Aluminium foil

The first half of 2022 saw stability return to deliveries of foil for containers and technical applications.

The European markets for aluminium foil showed a good recovery in Q2 2021, with deliveries increasing by almost 9 %.

On track for growth: deliveries by european aluminum foil rolling mills increased by 2.3 % to 245,000 t in the first three months of 2021.

A record breaking five products, which were recognised earlier this year for excellence in aluminium foil innovation by the Alufoil Trophy 2019 competition, have received internationally recognised WorldStars following judging by voting members of the World Packaging Organisation (WPO) at its meeting in Bali, Indonesia.

It has been a quiet period of trade for European aluminium foil rollers in the three months to the end of September due to continuing uncertainty in global markets generally, as well as the ongoing trade dispute between the USA and China. Overall demand in Q3 was down 2.2% to 228,685 tonnes (2018: 233,727 t) with year to date (YTD) figures showing total production almost unchanged at 714,251 tonnes, according to figures released by the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA).

Aluminium foil is finding large application in packaging in the food industry. It is widely used as a compact storage for electric charges. Nowadays, aluminium foil is being merged with flexible films to create lightweight packages. This allows packages to expand during packaging and contract as soon as the product is consumed. Manufacturers are focusing on producing a top quality of aluminium foil packages. However, a small change in the process can impact the product quality. Hence, machines and techniques used in aluminium foil packages are well tested, researched and developed.

Göksal Güngör has been re-elected as president of the Global Aluminium Foil Roller Initiative (Glafri) for a second term .

The 2019 WorldStar competition continues to recognise the performance of aluminium foil as a major packaging material.

The third quarter of 2018 saw demand for Europe’s aluminium foil surge to record levels, and well ahead of the same period in 2017. This was principally led by a continued spectacular performance in overseas markets. Deliveries in Q3 reached 237,700 tonnes, an increase of 6.4% on the same period of 2017. Domestic demand has remained solid throughout 2018 and continued to reflect (+0.5%) a steady recovery in consumption.

At a special award ceremony held at the ALUMINIUM 2018 exhibition in Düsseldorf, the first ever winner of the Robert V Neher Award, a global academic competition for foil research and development, was announced. Hiroyuki Nishikawa and Yoshiki Hashizume were presented with a cheque for 10,000 euros for the award-winning work: Development of super water-repellent material Toyal Lotus .