Sapa expands aluminium extrusion operations

The new facility, a 142,800-square-foot-building, will house equipment transferred from Sapa’s Portland plant and other facilities, as well as new equipment and facility upgrades. The Port of Vancouver facility is the first Sapa location in the state of Washington. Sapa’s Portland operation currently consists of six facilities that serve the solar/renewable energy, building and constructio Read More..

Alcoa expands aluminium lithium capacity

The alloys, introduced last year and now patented, allow airframers to build lighter and lower-cost airplanes versus composite alternatives. The largest of the capacity expansions is a $90M greenfield facility to be built adjacent to Alcoa’s Lafayette, Indiana, USA plant. When completed the facility will produce more than 20kt/y of aluminium lithium and be capable of casting round and rect Read More..

Constellium completes $46M Ravenswood project

The 30 million pound stretcher is a critical piece of equipment which allows Constellium to provide aluminium plate to its customers for use in a variety of industries “Through this major investment, Constellium reinforces its position as a key supplier of advanced aluminium products and solutions for aerospace and defense, as well as other important markets,” said Christophe Vill Read More..

Glencore considering Portovesme acquisition?

Reuters reports Italy is looking for new investors to take over an the Portovesme aluminium smelter in Sardinia, which the US group plans to close, to soften the blow to the island's economy and save jobs. Alcoa said earlier this month it would close the smelter and cut output at two Spanish smelters as part of a broader effort to cut its global output by 12% and reduce costs. A meeting be Read More..

China unveils development plan

The Plan has spelled out the major targets and tasks for the nonferrous metal industry in the 2011-2015 period, and is regarded as a framework aimed at changing the industry’s growth structure. According to the plan, the industry’s major tasks over the next few years include promoting new technology, reducing pollution and increasing efforts to save energy. For aluminium and other major me Read More..

Magnetic hydromixer at Krasnoyarsk smelter

The $2M magnetic hydrodynamic mixer will enable the Krasnoyarsk aluminium smelter (KrAZ) to produce 1000, 3000, 5000 and 8000 series alloys and to increase the production quality. The new inductor can mix metal in 100t holding furnaces with the use of a magnetic field, without the metal inside ever being touched. As a result, the smelter will produce top quality rolling slabs, which can be u Read More..

Extrusion/Analysis & Testing features required

If you have a relevant article which you feel is of interest to AIT readers please contact the Editor, Greg Morris. The magazine will be distributed at the Metef event in Italy and ET event in Florida, USA later this year. Articles must be of a technical nature and be between 1000 – 2000 words accompanied by a few images. Please note: Articles will only be considered for publication, submi Read More..

Novelis Korea orders cold rolling mill

The plant will produce flat strip for the beverage can industry in Yeongju, South Korea and is due to start production in 2013. Siemens will supply all the electrical engineering and equipment, including the basic automation, the human-machine interface equipment and the associated sensor systems. The technological control systems - with integrated gauge-, strip tension- and flatness cont Read More..

Sapa buys $34M indirect press

Sapa is the only North American soft alloy extruder with indirect press technology. The new indirect press will increase production speed per unit by up to 50%. It will result in better grain structure and overall quality of product, and recover more scrap material than before, resulting in a lower operating cost to produce rod and bar. The indirect extrusion process allows for a more co Read More..

Police operation targets UK metal theft

Operation Tornado aims to make it easier to trace sellers of stolen metal through an identification scheme Anyone selling scrap metal to participating dealers in the northeast of England is now required to provide proof of their identity by producing either a photo card driving license including an address, or a passport or national ID card supported with a utility bill. These must be must b Read More..