Aluminium Extrusions

what is Aluminium Extrusions

2009-10-22T06:05:00.000-07:00

Have anyone ever play a toy called Play-Doh? It is where you put a modeling compound (plasticine) into a toy machine and squeeze it into model like french fries (picture at right)? It is the very same concept here that is being used in aluminium extrusion. But instead of putting potatoes into the machine (hehe!), we are putting in aluminium alloys into a large extrusion machine to produce extruded aluminium.

Simple isn't it. Well it is easier say than done. Actually it is far more complicated than that. The process begins by heating the stock material. Then it is then loaded into the container in the press. A dummy block is placed behind it where the ram then presses on the material to push it out of the die. Afterward the extrusion is stretched in order to straighten it. If better properties are required then it may be heat treated or cold worked. There you have it.

So does this help you in understanding more about aluminium extrusion. If you got any question about it, please post a question in the comment and I'll gladly answer them for you.

Aluminium Die Casting

2008-09-21T22:17:00.000-07:00

Aluminium is the choice metal for making light weight parts of vehicles, aerospace and transport industries. Casting of liquid aluminium alloys into metal moulds utilizing systems like gravity, low pressure and high pressure die casting is an economical way of making difficult shapes which need minimum machining. Australia’s auto industry supports a large local die casting business, manufacturing parts that include cylinders, pistons and engine sumps etc.

Rising demand in world auto market for aluminium die cast parts is producing great opportunity and challenge for Australian business which wants to emerge as a global player. By setting partnerships between Nissan and Ford, CAST has developed and produced new and latest technology that has been benefiting our partner’s products. In turn these skills have created IP that is poised on the verge of commercialization.

To increase production of high pressure die casting by lessening its time cycle by 30%. The cycle time has been reduced by more than 20% on certain parts at two industry partner plants. The project involves identifying places where cycle time may be reduced, and doing it practically to prove the findings of research. This made it essential to involve shop floor staff to implement the changes needed in systems. These trails are generally in variation with day to day production and due to true co-operation of shop floor staff it become possible to achieve targets.

The third year of project has seen the true spirit of co-operation between researches and industrial partners in which latest research results got through simulated trails have been done practically on shop floor with help and support of Ford and Nissan staff. The changes once tested during trials have been incorporated in production systems giving benefits of reduced costs by reducing time of each part manufactured. An example of reduced time achieved is at Nissan on a gearbox side cover made in twin cavity die has given successful results after many months; from an initial cycle time of 75 seconds down to 60 seconds. While research at Ford on a changer housing casting, has been successfully implemented by lessening cycle time from 90 seconds to 74 seconds.

In future the reduction of time cycle will be tried for other parts as well.

Automatic fault detection in aluminium die casting:

This involves developing a system to detect surface and sub surface defects.

A fully automatic fault detecting machine named CAST vision has been produced and a prototype process is in place for extended in-plant on-line trials. This is the third year of this project and it is giving good results. The result of algorithm which was designed and developed in 2nd year has been put to test now. By prototyping the CAST team had designed and developed a working system CAST vision. This can discriminate between good and defective parts.

The prototype system has capacity to detect blocked holes on any of holes on this complex casting. Offline processes have also been readied which will detect hot tears and cold shuts on Ford’s structural sump casting.

Work at Nissan on their pump cover casting has led to a CAST vision type process for in-line fault detection. The process can take images and find certain types of defects on the surface part. This project has shown that advances in mechanical vision applied for finding faults of aluminium castings can be converted from project stage to a working prototype successfully. The next stage is take concepts from single stage to multistage processes capable to handle more complex shapes and surfaces. This result will become a strong contender for future commercialization.

More articles are available at http://www.article-ghost-writer.com & http://www.bhunit.co.in

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Aman_Kumar

Chester Conservatory Build Process

2008-03-01T03:01:00.001-08:00

1. The site of the proposed conservatory.

2. Construction work begins. The trench is excavated to suit the relevant ground conditions, in this case, to a depth of 450mm (minimum depth) for the footings. The general ground level (within the area of the trench) is also reduced to a minimum of 300 mm below the DPC. Excavation exposes an underground pipe.

3. Concrete lintels should be placed to bridge the underground drainage pipe to prevent the pipe being crushed. Also additional steel reinforcement mesh introduced to the concrete foundation will provide additional support.

4. Stakes driven into the ground are set 450mm below DPC (Damp Proof Course) and 300mm below outside ground level. Concrete is then poured into the 450mm deep trench to a depth of 150mm.

5. The concrete is floated to form a level surface 450mm below the house DPC

6. The inner leaf of the cavity wall is built up to floor level, usually the house DPC.

7. Hardcore is laid to a minimum 100mm deep and compacted to form the base layer of the slab.

8. A blinding screed of sand 50mm thick is laid over the compacted hardcore layer to prevent any sharp stones puncturing the damp proof membrane (heavy duty plastic sheeting).

9. The damp proof membrane is laid over the sand blinding and lapped onto the inner leaf of brickwork

10. Optional floor insulation (50mm thick Styrofoam in this case) is placed upon the sheeting.

11. Concrete 100mm thick is laid to bring the slab up to the finished floor level which is then float finished to give a smooth finish for tiling or carpet finish

12. The outer leaf of the wall is built. In this case, artificial stone to match the house is used

13. The inner leaf of the cavity wall is built to complete the basework. The same material as the outer leaf has been used to provide a feature stone finish

14. The PVCu external cill is fitted to the dwarf wall and erection of the side frames begins.

15. On completion of the frames the structural aluminium eaves beam is fitted to the head of the frames.

16. The PVCu thermally clad aluminium glazing bars and ridge system are quickly assembled.

17. The polycarbonate glazing panels are installed (alternatively, double glazed units may be specified).

18. The side frames are glazed after the roof is complete

19. The ventilated aluminium ridge is ready to accept the clip fit PVCu internal cladding. Electrical cables may be concealed behind the cladding if a fan or lights are required.

20. The PVCu internal fascia is clipped onto the eaves beam to complete the internal finishing trims. Other internal work IS completed once the roof is on

21. The completed conservatory

Curved Garden Benches

2008-03-01T03:00:00.004-08:00

Garden benches that are curved at the back and have a back rest are the ones known as curved garden benches. They are not only very comfortable and stylish, but are also highly attractive. Their designs usually depend on the materials being used in their manufacturing. They usually enhance the setting of the gardens, and the best part about them is that they can be left out in open all year through.

Most of the curved garden benches are made of metals as they are easily moulded into various shapes as compared to stone and other such hard materials. These metals include aluminium, wrought iron and brass among others. They can be placed anywhere in the garden as they not only provide comfortable seating options, but also look extremely beautiful in well maintained gardens. These can be placed next to ponds or in small hide- away place in ones garden. These curved garden benches help in adding to the beauty of the gardens because of their exquisite designs, shapes and sizes.

As a result of the materials used in the making of such curved garden benches, they require very little maintenance and are very easy to clean. Curved garden benches also last for very long because of the metals that go into their making. These metals make them weather resistant and also very durable and strong so that they can withstand large amounts of pressure.

The prices of curved garden benches depend on the kind of metal or other materials that are used for its making. They are slightly cheaper if they are made of aluminium or any other such material, but on being made with stone or concrete, the prices rise considerably. Prices also depend on the amount of handwork that goes into the making of one such curved bench. Benches with a lot of carvings are usually more expensive. Prices can range from $75-$250.

Wooden Greenhouses

2008-03-01T03:00:00.003-08:00

An important addition to any British back garden, the greenhouse is firmly established in the British way of life. It's probably the inclement weather that drives the british gardener 'inside'. If you are visiting this site then you are probably thinking about obtaining a new greenhouse. It is possible you don't know the type of greenhouse you need or even how to decide on the type of greenhouse. This site has a series of articles on many of the different things to consider when installing a greenhouse.

For example, you need to decide on size, shape, style, location, installation, maintenance, irrigation, heating and this is before you have grown anything. You can look at the different benefits of aluminium greenhouses, pvc-u greenhouses and wooden greenhouses -- we have discussed each one seperately. You mat wish for a standard greenhouse or choose a bespoke model. There is a lot to look into - viewing manufacturers sites can help to get a feel for what is available. However, don't be put off as with a little research and planning the whole process can be made much easier.

The benefits of a greenhouse would seem to be fairly obvious. They not only extend the growing season, but also allow you to grow more exotic plants. Even if you don't wish to recreate the 'Eden project' in your back garden, you can still be fairly ambitious with a very basic greenhouse. The downside may not be so apparent, but there is the constant battle against insects and disease. Also, the odd stray football to worry about. However, before too long you will be getting great enjoyment froim your greenhouse. Once in place a greenhouse makes a fantastic year round hobby and as each year goes by you will get more and more from your greenhouse.

Wooden Greenhouses are the choice for the traditionalist and the expert gardener. They are commonly made from Canadian Western Red Cedar, which is renowned for it's exceptional long life outdoors as a result of it's effective rot resistance. Wooden greenhouses are the traditional style of greenhouse before the aluminium greenhouses and plastic greenhouses became more popular towards the end of the last century.

A timber greenhouse will obviously blend in naturally with your garden and will become an integral feature rather than something of an eyesore which you wish to hide away. Timber is also the choice of the expert gardener and it is generally agreed that it is the best material for a greenhouse. One of the main reasons is that the red cedar greenhouses are much better at maintaining a constant temperature than aluminium ones, which obviously leads to a healthier and more natural environment. An experienced gardener will know the benefit of having things to hand and a wooden frame will allow the gardener to easily fix hooks and shelves exactly where he wants them, so those all important greenhouse accessories are to hand. The wooden frame also makes it easier to fix an extra layer of insulation of plastic bubble sheeting, such severe weather conditions prevail.

The best time to add a protective coat to a timber frame is before winter sets in. Choose a good day in the late autumn and give the frame any attention it needs. Look for any wear and tear and treat it immediately. Most good timber frames come with a ten year gaurantee, but don't wait for 10 years before checking.

Backpacking Cookware - Whats Available On The Market

2008-03-01T03:00:00.001-08:00

When backpacking or camping you will need a good set of cooking gear. Cooking in the outdoors is a lot harder than cooking at home in a nicely furnished kitchen. So the Backpacking Cookware that you will use outdoors will be quite a bit different from what you use at home.

