objective is to gather more than 90% of the global foil market in Dubai – 10% more than last time. The industry wants to continue building one global voice for foil on sustainable and promotion issues to support further growth. Both in packaging and technical applications aluminium foil has the great advantage of saving more resources than it consumes, through the complete value and supply chain.”
ALUMINIUM CHINA 2013 is Asia’s leading aluminium industry platform, organised by Reed Exhibitions. By presenting customised match making programmes, buyers with emerging and established demands from booming industry clusters as well as a world class conference and seminar programme, ALUMINIUM CHINA 2013 is the first choice for branding, networking and sourcing in Asia, the world’s fastest growing market.
The editorial team of alu-web.de wishes all our readers a very happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year 2013. Our office is closed for the next couple of days. As from 2 January we’ll be back from holidays and eager to report again on news from the global aluminium industry.
Alwin Schmitt and Volker Karow
Editors of alu-web.de
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.