To make your choice of the right Backpacking Cookware to take, you will first need to know what is available on the market for you to buy. Below is a list of the most popular types, along with their good and bad points.

ALUMINIUM.

This used to be the first choice of backpackers, lightweight campers, and hikers because it is very light. However it is not as strong or durable as some of the other materials used for cookware. Food tends to stick to it making it difficult to clean in an outdoor situation. Also Aluminium has been linked to some health problems, as it tends to breakdown over time and can contaminate the food cooked in it. Having said this, I have used Aluminium for many years with no harmful effects. (I would still rate it as a good choice as you will properly only be using it for a few weeks of any one year.)

STAINLESS STEEL.

The main drawback here is the weight, as it is a lot heavier than other types of backpacking cookware. Also it is not the best at distributing the heat evenly and the food must be stirred or moved constantly to ensure even cooking. Stainless steel is very tough and strong though, and will stand up to almost anything that can happen to it in the outdoors.

LIGHTWEIGHT STAINLESS STEEL.

The introduction of new technology has come up with a lighter weight stainless steel, it has all the durability and strength, but as its name suggests is considerably lighter.

TITANIUM.

The modern first choice. It is very light, it is also very durable and tough, and a better distributor of heat when compared to stainless steel. A good set of Titanium cookware will last a very long time. The only downside is its price, as it can be expensive when compared with the other materials.

A FEW BASIC TIPS.

(1)Are you choosing a solo backpacking set of cookware, or do you want a kit that will do for two or more people?
(2)Pots with a slightly rounded bottom will distribute heat better than flat bottomed ones.
(3)Make sure the pots have a good fitting lid, as this will cut down on your cooking times, saving you fuel.
(4)Try to buy proper Backpacking Cookware as opposed to ordinary cookware, as the former should have folding or detachable handles to make packing it into your backpack much easier.

Troubleshooting CBN Inserts - Definition of Hard Turning

2008-03-01T02:58:00.000-08:00

Hard Turning Definition

David Richards define “Hard Turning “ as machining hardened steels above 40 HRc, not hard in terms of “difficult”. Alloy Steels with a hardness below 40 HRc are not generally machined using CBN inserts because other tool materials work as well or better and cost less. Soft materials often stick to PCBN cutting tools causing “build up” on the cutting edge. This results in poor surface finish and tool life. The geometry of PCBN tools used for machining hardened steel is very blunt with no chip groove geometry to provide swarf control, not ideal for machining soft steels. However, some steels with a high alloy content and 30+ HRc are successfully finish machined with DR-50 because nothing else will do the job. If there is no adhesion, reliable size control and consistent surface finish can more than justify the cost of the tools.

Aluminum Alloy Machining

Aluminium alloys cannot be machined with CBN inserts. PCBN has a trace content of Aluminium nitride. Aluminium builds up on the cutting edge very quickly causing rapid tool wear and poor surface finish.

Cast Iron Machining

Cast iron and Iron based hard facing alloys with a significant ferrite content are not machined with CBN inserts. The soft gooey ferrite sticks to the CBN insert cutting edge causing rapid wear and poor surface finish.

D2 Machining

Interrupted cutting D2 tool steel is very difficult and unpredictable. D2 contains up to 14% Chromium and was designed to be used at 50-56 HRc. If the material is hardened to +60 HRc and not tempered very carefully, Chromium Carbide formation at the grain boundaries makes the material impossible to machine with interrupted cutting.

HSS Machining

Interrupted cutting of High Speed Steel – HSS is temperature resistant and does not soften in the shear zone. Interrupted cutting Nitrided steel is difficult. When continuous cutting, the super-hard surface is machined away by a part of the cutting edge that is not controlling surface finish and size. When interrupted cutting, the entire cutting edge impacts with a superhard surface resulting in poor tool life.

Hard Facing Alloy Machining

Hard facing alloys – Stellite (Cobalt/Chrome Alloys)and Colmonoy (Nickel/Chrome alloy) with more than 20% Chrome is not practically machined with PCBN – Tool life is too short. Chromium cannot be machined using PCBN. PCBN can be used to remove hard Chromed plated surfaces and expose a hardened steel base material, but it is not possible to machine within the Chrome.

High Temperture Alloy Machining

Machining high temperature alloys – Inconel, Hastalloy, Waspalloy, Titanium, Nimonics etc are not machined with PCBN. Tool life is negligible due to chemical affinity.

Hydro acquires Ellay Enfield to complete its Heat Transfer product range

2008-02-20T04:24:00.000-08:00

LAUSANNE, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 30, 1997--Hydro Aluminium Extrusion today completed the acquisition of Ellay Enfield, the UK's leading producer of thin wall welded tube for the automotive heat exchange industry.

Ellay Enfield, based in Workington in North West England, is a world leader in the production of welded thin wall flat oval tube in both aluminum and brass for heat exchanger applications. Turnover of 12 million GBP in 1996 is expected to grow significantly in 1997 with the conclusion of current investment programmes. The company currently has 100 employees.

Hydro is a leader in extruded and drawn aluminum tube for worldwide automotive applications.

Ivar Hafsett, the president of Hydro Aluminium Extrusion, comments: "The acquisition is an important strategic step for Hydro as welded tube is a complementary product to our extruded and drawn tube products. We will now be in a position to offer our customers a `one stop shopping' solution for all their heat exchange tubing needs and to take advantage of the opportunity for product integration. This will become increasingly important as first tier automotive manufacturers rationalise their supplier bases and demand stronger and more capable suppliers. Ellay Enfield's strong technology base gives us the opportunity to develop both their and our product ranges to maintain our market leading position through the development of new and innovative heat exchange products and services, and to capitalise on the substantial growth projected in the brazed aluminum heat exchanger segment."

The new name of the company will be Hydro Ellay Enfield.

Hydro Aluminium Extrusion is a world leader in aluminum extrusions and a division of Norsk Hydro, the Norwegian-based industrial group with major interests in light metals, oil and gas, agriculture and petrochemicals. Total Norsk Hydro sales in 1996 were more than $13 billion.

Sapa Expands Into the US

2008-02-20T04:23:00.000-08:00

Sapa has reached a definitive agreement to acquire the largest aluminium extruder on the West Coast of America, Anodizing Inc. of Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1964, Anodizing Inc. focuses on aluminium profiles and finishing which is complimented by an expertise in fabrication and other product based processes. The company had sales of $132m (MSEK 1200) in 1999 and employs 930 people. Deliveries last year exceeded 32,000 tonnes. The company has five extrusions presses, two anodising plants, vertical and horizontal paint lines, a miniature extrusion facility, in addition to its five fabrication and assembly plants. In all 500,000 sq ft of facilities within a 7 mile radius of the centre of Portland.

"We have stated that Sapa has a clear ambition to expand within high value- added aluminium profiles. This acquisition gives Sapa a solid presence in a market where we have not been active before. Anodizing is a well-run company and has shown strong growth in sales and margins over a long number of years. They focus on high value-added products for selected markets and customers. By entering into the US through Anodizing Inc., we get a strong foothold for further expansion," says Staffan Bohman, CEO of Sapa. "Sapa's profiles operations have grown at a very high pace during the last 2 years. By end of 1998 we had a production of about 140,000 tonnes of aluminium profiles. Since then we have taken major steps by acquiring the largest independent extruder in France, made new investments in existing plants,started the investment of a new large press in France and recently bought the market leader in Portugal. To this we can now add the acquisition in the US. Together this will give us an annual output of around 280,000 tonnes, i.e a doubling of the capacity in 2-3 years. All these activities are in line with our ambition to be the world's leading independent extruder," adds Staffan Bohman. The acquisition of Anodizing Inc. is subject to necessary approvals. It is anticipated that the deal will close on the 1st September 2000.

For further information please contact Staffan Bohman, CEO Sapa, tel +46 8 459 5910, Claes-R. Simonson, EVP Sapa, or Cecilia Lager, Investor Relations & Communication, tel +46 8 459 5941.

Sapa is an international industrial group focused on high value-added products based on the lightweight materials aluminium and plastics. The products range from profiles and heat-transfer strip in aluminium to components and systems in plastics for the automotive industry. Sapa is one of Europe's leading companies within its field and the customers are found in the transport-, building, engineering- and telecom industries. Sapa is registered on the A-list of the OM Stockholm Exchange.

Die Casting in Aluminium Alloys

2008-02-13T22:00:00.001-08:00

An aluminium alloy die casting system provides a die casting machine which has a gate for melted aluminium alloys passage, sets a flow rate of melted aluminium alloy in range of 5m/sec to 15m/sec and press injects melted alloy in cavity of die. By this system it is possible to get a weldable casting having no air. An aluminium auto part manufactured by above mentioned process is weldable and also dense in structure. The result is auto parts formed of die-cast products are produced on a large scale cost effectively.

Aluminium and aluminium alloys casting problems:
Aluminium castings have played significant role in development of aluminium industry since its inception in late 19th century. The first aluminium products were castings such as utensils and decorative parts which exploited the novelty and utilization of new discovery. Those early parts quickly expanded to meet the requirements of a wide range of engineering specifications.

Alloys development and analyzation of physical and mechanical features gave basis for product development through the decades which followed. Casting systems were processed to increase capabilities of foundries in new commercial and technical uses. The system of melted metal processing, solidification, and property development has been advanced to assist foundry man with means of cost effective and trustable production of components which regularly meet specific needs.

Nowadays aluminium alloy castings are manufactured in hundreds of ways by all commercial casting systems including green sand, dry sand, composite mould, plaster mould, investment casting permanent mould, gravity casting, low-pressure casting and pressure die casting.

Material constraints which previously limited the design engineers alloy choice once a casting process was selected are continuously being blurred by advancement in foundry techniques. Similarly process selection is also less restricted these days. Like the many alloys previously thought to be unusable in permanent moulds because of their casting features are in production by that very process.

Melting and metal treatment:
Aluminium and aluminium alloys may be melted in various ways. Coreless and channel induction furnaces, crucible and open-hearth reverberatory furnaces fired by natural gas or fuel oil and electric resistance and electric radiation furnaces are all in routine use. The nature of furnace charge is as different and important as the choice of metal casting operations. The furnace charge may differ from pre-alloyed ingot of high quality to charge made up of low quality scrap. Even under best melting and melt holding situation melted aluminium is at risk to these types of degradation.
a) With time at temperature, adsorption of hydrogen results in increased hydrogen content.
b) With time at temperature, oxidation of melt occurs.
c) Transient elements featured by low vapor pressure and high reactivity are reduced.

Turbulence or agitation of melt and increased holding temperature, significantly increase the rate of hydrogen solution oxidation and transient element loss. The mechanical properties of aluminium alloys depend on casting soundness which is highly influenced by hydrogen porosity and entrapped non metallic inclusions. Aluminium casting and alloys and products manufactured by them are things of the future due to their cost effectiveness and lightweight.

Aluminium And Wooden Greenhouses

2008-02-13T21:58:00.000-08:00

An important addition to any British back garden, greenhouses are firmly established in the British way of life. It's probably the inclement weather that drives the british gardener 'inside'. If you are visiting this site then you are probably thinking about obtaining a new greenhouse. It is possible you don't know the type of greenhouse you need or even how to decide on the type of greenhouse. Greenhouse design was revolutionised with the arrival of aluminium frames and the scarcity of pine. This article takes a brief look at the differences between metal and wooden greenhouses.

-- Wooden Greenhouses --

Wooden Greenhouses are the choice for the traditionalist and the expert gardener. They are commonly made from Canadian Western Red Cedar, which is renowned for it's exceptional long life outdoors as a result of it's effective rot resistance. Wooden greenhouses are the traditional style of greenhouse before the aluminium greenhouses and plastic greenhouses became more popular towards the end of the last century.

A timber greenhouse will obviously blend in naturally with your garden and will become an integral feature rather than something of an eyesore which you wish to hide away. Timber is also the choice of the expert gardener and it is generally agreed that it is the best material for a greenhouse. One of the main reasons is that the red cedar greenhouses are much better at maintaining a constant temperature than aluminium ones, which obviously leads to a healthier and more natural environment. An experienced gardener will know the benefit of having things to hand and a wooden frame will allow the gardener to easily fix hooks and shelves exactly where he wants them, so those all important greenhouse accessories are to hand. The wooden frame also makes it easier to fix an extra layer of insulation of plastic bubble sheeting, such severe weather conditions prevail.

The best time to add a protective coat to a timber frame is before winter sets in. Choose a good day in the late autumn and give the frame any attention it needs. Look for any wear and tear and treat it immediately. Most good timber frames come with a ten year gaurantee, but don't wait for 10 years before checking.

Wooden greenhouses are slightly more expensive than aluminium and plastic ones, but do offer more to the experienced gardener. Aluminium and plastic greenhouses are a better choice for the beginner before upgrading to a timber greenhouse.

-- Aluminium Greenhouses --

A major advantage of aluminium greenhouses is that they are relatively cheap and maintenance free. They are the best choice of greenhouse if your priority is low maintenance. However, you should be aware of the advantages of other types of greenhouse. For example, with wooden greenhouses it is easy to fix extra shelves and hookes, inside and out. Aluminium is certainly easier to maintain than a wooden greenhouse, but care should be taken to keep all structural components as clean as possible to deter pests and disease.Aluminium greenhouses are certainly the most popular at the moment and part of the attractiveness is the flat pack packaging and (relatively easy) self assembly. This helps keep the cost down and aluminium is the value for money choice of greenhouse.

Before erecting an aluminium greenhouse, there are certain considerations. Firstly you should decide upon the location of the greenhouse. Somewhere easily accessible during bad weather would be good. Observe areas of your garden during sunny days to see which parts get the most sunlight. Some protection from wind would be good, but not at the expense of blocking out light. Also, be aware of any stray footballs from next door !

If you're after a value for money and low maintenance greenhouse then aluminium is a good choice. You may lose some of the aesthetic qualities of a wooden greenhouse, but you do benefit from modern technology and design.

The Aluminium Wars - RUSAL and New Russian Economic Power

2008-02-12T02:50:00.003-08:00

Aluminium doesn't strike many people as an exciting or interesting metal but a new book "Mafia In Black" by Andrei Kalitin outlines a story that was to see the so called "aluminum wars" wage and claim over 100 lives.

From this turbulent period, RUSAL has emerged as a symbol of new Russian economic power.

Russia has emerged, not just as an economic force in Aluminium but is important to the world economy in terms of a whole host of commodities.

The Aluminium Wars

In the "aluminium wars" rivals fought for control of Russian smelters in the 1990's.Today, these days are long gone and the wars are over - but the emergence of RUSAL, has seen how high the stakes were.

There were of course winners and losers in the aluminium wars and this is covered in new book "Mafia in Black", by Andrei Katitin (recently he claimed he was shot in the shoulder by a gunman outside his apartment which he believes is linked to the book) "Mafia in Black" is a fascinating read, on a period of immense change in Russian society and the economy generally.

The Emergence of the Russian Oligarch On A Global Stage

The story of the "Aluminium wars" is of interest to many observers of Russian society, as it covers a period when the country was in a period of transition, into a free market economy from the old regulated Soviet economy.

A major question that many observers of Russia are interested in is - how did the mega rich Russians make their money?

This interest was heightened when one of Russia's richest men, walked into west London and bought Chelsea FC. Roman Abramovich, was a Russian oligarch who was at the time generally unknown in the west at the time but is now a household name.

He bailed out Chelsea football club to the tune of $140 million and has gone on to spend in excess of $500 million on the club - a huge sum but small change to Russia's second-richest man.

But how did he get it?

Through various businesses which grew during the turbulent period, that followed the collapse of the old Soviet Union. His move into the aluminium industry, was seen as the conclusion of the "Aluminium wars".

So why did 100 people die and why is there so much controversy about the period?

The stakes were high and a look at the Russian aluminum industry today, shows how high they were and what was at stake finacially. Today, the Russian Aluminium industry is consolidated in one company - referred to as Russian Aluminium or RUSAL.

The Emergence of RUSAL

The company is a true heavyweight in the aluminium industry. In Siberia it operates 5 huge aluminium smelters and two massive refineries -- but its influence now goes a lot further and it's now a global player.

RUSAL recently overtake Alcoa and Alcan as the largest aluminium producer in the world after merging with its nearest rival Sual.

The facts behind RUSAL, clearly show its importance in the world metal and aluminimum industry. RUSAL is the world's largest aluminium and alumina producer, with 12% of the world's aluminium market, 15% of the global production, has operations in 19 countries and employs around 100,000 people.

Russian Inc Goes Global

Oleg Deripaska, is Russia's undisputed aluminium king and Deripaska, is one of Russia's richest and most influential businessmen and is one of the Russian oligarchs who reflects the new economic power of Russia.

He has excellent connections to the current regime; he is related by marriage to former President Boris Yeltsin and is close to Vladimir Putin.

"The aluminium wars" were played out in a period where Russia was struggling to come to terms with the transition from the old Soviet style economy, to a new free market. Many observers in the west simply saw the Russia economy in a period of decline and corruption, which it would never recover from - but today, the perception of Russia is very different.

Russia Takes Its Place On the World Stage

Russia has huge natural reserves of a huge host of commodities and commodity prices are rising fast.

Putin has capitalized on booming oil and commodities prices as a means to recover Russia's lost status as a great power.

Russia is now being taken more seriously on both a political and economic level, than at anytime since the break up of the old Soviet regime.

It's importance in feeding the world with commodities, to fuel global economic growth and the emergence of RUSAL from the turbulent period of the "aluminimum wars" is a reflection of this.

Today, Russia has re gained its national pride and is able to take its place as a major economic force. Companies such as RUSAL, are a reflection of the momentous changes that have taken place in the Russian economy in recent years.

From the turbulent period of the "aluminium wars" featured in "Mafia in Black", to a major player in the world's commodity markets, Russia is back as a major force in the world economy.

How to Clean Wooden Venetian Blinds and Aluminium Venetian Blinds

2008-02-12T02:50:00.001-08:00

Wood Venetian Blinds: The best way to keep wooden venetian blinds clean is to dust them on a regular basis. As the surface of the slats are smooth it's a fairly easy job to wipe them down with a cloth or brush off the dust using a clean soft duster. Another good method is to use a vacuum cleaner with a brush attachment.

The only thing that is not recommended is to wash these blinds. By that I mean soaking them with water, because although these blinds are sealed, water and excessive dampness can cause the slats to warp. You can use a damp cloth to wipe them over, just be careful not to soak them.

Another handy tip is to put a pair of cotton gloves or even an old pair of socks onto your hands and wipe the slats between your fingers. You can also use a small paintbrush to dust the slats.

Aluminium Venetian Blinds: As with wooden venetian blinds it is best to dust this type of blind on a regular basis to avoid a large build up of dust. Again brush the dust off using a clean soft duster or a vacuum cleaner with a brush attachment.

Unlike the wooden blinds you can use water and some kind of detergent on aluminium venetian blinds. The best way to do this is to tilt the blinds so that the slats are flat. Then using a cloth or sponge with some water and some washing up liquid, wipe them over. Avoid being too aggressive and accidentally damaging the slats by bending them.

If the blinds are particularly dirty, for example if they are in the kitchen and have become greasy and very dusty over a period of time, you will need to take the blinds down to clean them.

This can be done in two ways. The first method is to take the blinds outside, weather permitting and hang them on a washing line or something similar. You will then need a bucket with warm soapy water and a sponge.

Wipe the blinds front and back with the sponge until you have got all the dirt off them, being careful not to scrub too hard and damage the slats. Once you have managed to get all the dirt off you can then hose the blinds down and leave them to dry. As they are nearly dry it is a good idea to wipe them with a soft cloth or paper towel to remove any excess water.

The second method is to fill the bathtub with enough warm soapy water to cover the blinds. Then place the blinds in the water and sponge them down until you have removed all the dirt. You can them rinse them off with a shower attachment or by just running the shower. If you bathtub is separate from the shower, fill the tub with enough clean water to rinse the blinds thoroughly. You will then need to take them outside, and as before hang them on the washing line to dry.

Shinkansen emu - World report

2008-02-11T03:08:00.001-08:00

Caption: A NEW 275km/h eight-car Shinkansen emu for JR East--the Series E2-1000--is undergoing tests in Japan. It will operate on the Tohoku Line, which will be extended 97km from Morioka to Hachinohe in 2002. It has two driving trailers and six motored cars, and can seat 630. Bodyshells are made of double-skin aluminium extrusions.

The train has a newly-designed pantograph, which reduces noise by employing new oval-shaped epoxy resin insulators with a surrounding noise shield.

India's third largest SAW pipe manufacturer boosts sales

2008-02-11T03:07:00.001-08:00

Rio Tinto Anglesey Aluminium Metal Eyes Future Power Supply

2008-02-08T02:51:00.003-08:00

Anglesey Aluminium Metal (AAM) Limited, the Holyhead based smelter, faces some very difficult choices over the next two to three years.

With the impending closure of Wylfa Power Station on Anglesey in 2010, the aluminium smelter urgently needs to secure an alternative supply of electricity.

The existing continuous 250 MW electricity baseload supply contract with Wylfa has been a long term one, so providing stability and certainty. With the closure of the Wylfa nuclear plant, that certainty framework disappears and AAM is urgently searching for a viable solution.

Jointly owned by Rio Tinto (51%) and US-based Kaiser Aluminium and Chemical Corporation (49%), Anglesey Aluminium Metal has been a major supplier of aluminium metal for extruding, rolling and re-smelting to UK and European markets since it started at Holyhead in 1971.

With over 500 highly paid posts at the plant, closure would be a severe blow to the local economy, which will need to readjust to the closure at Wylfa.

David Bloor, Anglesey Aluminium MD,reckons there are in effect four options on the table. Firstly, the smelter could negotiate and secure another long term (10-15 years) contract on the open electricity market as in the past. Mr Bloor, however, is not sanguine on prospects for such a deal because of the inherent risk in forward pricing.

Alternatively, AAM could opt for shorter term - say 2 yearly- contracts on the open market, but the question would be whether such terms could be secured as profitably as in the past.

If the above two possibilities are not feasible, the third choice would be to have on-site generating capacity. The company has commissioned feasibility studies into alternative energy sources on site, including building a biomass power station.

Providing a secure, dependable and steady supply of wood chips would require significant quantities of wood. There would also have to be consideration given to securing sufficient sources of supply and the lead times from felling, drying out and processing of the wood chips, not to mention the transport logistics.

If the above three options are not workable, the fourth option is simply to switch off the power and shut the gates. Such a scenario fills local people with gloom, but Mr Bloor said this possibility had to be considered. After all,the plant along with the jetty in Holyhead harbour, has been an icon of the town's industrial base since its introduction in 1971.

Just consider that while this Rio Tinto Kaiser smelter has doubled its production to over 140,000 tonnes since it started in 1971, it has also achieved remarkable results on its carbon emission targets. Against a Kyoto target of a 12.5% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2012, the company has cut its carbon equivalent emissions by more than 50% since 1990.

And its amazing to reflect on such an outstanding achievement in a relatively energy intensive industry in the week that G8 leaders gather in Germany to discuss a post-Kyoto (2012) framework with tougher greenhouse gas emission targets. In fact, Angela Merkel, German Chancellor and current G8 President, has suggested an ambitious plan of 50% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050.

It is ironic that closure is considered a possibility as globally we have seen a surge in demand for aluminium along with other industrial metals such as copper, zinc and iron. With no apparent let-up in demand from China, India and other emerging markets, this seems a good time to be producing aluminium.

Indeed, GFMS Metals Consulting notes that global primary aluminium in April 2007 climbed to 3 million tonnes, a 12% riseover 12 months, and European demand also seems to be holding up well.

Mr Bloor believes that so long as the relationship between aluminium and electricity prices translates into a profit, even a small one, then the Holyhead plant will continue going forward.

His ideal scenario is for Wylfa B to be given the green light and for a similar partnership deal as before to be struck with the new nuclear generator.

So let's hope the recent Energy White Paper and nuclear consultation lead to a favourable climate for new nuclear build. We can then expect energy giants like E.ON and EDF Energy to be fighting for the contract to design, build and operate Wylfa B, and Rio Tinto Anglesey Aluminium will have another lease of life.

Aluminium Die Casting

2008-02-08T02:51:00.001-08:00

Aluminium is the choice metal for making light weight parts of vehicles, aerospace and transport industries. Casting of liquid aluminium alloys into metal moulds utilizing systems like gravity, low pressure and high pressure die casting is an economical way of making difficult shapes which need minimum machining. Australia’s auto industry supports a large local die casting business, manufacturing parts that include cylinders, pistons and engine sumps etc.

Rising demand in world auto market for aluminium die cast parts is producing great opportunity and challenge for Australian business which wants to emerge as a global player. By setting partnerships between Nissan and Ford, CAST has developed and produced new and latest technology that has been benefiting our partner’s products. In turn these skills have created IP that is poised on the verge of commercialization.

To increase production of high pressure die casting by lessening its time cycle by 30%. The cycle time has been reduced by more than 20% on certain parts at two industry partner plants. The project involves identifying places where cycle time may be reduced, and doing it practically to prove the findings of research. This made it essential to involve shop floor staff to implement the changes needed in systems. These trails are generally in variation with day to day production and due to true co-operation of shop floor staff it become possible to achieve targets.

The third year of project has seen the true spirit of co-operation between researches and industrial partners in which latest research results got through simulated trails have been done practically on shop floor with help and support of Ford and Nissan staff. The changes once tested during trials have been incorporated in production systems giving benefits of reduced costs by reducing time of each part manufactured. An example of reduced time achieved is at Nissan on a gearbox side cover made in twin cavity die has given successful results after many months; from an initial cycle time of 75 seconds down to 60 seconds. While research at Ford on a changer housing casting, has been successfully implemented by lessening cycle time from 90 seconds to 74 seconds.

In future the reduction of time cycle will be tried for other parts as well.

Automatic fault detection in aluminium die casting:
This involves developing a system to detect surface and sub surface defects.

A fully automatic fault detecting machine named CAST vision has been produced and a prototype process is in place for extended in-plant on-line trials. This is the third year of this project and it is giving good results. The result of algorithm which was designed and developed in 2nd year has been put to test now. By prototyping the CAST team had designed and developed a working system CAST vision. This can discriminate between good and defective parts.

The prototype system has capacity to detect blocked holes on any of holes on this complex casting. Offline processes have also been readied which will detect hot tears and cold shuts on Ford’s structural sump casting.

Work at Nissan on their pump cover casting has led to a CAST vision type process for in-line fault detection. The process can take images and find certain types of defects on the surface part. This project has shown that advances in mechanical vision applied for finding faults of aluminium castings can be converted from project stage to a working prototype successfully. The next stage is take concepts from single stage to multistage processes capable to handle more complex shapes and surfaces. This result will become a strong contender for future commercialization.

The Zinc-Aluminium Die Casting Alloys

2008-02-06T05:23:00.000-08:00

New high performing zinc-aluminium ZA casting alloys (ZA-8, ZA-12, ZA-27) give superior mechanical properties which designers can apply utilizing die casting technology. In general the ZA alloys are stronger, harder and offer more creep resistance than standard zinc alloys and can be used where bearing properties are important.

Aluminium alloys with 0.5-0.9% Fe content have largely replaced 1350 EC alloy for making electrical circuits because the latter continuously suffered from gradual loosening at terminals, which led to overheating. This problem has been totally removed in new conductor alloys without sacrifice of conductivity.

To get economic benefit of weight advantage of aluminium wire should be capable of attaching securely to standard fixtures without special handling techniques. But EC wire on binding screw terminals tightened to a standard torque may become loose, when the wire heats due to being overloaded. The wire gets expanded more than the Cu-alloy fixture and creeps to relax the added stress.

On getting cool it contracts to a smaller dimension, whereby the area of contact is reduced and it permits oxide to form at interface. On a subsequent current overflow, the overheating increases which leads to further loosening of wire. EC wire annealed for adequate bend ability gets sub structurally loosened at 200°C and ultimately fails due to repetitions of these cycles.

The new alloys (800 series) of 0.5-0.9% Fe have much better microstructural stability and creep resistance and, therefore, they are not prone to these failures.

While annealed to the same ductility or bend ability, the high Fe alloys are double strong. This capability has been established by practical field use of many years in USA, Europe and South Africa after these alloys were introduced in 1968.

Better and latest alloys which not only provide high integrity to terminations but are suitable for magnet wire after normal hot annealing have been made after adding a third alloy to improve its performance examples are 0.5% Fe with 0.5% Co and 0.5% Fe with 0.2-0.4% Si.

Processing and microstructure:
In continuous casting a bar of 50cm2 is made at 16 m/min on a 2.5m diameter copper wheel. The quick solidification results in a 20 μm dendrite arm spacing and eutectic red cpacing of about 0.2 μm with a supersaturation of about 0.1% Fe. These very fine particles play a significant role in giving stability to substructure while being incapable of nucleating crystallization.

The presence of sub grains has been known in hot worked aluminiums but without quantitative determinations of the dimensions or the effects on properties. As the temperature rises from 200-450°C, the cold yield strength of the hot worked product decreases greatly from the strengthening made by 97.5% cold rolling.

As has been seen in many hot worked metals, the yield strength is inversely proportional to sub grain diameter. Because the temperature is less and strain rate is high in a given pass than those in the previous one, substructure “inherited” from i.e., carried forward from, the latter is altered by dislocations to the existing walls to raise their density and by formation of new walls to subdivide the sub grains lessening their size.

Melting & Recovery Of Aluminium Drink Cans, Swarf, & Bottle Tops

2008-02-06T05:22:00.000-08:00

When the novice hobby metal caster first thinks about melting metal, the immediate thought is to collect a big box of Al bottle tops and Al drink cans to melt. The most likely reason for this is that the material is relatively easy to collect and handle, and the thinking behind the idea is that because of its lightweight it should melt quite readily.

Then why is it so difficult to melt & reclaim aluminium drink cans, bottle tops & swarf in a hobby gas fired crucible furnace?

To melt & reclaim light weight scrap aluminium requires the use of some specialised equipment. Most commercial scrap metal recovery foundries use what is known as a rotary type melting furnace. This type of furnace is designed in such a way that the flame actually strikes the rotating furnace lining, and the heat spreads quickly around the furnace walls, which absorb the heat. As the furnace rotates, the heat is also taken up or absorbed by the scrap metal.

It is essential to melt the metal under a cover of MOLTEN FLUX, otherwise very heavy metal oxidation results and subsequently very little metal is actually recovered.

As each piece of small swarf or chip melts, it forms a globule of liquid metal surrounded by a shell of oxide. The skin tension of this oxidant around the globule prevents coalescence, i.e. (to grow together) and because of the large surface area presented by the mass of globules, with the increase of oxide formation loss of yield is bound to take place.

The skin of the oxide on the molten globule has to be "ruptured" in order to allow coalescence, i.e. to allow the clusters of globules to actually join together in their molten state.

A molten flux encourages coalescence by chemical action.

While the rotation of the furnace provides a mechanical action. The special fluxes; coveral 48 & 57 provide the chemical action, they are the best type of fluxes to use when melting Al metal in the region of 590 to 600 C. (Coveral 48 & 57 products are copyright Foseco Pty Ltd)

This flux may or may not provide similar results when used in a normal crucible gas fired furnace, but the yield loss will still be considerable.

The hobby foundry worker would be better off directing his energy towards collecting easier to source, better quality scrap to melt, such as discarded cylinder heads, inlet manifold castings, auto pistons, etc. Or if the budget stretches that far, purchase commercially produced ingots, which are of a known quality. Commercial ingots will provide top quality metal right from the word go.

Trying to melt lightweight Al drink cans and bottle tops is generally a waste of time for the hobby worker, unless you use the fluxes mentioned above, and use the correct furnace. Otherwise a lot of gas will be wasted heating the hobby crucible furnace for very little gain in metal yield.

Cricket: Harmison wicketless but Breese leaves Notts in a tangle

2008-02-05T06:23:00.000-08:00

Steve Harmison failed to take a wicket in his 15 overs at Trent Bridge, but Durham's slim hopes of victory over Nottinghamshire were boosted after a flurry of late wickets in their First Division match in the Liverpool Victoria County Championship.

Durham's first innings was finally concluded when they declared on 404 for 8 on the third day, with Ottis Gibson stranded one run short of his half-century. The hosts' batsmen scored at around four an over in their attempt to force a result, with Harmison bowling his first overs in the competition as he steps up his recovery from a shin injury.

Jason Gallian's 112 meant the hosts reached 255 for 6, 149 runs behind with a day remaining. Gareth Breese took 4 for 77 off 20 overs.

In the Second Division, the spinners Ian Salisbury and Nayan Doshi took six wickets between them as Surrey looked to seize an advantage against Worcestershire at the the Oval.

Resuming on 55 without loss on the third day, the visitors reached 314 for 6 by stumps after half-centuries from Phil Jaques and Stephen Moore. Worcestershire were still 187 runs behind Surrey's first-innings total, with a draw most likely.

It was a similar story at Derbyshire, where Leicestershire reached 137 for 4 in their first-innings reply. The hosts declared on 401 for 6 and then reduced Leicestershire to 49 for 4, but John Sadler struck an unbeaten half-century, and they trail by 264 runs.

German doctor suspected of killing more than 250 of her patients

2008-02-05T06:20:00.000-08:00

A GERMAN doctor who is facing manslaughter charges for killing eight of her patients is suspected of systematically inducing the deaths of hundreds of others in her care on a scale beyond the British mass murderer Dr Harold Shipman.

State prosecutors in Hanover said yesterday they were widening their investigation into Dr Mechthild Bach, aged 54, a physician at the city's Parcelus cancer clinic, who was charged last month with the manslaughter of eight of her patients with massive doses of morphine.

Dr Bach has denied the charges, and says she "accompanied people into death", but only after consultations with the patient and their family.

A spokesman for the prosecutors confirmed that the relatives of a further five of Dr Bach's patients who had died while in her care had asked for the deaths to be fully investigated. "The relatives are concerned that there was something odd about the treatment. Some of the cases go back to the 1990s," the spokesman said.

Dr Bach was suspended from duty after a routine audit at the hospital revealed above average orders for morphine and an unusually high death rate among her patients.

She has begun a lawsuit contesting her suspension.

German health insurance officials who looked at medical files from Dr Bach's clinic said they were shocked by the high number of deaths, and demanded action. "The contents of the files gave me goose pimples," admitted one official at the time. A state prosecutor's investigation led to Dr Bach being arrested a fortnight ago. Dr Bach insists she was relieving the pain of patients who were dying anyway.

However, state prosecutors are now concerned that during her 20- year career at the Parcelus clinic Dr Bach may have killed hundreds more patients with massive doses of morphine and the tranquilliser valium. They say that between January 2000 and June last year 251 patients died while under her care.

One case drawn to the attention of the investigators involved 63- year- old Christa Dudel, who was referred to Dr Bach's clinic in May 2001 suffering from shingles. As she was fit enough to walk, her adult children were confident that she would fully recuperate. Fourteen days later Mrs Dudel was dead. Dr Bach had diagnosed her complaint as water on the lung and had injected her with lethal doses of morphine, allegedly to alleviate her suffering, without consulting her relatives. After her death her children said: "None of us spoke to Dr Bach, none of us knew what she had been given and none of us had given permission for any treatment."

A 52-year-old man suffering from throat cancer died 16 days after being admitted to Dr Bach's clinic. After the patient complained of chest pains, Dr Bach allegedly administered four 20mg morphine injections daily and took him off all other cancer combating drugs.

Investigators later described the morphine dosage as "terminal sedation" and noted that the patient could have lived for "months, perhaps longer - even without chemo or radio therapy." Dr Bach claimed that her patient had complained of breathing difficulties and that as his condition had continued to deteriorate, she had decided to offer him the chance of "dying in dignity".

Hitachi attacks European train market - InnoTrans Report

2008-01-31T02:36:00.000-08:00

HITACHI, Japan's only total systems integrator for railway systems and services, is making a determined bid to break into the European market, first for trains but also with ambitions to supply traffic management and signalling systems, communications, and maintenance facilities.

Hitachi presented the A-Train, which it is promoting in Europe, as responding to growing demands for a safe, environmentally-friendly train that is quieter, more comfortable, and more cost-effective than conventional systems. The company is focusing its campaign on Britain, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy.

Special features of the A-Train include a frameless aluminium double-skin body, a self-supported interior module, and a mounting rail with an extrusion structure to form a single unit, enabling a much simpler fastening of the module to the mounting rail. The body is 30% lighter than an equivalent stainless steel body.

Friction stir welding is used to produce a high-precision car body that is sleeker in appearance than conventional trains. Friction stir welding is used instead of fusion welding as recommended in the Uff Cullen Report on the inquiry into the Ladbroke Grove rail tragedy in Britain.

According to Mr Takazumi Ishizu, managing officer of Hitachi's transport systems division, the modular concept approach enables shorter production lead times, easier refurbishment, and better residual values, "It is also superior to conventional trains in terms of recyclability due to the use of aluminium and its module-to-mounting rail structure, which can easily be dismantled," he said.

Hydro Aluminium to construct automotive components plant in China

2008-01-31T02:32:00.000-08:00

Hydro will build the plant in Suzhou, north of Shanghai, to satisfy its automotive customers and further raise its own profile as the leading global supplier of lightweight precision tubing components. Global market leaders in heat and fluid transfer like Behr, Calsonic, Delphi, Denso, Valeo and Visteon are each located in the regions close to the Suzhou Industrial Park site, where the plant will be based.

At the new site, Hydro will produce precision drawn tubing, multi- port extrusions (MPEs) and extruded tubular profiles used in automotive heat transfer applications. The company will also deliver other high-value components from the plant.

Hydro will break ground in the first quarter of 2004 and install the plant's extrusion press by July. Production is scheduled to start in the third quarter of next year. The plant will create about 140 new jobs in Suzhou in first phase (2004).

Cultural totem pole: Raimund Abraham's micro-skyscraper makes the most of a tight site amid the colossal jungle of midtown Manhattan - Austrian Cultur

2008-01-30T02:43:00.002-08:00

Can a new tower rising only 20 storeys plus mechanical gear truly be considered an iconic Manhattan skyscraper? Inaugurated in April after a lengthy facilitation and construction process, the Austrian Cultural Forum nevertheless achieves an extraordinary totemic presence on East 52nd Street close to the Olympic and Trump Towers, the Seagram and Lever Buildings and the Museum of Modern Art. Its lot is a mere 7.6m across. The rear of the building is a vertical metal extrusion containing scissor stairs, indented at successive ceiling levels. However the Forum's southerly facade, above 52nd Street and glimpsed from both Fifth and Madison Avenues, is a sheer surface of glass, steel and aluminium tilting back to opaque shards 85m above.

It might risk oversimplification to draw an analogy between the building's extreme dimensional ambition and the ambition shown by its client -- Austria's Ministry for Foreign Affairs -- in commissioning such an eye-catching edifice for the promulgation of contemporary Austrian culture, Imagine if Missouri, say, or Oregon, were to envisage a similar project for London or Berlin. Certainly the design by Raimund Abraham, won through competition in 1992, is a bravura architectural statement. Abraham, an Austrian who has lived in the United States since the 1960s, is better known for his drawings than for built work: drawings in which graphic construction and suggestions of physical construction create strangely enigmatic surfaces.

Like previous Abraham designs, the Austrian Cultural Forum plays games with symmetry, that bugbear for many Modernists but in Abraham's world the instigator of a certain planar monumentality. Occasionally fragmented in section, but splayed to a constant angle, the facade onto 52nd Street has an implied central spine: a V-shaped cavity towards the top encloses a roof terrace, or loggia, that looks out across the city. A protruding box just six storeys up is marked by its unique T-shaped viewing slot. With glazed flanks to direct peripheral views towards both avenues, this is the Forum director's office. If Abraham appears obsessed by geometric artefacts, his architecture also draws its users into an intriguing sense of ritual.

Protected from what could be torrents of rainwater by a transparent cantilevered canopy like a glass blade, one enters to find a coolly elegant bluestone floor. The interior -- from basement gallery up via floating mezzanines through the lobby to an enclosed double-storey theatre -- is surprisingly spacious. The visitor is invited to explore, drawn by light and by complex views. Not unlike the Museum of American Folk Art (AR February 2002) just a block away, this entire zone is an inhabited void or cave in Manhattan's concrete jungle. But Abraham's architecture is more mechanistic than that of Tod Williams and Billie Tsien.

A skylight in a modest return section offers a dramatic view up against the zigzag stairs module. Is there an echo here of motifs in London's nascent High-Tech and the Viennese avant-gardes of three decades ago? In fact, this spiralling backbone is the result of New York regulations that require two separate means of escape: Abraham simply stacked one stair system above the other. Vertical circulation is primarily via lifts just inboard from these stairs, in a bull-nosed service tower sheathed in stainless steel. The palette of shiny metal and glass (for interior walls and balustrades) intensifies the mechanistic allusion.

Above the cafe is the wood-lined theatre, an intimate haven for music and drama, lectures and film projection. Its piece de resistance is the pneumatic platform that can raise a grand piano out of sight, flush into the ceiling. Above the theatre is a library on two levels connected by an open internal stair. As on upper floors, robust cross-bracing in grey-painted tubular steel is exposed like a diaphragm canted parallel to the external glass shards.

Above a 'loft-like' seminar room, the director's office is in turn topped by three floors of offices subdivided by generously glazed partitions. The furniture, all Austrian, some by Abraham, tends to the monochromatic and geometric. As this mini skyscraper ascends, it tapers so that floor areas become ever smaller. Several floors are dedicated to apartments and to technical services. Then, with increasingly tight plans, the director's private apartment occupies four storeys, with its own beautiful timber-skinned spiral staircase stretching up towards the loggia.

The intent of this radically rehoused institution (it previously occupied a townhouse on the same site) is distinct from the privately funded Neue Galerie newly opened on East 86th Street and resplendent with Klimts and Schieles and the work of the Wiener Werkstatte. The Forum is signalled by powerful abstraction. At rooftop level, a cylindrical water tower assumes a symmetrical position enthroned behind the upper street facade. Unlike the cheap stucco tiaras attached to so many New York buildings, these planes tip forward to facilitate the Forum's window-cleaning equipment: a very Austrian conflation of the matter-of-fact and the super-formal.

18 Million Euro Investment for Pechiney Aluminium Presswerk

2008-01-30T02:43:00.001-08:00

Pechiney P.A.P. (Pechiney Aluminium Presswerk), a German subsidiary of the Pechiney Group (NYSE: PY), specializing in aluminum profiles extrusion for the transport industry and construction markets, has announced a EUR 18 million investment in a new press, mainly intended for automotive applications.

P.A.P. is one of the leaders on the German profiles market with annual production of 45,000 metric tons through four presses on three production sites (Crailsheim, Landau and Burg). The aluminum profiles market is experiencing fast growth, especially in the automotive sector as their use in several functions (body, suspension systems, fittings, etc.) enables manufacturers to reduce vehicle weight, leading to lower fuel consumption and therefore less greenhouse gas emissions.

The new 4,000 - 5,000 ton press, will add 12,000 tons in annual production capacity and will be particularly adapted to the profile specificities required by the automotive industry. It will come on stream in the fourth quarter of 2002 and will employ approximately 60 people when operating at full capacity.

Pechiney, the world's fourth-largest aluminum producer, achieved sales of EUR 400 million in the automotive sector in 2000 for total production of 185,000 metric tons. Over the past five years, a EUR 60 million R&D budget has been earmarked for this sector. Supported by Pechiney Automotive, a structure dedicated to the motor vehicle industry, the Pechiney Group provides major European constructors (such as PSA Peugeot-Citroen, Audi, Renault and Daimler Chrysler) and major OEM with unmatched expertise in casting alloys, profiles and rolled products. These products have applications in every kind of vehicle and part (hoods, wheels, doors, cylinder heads, engine blocks, etc.).

Pechiney is an international manufacturer with core businesses in primary aluminum, aluminum fabricated products and high value-added packaging. Pechiney, which reported sales of 10.7 billion euros (approximately US $12 billion) in 2000, also manufactures ferroalloys and operates an international trade business. Its shares are traded on the Paris Stock Exchange; its ADRs are traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

Divide and rule

2008-01-29T06:02:00.000-08:00

Synergy wall solutions from the Stanton Group offers stylish and flexible partitions, which can be specified to meet acoustic and privacy performance criteria.

Available from specialist interiors company Stanton Group is the wall solutions range, Synergy. The system is a range of aluminium extrusions that coordinate with glass and drywall to create frameless/minimalist walling solutions.

Based on a series of architectural aluminium profiles, which form a high performance partitioning solution, Synergy profiles are designed to offer creativity and practicality, avoiding the heavy sections that typify partitioning products.

The system offers single and double glazed aesthetics with options for various finishes and performance criteria such as acoustics and privacy. The single and double glazed office fronts, used in conjunction with Synergy advanced drywall, steel or laminate faced panels as dividing walls, offers a product range which, the makers say, is minimal yet flexible.

Hydro acquires Ellay Enfield to complete its Heat Transfer product range

2008-01-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

India's third largest SAW pipe manufacturer boosts sales

2008-01-25T05:51:00.002-08:00

Man Industries (India) Ltd, India's third largest SAW pipe manufacturer and also the largest manfucturer-exporter of aluminium extrusions in the country, has registered a growth in sales and profits for the year ended March 31, 2004.

According to News Today, sales at Rs 502 crore, have registered a growth of 83 per cent over the Rs 274 crore recorded in the previous year.
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Operating profit before depreciation, interest and tax for the year at Rs 75.41 crore rose by 103 per cent over the previous year.

Shinkansen emu - World report

2008-01-25T05:51:00.001-08:00

Market Report: Investors pile into Caradon on talk of major disposals

2008-01-18T05:33:00.000-08:00

THE BUILDING materials group Caradon was as solid as cement in the face of a crumbling market amid talk of imminent disposals. The midcapper firmed 3.5p to 170.5p in fairly chunky volume of 5.1 million shares as a number of buyers donned their hard hats and piled into the stock.

The whispers coming from the City's buildings - many of which are equipped with Caradon's kit - suggest that the group is lining up a major disposal.

Under chief executive Jurgen Hintz, the one-time struggler has already sold off some pounds 200m-worth of non-core businesses and market watchers believe there is more to come. At present, the company operates in four areas - plumbing, electrical, security printing and aluminium extrusions - but rumours are that a couple of these divisions could go.

Followers of the stock said that the successful security printing unit is likely to stay but the remaining three could all be sold at the right price. The proceeds of any sale could then be used to tidy up the balance sheet and to finance the expansion of the other divisions.

Mr Hinz has been given an added incentive to act quickly to boost the share price by the arrival on its share register of the aggressive investor UK Active Value. The fund manager, run by the feared South African duo of Brian Myerson and Julian Treger, has recently bought a 3.5 per cent stake in Caradon and is certain to try to engineer a takeover if the share price does not improve.

The overall market had a miserable day, as profit-taking, weaknesses in heavyweight sectors and fears of a rate hike depressed sentiment.

The FTSE 100 finished 48.2 lower at 6,694, after having been as much as 85 points down. Macro and micro issues were behind the leading index's slide. On the macro side, there is a creeping fear that Thursday's Bank of England meeting could bring a pre-Christmas rate rise.

And on the micro side, a slump in the pharmaceuticals sector took more than 40 points off the index. The drug stocks rout was started by the US fund manager Cowen, which issued a sweeping sector downgrade.

The bearish note pushed SmithKline Beecham 61.5p lower to 822p and Glaxo Wellcome 48p lower to 1,828p. Rival AstraZeneca, down a hefty 208p to 2,522p, compounded the misery with a poorly-received research & development update.

Some of the rampant hi-tech stocks took a bit of a breather as Nasdaq had a lacklustre start. Sema dropped 96.5p to 1,201p, while Misys fell 58.5p to 816p. Rumours of corporate action propped up some of the rising blue chips such as Allied Domecq, up 15.5p to 325.5p, on rehashed whispers of a strike from a rival drinks group.

Cable group Telewest soared in early trading and was forced to admit it was in merger talks with TV producer Flextech. However, after the announcement both stocks pared their gains, with Telewest ending just 12p higher to 351.25p and Flextech rising 182.5p to 1,532.5p.

Telecoms were once again flavour of the day. Vodafone Airtouch jumped 13p to 318.75p on whispers that German fund managers are warming to its bid for Mannesmann.

BT, 47p higher to 1,459.5p, and Colt, up 52p at 2,505p, were excited by news that US giant AT&T will split off its wireless business. Cable & Wireless surged 20.5p to 898p on reports that its Australian subsidiary is to link up with Richard Branson's Virgin.

Takeover talk pushed mining group Billiton 12.25p higher to 323.75p, while whispers of contract wins sent British Aerospace 5.75p higher to 409p in big volume. Caterer Compass Group dished out a 23.5p rise to 753.5p on optimism on Thursday's interims. Bass frothed 18p higher to 699p amid rumours of a bullish trading statement with tomorrow's finals. But publisher Reed dropped 6p to 386.75p ahead of Thursday's trading statement, and retailer Kingfisher fell 37p to 555p on worries about tomorrow's update.

The midcap was also in depressed mood, falling 16.6 to 6,309.4 despite a welter of bids, real and imagined. Investment vehicle Wassall climbed 52p to a yearly peak of 332.5p after unveiling a bid approach, possibly from US conglomerate Cooper Industries. Personal finance portal eXchange Holdings surged 44p to a best-ever 316.5p on talk of a large deal, while bombed-out engineer Senior bashed 7.5p higher to 77.5p on vague bid speculation.

Retailers were mixed. Discount chain Matalan jumped 97.5p to 1,435p after a positive trading update, while New Look rose 7.5p to 128p on renewed bid talk. Storehouse was flat at 53p in big volume amid the usual break- up rumours, while Somerfield dropped 1p to 82p despite whispers of a lively auction for its stores and Arcadia fell 8p to an 86p low on fears of worsening trading.

Car hire group Avis Europe crashed 24p to 205p - a 12-month low - amid whispers of tough trading, while bus group Go-Ahead reversed 52.5p to a yearly nadir of 502.5p on its imminent ejection from the FTSE 250.

The Small Cap bucked the dull trend with a 12.4 rise to a best- ever 2,944 as retail investors continued to pile into several stocks. Hardware tiddler Tadpole Technology buzzed 12.25p higher to 61p on rumours that a deal with a large European group is close.

Cure Your Yeast Infection - Safely and Naturally!

2008-01-11T01:49:00.000-08:00

Yeast infection or candidiasis is quite a common discomfort suffered by thousands of people everywhere, and due to their intimate secret, mostly suffered in silence! It is therefore important to find natural and safe methods to both alleviate and discontinue its reign over the silent multitude. Common causes of yeast infection include:
1) Antibiotics and their over-use
2) Birth control pills (presumably)
3) Hormonal changes
4) Chlorine in drinking water
5) High levels of iron, lead, mercury and aluminium
6) Anti-inflammatory drugs, and many more!

So, in essence, to cure your yeast infection you should focus on:
1) Avoiding unnecessary antibiotic medication
2) Filtering your drinking water
3) Avoiding tight fitting clothes (to ensure proper aeration)
4) Not taking birth control pills (if at all possible).

In general, one should focus on good personal hygiene and avoid douching at all times - the vagina self-cleans, thereby making douching unnecessary. Douching actually upsets the delicate balance between good and bad bacteria in the vaginal ecosystem and can be really harmful. Also, do not wipe from back to front after going to the toilet, as yeast and bacteria generaly occur in the intestine, and therefore might be transferred to the vaginal area.

Remember: yeast occurs naturally in any healthy vagina, but might increase due to changes in acidity and other common causes as mentioned before. Strictly avoid taking antibiotics to cure your yeast infection, especially if it needs to be applied to the vaginal area directly, as these will most assuredly diminish your prevalent yeast cultures totally! The idea is to cure the condition and the cause as safely and naturally as possible.

Rio Tinto Anglesey Aluminium Metal Eyes Future Power Supply

2008-01-03T00:35:00.003-08:00

Aluminium Die Casting

2008-01-03T00:35:00.001-08:00

Aluminium is the choice metal for making light weight parts of vehicles, aerospace and transport industries. Casting of liquid aluminium alloys into metal moulds utilizing systems like gravity, low pressure and high pressure die casting is an economical way of making difficult shapes which need minimum machining. Australia’s auto industry supports a large local die casting business, manufacturing parts that include cylinders, pistons and engine sumps etc.

Rising demand in world auto market for aluminium die cast parts is producing great opportunity and challenge for Australian business which wants to emerge as a global player. By setting partnerships between Nissan and Ford, CAST has developed and produced new and latest technology that has been benefiting our partner’s products. In turn these skills have created IP that is poised on the verge of commercialization.

To increase production of high pressure die casting by lessening its time cycle by 30%. The cycle time has been reduced by more than 20% on certain parts at two industry partner plants. The project involves identifying places where cycle time may be reduced, and doing it practically to prove the findings of research. This made it essential to involve shop floor staff to implement the changes needed in systems. These trails are generally in variation with day to day production and due to true co-operation of shop floor staff it become possible to achieve targets.

The third year of project has seen the true spirit of co-operation between researches and industrial partners in which latest research results got through simulated trails have been done practically on shop floor with help and support of Ford and Nissan staff. The changes once tested during trials have been incorporated in production systems giving benefits of reduced costs by reducing time of each part manufactured. An example of reduced time achieved is at Nissan on a gearbox side cover made in twin cavity die has given successful results after many months; from an initial cycle time of 75 seconds down to 60 seconds. While research at Ford on a changer housing casting, has been successfully implemented by lessening cycle time from 90 seconds to 74 seconds.

In future the reduction of time cycle will be tried for other parts as well.

Automatic fault detection in aluminium die casting:
This involves developing a system to detect surface and sub surface defects.

A fully automatic fault detecting machine named CAST vision has been produced and a prototype process is in place for extended in-plant on-line trials. This is the third year of this project and it is giving good results. The result of algorithm which was designed and developed in 2nd year has been put to test now. By prototyping the CAST team had designed and developed a working system CAST vision. This can discriminate between good and defective parts.

The prototype system has capacity to detect blocked holes on any of holes on this complex casting. Offline processes have also been readied which will detect hot tears and cold shuts on Ford’s structural sump casting.

Work at Nissan on their pump cover casting has led to a CAST vision type process for in-line fault detection. The process can take images and find certain types of defects on the surface part. This project has shown that advances in mechanical vision applied for finding faults of aluminium castings can be converted from project stage to a working prototype successfully. The next stage is take concepts from single stage to multistage processes capable to handle more complex shapes and surfaces. This result will become a strong contender for future commercialization.

The Zinc-Aluminium Die Casting Alloys

2008-01-02T05:29:00.000-08:00

Melting & Recovery Of Aluminium Drink Cans, Swarf, & Bottle Tops

2008-01-02T05:28:00.000-08:00

Aluminium Die Casting

2008-01-01T07:11:00.000-08:00

Aluminium is the choice metal for making light weight parts of vehicles, aerospace and transport industries. Casting of liquid aluminium alloys into metal moulds utilizing systems like gravity, low pressure and high pressure die casting is an economical way of making difficult shapes which need minimum machining. Australia’s auto industry supports a large local die casting business, manufacturing parts that include cylinders, pistons and engine sumps etc.

Rising demand in world auto market for aluminium die cast parts is producing great opportunity and challenge for Australian business which wants to emerge as a global player. By setting partnerships between Nissan and Ford, CAST has developed and produced new and latest technology that has been benefiting our partner’s products. In turn these skills have created IP that is poised on the verge of commercialization.

To increase production of high pressure die casting by lessening its time cycle by 30%. The cycle time has been reduced by more than 20% on certain parts at two industry partner plants. The project involves identifying places where cycle time may be reduced, and doing it practically to prove the findings of research. This made it essential to involve shop floor staff to implement the changes needed in systems. These trails are generally in variation with day to day production and due to true co-operation of shop floor staff it become possible to achieve targets.

The third year of project has seen the true spirit of co-operation between researches and industrial partners in which latest research results got through simulated trails have been done practically on shop floor with help and support of Ford and Nissan staff. The changes once tested during trials have been incorporated in production systems giving benefits of reduced costs by reducing time of each part manufactured. An example of reduced time achieved is at Nissan on a gearbox side cover made in twin cavity die has given successful results after many months; from an initial cycle time of 75 seconds down to 60 seconds. While research at Ford on a changer housing casting, has been successfully implemented by lessening cycle time from 90 seconds to 74 seconds.

In future the reduction of time cycle will be tried for other parts as well.

Automatic fault detection in aluminium die casting:
This involves developing a system to detect surface and sub surface defects.

A fully automatic fault detecting machine named CAST vision has been produced and a prototype process is in place for extended in-plant on-line trials. This is the third year of this project and it is giving good results. The result of algorithm which was designed and developed in 2nd year has been put to test now. By prototyping the CAST team had designed and developed a working system CAST vision. This can discriminate between good and defective parts.

The prototype system has capacity to detect blocked holes on any of holes on this complex casting. Offline processes have also been readied which will detect hot tears and cold shuts on Ford’s structural sump casting.

Work at Nissan on their pump cover casting has led to a CAST vision type process for in-line fault detection. The process can take images and find certain types of defects on the surface part. This project has shown that advances in mechanical vision applied for finding faults of aluminium castings can be converted from project stage to a working prototype successfully. The next stage is take concepts from single stage to multistage processes capable to handle more complex shapes and surfaces. This result will become a strong contender for future commercialization.

Melting & Recovery Of Aluminium Drink Cans, Swarf, & Bottle Tops

2008-01-01T07:10:00.000-08:00

Alcoa to Acquire British Aluminium Businesses

2007-12-27T04:41:00.002-08:00

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) and Luxfer Holdings plc announced today that they have reached an agreement under which Alcoa will acquire the aluminum plate, sheet and soft-alloy extrusion manufacturing operations and distribution businesses of British Aluminium Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Luxfer.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The manufacturing operations are located in England and Wales and the distribution businesses, operating under the names Aluminium Supply Aerospace and Baco Metal Centres, are located in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Also included in the purchase is the British Aluminium sales office in St. Louis, Missouri. Operations based in the UK will become part of the Alcoa Europe business unit.

These businesses generated approximately 220 million pounds sterling (US$360 million) in revenue in 1999 and have about 1550 employees.

The transaction is subject to clearance by antitrust authorities in Europe. Alcoa indicated that it would submit its application for clearance in September. The transaction does not require U.S. regulatory approval.

Ricardo E. Belda, Alcoa vice president and president Alcoa Europe, commented, "The acquisition of the British Aluminium businesses further demonstrates Alcoa's commitment to the European markets. In particular, this transaction will enable us to offer an extensive line of Alcoa products to the aerospace and plate customers from these European-based facilities."

Ian McKinnon, Luxfer's Chief Executive, noted, "This represents an important milestone for the Luxfer Group. Although we have made five acquisitions and divested of two small operations, this sale represents the first major reshaping of the Group since it was formed in 1996. It will provide Luxfer with funds to reinvest in its retained businesses, which are strong businesses with many growth opportunities."

Other British Aluminium manufacturing operations -- for aluminum tube products and hard-alloy extrusions, as well as Luxfer Gas Cylinders, Superform Aluminium, Magnesium Elektron and MEL Chemicals -- are not involved in the sale and will continue under Luxfer ownership.

Founded in 1888, Alcoa is the world's leading producer of aluminum and alumina and a major participant in all segments of the industry: mining, refining, smelting, fabricating and recycling. Alcoa serves customers worldwide in the packaging, automotive, aerospace, construction and other markets with a great variety of fabricated and finished products. The company has over 300 operating locations in 36 countries, out of which over 80 are located in 12 European countries.

The Luxfer Group is an international group of businesses that specialize in the design, manufacture and supply of high performance engineering materials, alloys and semi-fabricated components to manufacturing industry worldwide.

Speakers take center stage in Geneva - Aluminium Alert

2007-12-27T04:41:00.001-08:00

This year programmed is shaping up to be one of great quality. With a little over 5 months until showtime - Metal Bulletin has the committment of the following speakers.

Producer strategies in a globally competitive business restructuring and cost containment - Jon-Harald Nilsen, Executive Vice-President Norsk Hydro and President, Hydro Aluminium, Norway

2 A review of LME aluminium contract issues and LME Select2 one year on - Simon Heale, Chief Executive, London Metal Exchange, UK

3 Exploiting the potential of deregulated energy market - a representative of KW International, UK

4 The aluminium extrusions sector: exploring the market and developing new applications - Francois Coeffic, Group Vice President, European Operations, Sapa AB, Luxembourg

5 Aluminium in the global packaging business: working to make the most of a growth market? -- Lars Emilson, Group Director -- Beverage Cans, Rexam plc, UK

The Zinc-Aluminium Die Casting Alloys

2007-12-05T04:15:00.001-08:00

Aluminium Die Casting

2007-12-05T04:14:00.001-08:00

Aluminium is the choice metal for making light weight parts of vehicles, aerospace and transport industries. Casting of liquid aluminium alloys into metal moulds utilizing systems like gravity, low pressure and high pressure die casting is an economical way of making difficult shapes which need minimum machining. Australia’s auto industry supports a large local die casting business, manufacturing parts that include cylinders, pistons and engine sumps etc.

Rising demand in world auto market for aluminium die cast parts is producing great opportunity and challenge for Australian business which wants to emerge as a global player. By setting partnerships between Nissan and Ford, CAST has developed and produced new and latest technology that has been benefiting our partner’s products. In turn these skills have created IP that is poised on the verge of commercialization.

To increase production of high pressure die casting by lessening its time cycle by 30%. The cycle time has been reduced by more than 20% on certain parts at two industry partner plants. The project involves identifying places where cycle time may be reduced, and doing it practically to prove the findings of research. This made it essential to involve shop floor staff to implement the changes needed in systems. These trails are generally in variation with day to day production and due to true co-operation of shop floor staff it become possible to achieve targets.

The third year of project has seen the true spirit of co-operation between researches and industrial partners in which latest research results got through simulated trails have been done practically on shop floor with help and support of Ford and Nissan staff. The changes once tested during trials have been incorporated in production systems giving benefits of reduced costs by reducing time of each part manufactured. An example of reduced time achieved is at Nissan on a gearbox side cover made in twin cavity die has given successful results after many months; from an initial cycle time of 75 seconds down to 60 seconds. While research at Ford on a changer housing casting, has been successfully implemented by lessening cycle time from 90 seconds to 74 seconds.

In future the reduction of time cycle will be tried for other parts as well.

Automatic fault detection in aluminium die casting:
This involves developing a system to detect surface and sub surface defects.

A fully automatic fault detecting machine named CAST vision has been produced and a prototype process is in place for extended in-plant on-line trials. This is the third year of this project and it is giving good results. The result of algorithm which was designed and developed in 2nd year has been put to test now. By prototyping the CAST team had designed and developed a working system CAST vision. This can discriminate between good and defective parts.

The prototype system has capacity to detect blocked holes on any of holes on this complex casting. Offline processes have also been readied which will detect hot tears and cold shuts on Ford’s structural sump casting.

Work at Nissan on their pump cover casting has led to a CAST vision type process for in-line fault detection. The process can take images and find certain types of defects on the surface part. This project has shown that advances in mechanical vision applied for finding faults of aluminium castings can be converted from project stage to a working prototype successfully. The next stage is take concepts from single stage to multistage processes capable to handle more complex shapes and surfaces. This result will become a strong contender for future commercialization.

Melting & Recovery Of Aluminium Drink Cans, Swarf, & Bottle Tops

2007-12-05T04:13:00.000-08:00

Alcoa Receives Final Approvals from the Russian Government To Acquire Samara and Belaya Kalitva Fabricating Facilities from Rusal

2007-11-27T05:15:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK -- Alcoa (NYSE:AA) today announced that it has received final approvals from the Government of the Russian Federation to proceed with its purchase of RUSAL's controlling interests in two fabricating facilities in Samara and Belaya Kalitva in the Russian Federation.

The approvals follow upon an understanding between Alcoa and the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) resulting in an FAS private ruling on behavioral conditions to ensure that Alcoa complies with various legal requirements and notification obligations. In addition, Alcoa reached an agreement with a state owned procurement company guaranteeing that Alcoa will maintain the capability to supply certain Russian domestic needs through continued production at the two facilities. An Executive Order issued on December 22, 2004 allowed the agreement to be finalized and the behavioral conditions to be issued. These documents ensure the national interests of the Russian Federation have been addressed while also providing an additional legal framework for Alcoa's investment.

With the final government approvals in place, Alcoa and Rusal are taking the necessary steps to complete the transaction. Terms of the transaction will be disclosed when the deal has been completed, which is expected at the end of January 2005.

"We welcome this decision by the Russian government," said Alain Belda, Alcoa Chairman and CEO. "We have had good and productive consultations with the Russian government throughout this process and we are encouraged by this opportunity to invest in Russia. We are pleased that we have addressed the Russian government's concerns about the role these plants play in supporting domestic production and infrastructure needs. And we believe that the final working arrangements will protect both Alcoa's interests and those of the Russian Government. We look forward to continuing to work with both federal and local government officials as we expand our presence in Russia."

"The decision is an important step forward for both Alcoa and for RUSAL," said Alexander Bulygin, RUSAL's CEO. "For us, it means we can move ahead with our strategic focus on upstream and alloy production, and on expanding our raw materials access. We welcome Alcoa to Russia and anticipate continuing close relations in the future."

The Samara facility is located about 500 miles southeast of Moscow. It features cast house, flat rolled products, extrusion, and forging capabilities and serves customers in many markets, including transportation, packaging, and industrial products. The plant's production and quality control systems have been ISO 9001/9002 certified and is preparing for the ISO 14001 certification in Ecological Management.

The Belaya Kalitva facility is located about 500 miles south of Moscow. The facility also features cast house, flat rolled products, extrusions, tubes, and forgings capabilities. The Belaya Kalitva facility has specialized plate rolling and finishing equipment that will complement and increase Alcoa's present supply position. With Alcoa know how and management systems, the plant will not only be able to expand the product offerings for Russian customers but also will eventually be able to produce products for major customers in the west. The plant is ISO 9001 certified and is preparing for the ISO 14001 certification in Ecological Management.

As part of Alcoa, the two fabricating facilities will serve both the growing Russian market and global customers in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The two facilities will join Alcoa's flat rolled products manufacturing system with operations in the U.S., Europe, Australia, China, and Brazil; the company's extrusion facilities in the U.S., Europe, Brazil, and Korea; and its wheels and forged products system with facilities in the U.S., Mexico, Japan and Europe. A team headed by Phil Collins, Alcoa Country Manager - Russia, has been organized to help facilitate the integration into Alcoa. Collins, who oversaw the successful integration of similar assets in Hungary into Alcoa, reports to Ric Belda, Executive Vice President European Region.

Alcoa is the world's leading producer and manager of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum and alumina, and is active in all major aspects of the industry. Alcoa serves the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation and industrial markets, bringing design, engineering, production and other capabilities of Alcoa's businesses as a single solution to customers. In addition to aluminum products and components, Alcoa also markets consumer brands including Reynolds Wrap(R) aluminum foil, Alcoa(R) wheels, and Baco(R) household wraps. Among its other businesses are vinyl siding, closures, fastening systems, precision castings, and electrical distribution systems for cars and trucks. The company has 120,000 employees in 43 countries. For more information go to www.alcoa.com

RUSAL, a world leader in aluminium production was formed in March 2000 from the merger of a number of the largest smelters and other aluminium producers located in the CIS. The company accounts for 75% of Russia's primary aluminium output and 10% of the global primary aluminium output. RUSAL is a fully vertically integrated company with a complete production cycle from bauxite mining and the production of raw materials, to the production of primary metal, semi-products and aluminium-based end products. RUSAL is headquartered in Moscow.

Potsdamer preview - Potsdamer Platz development in Berlin, Germany

2007-11-27T05:14:00.000-08:00

The first building in the initial stage of the huge Potsdamer Platz development which is intended to give Berlin a new heart.

History

Potsdamer Platz was one of Berlin's most important squares before the War: not very beautiful, either in urban form or architecture, but full of life, trams and traffic, always changing - a German equivalent of Piccadilly Circus or Times Square with sometimes a decent building like Schinkel's gatehouses and Mendelsohn's Columbus Haus. Bombs and shells put an end to most of the buildings. Then came the Wall, and almost everything that was left was razed to allow the guards a clear field of fire over the desolate minefields.

When Germany was reunited over a quarter of a century later, it was clear from the start that a lively new Potsdamer Platz would have to be created as a symbol of the rebirth of the city and nation. With the Wall removed, the site could once more relate to its neighbours, the Landwehr Kanal to the south, with the Tiergarten park and the Reichstag a short distance to the north. Scharoun's great buildings, the Philharmonie and the Preussischer Staatsbibliothek could be brought into urban conversation, whereas they had previously been forlornly isolated up against the Wall.

A working group was set up by the Senate of Berlin in 1990 and a competition held for the whole site south of the Tiergarten, east of the library and west of Leipziger Platz. Entries and results (announced in 1991) were controversial, with Hilmer & Sattler producing a rather timid first prize scheme (which fulfilled the intentions of City Architect Hans Stimmann and Wolfgang Nagel, Berlin senator in charge of building to create a 'critical reconstruction' of the pre-1940 plan by retaining most of the old street pattern). O. M. Ungers collected second prize for a rationalist cluster of towers intended to mark the place on the map of Berlin (and Europe), but this was seen as too arrogant a gesture by the jury.

In 1991, the owners of the sites within the redevelopment area (huge companies: Daimler Benz, Sony and others) commissioned Richard Rogers to make a counter masterplan. In 1991, he produced a very formal ahistorical scheme radiating from a glazed circus which locked into the octagon of Leipziger Platz; the proposal successfully linked all the major elements in and around the site in a genial urban scale (AR January 1993, p21). The Senate turned the proposal down, but asked Hilmer & Sattler to incorporate some of Rogers' ideas, particularly natural ventilation and lighting of the buildings, into the masterplan.

The plan

The landowners were required to develop within the Hilmer & Sattler masterplan and each held further competitions. First prize in the Daimler Benz one went to Renzo Piano with Christoph Kohlbecker (AR November 1992, p4). The winner of the Sony competition was Helmut Jahn. The Daimler-Benz site is the most southerly one. To the north, before you get to the park is the Sony triangle where Jahn is building offices (including the firm's European headquarters), housing and shopping spaces round a giant ovoid urban entertainment centre which will contain the Filmhaus and Deutsche Mediathek, as well as an IMAX and numerous cinemas. To the east of the Piano site, is Linkstrasse, which will have a green linear park in its centre (is this a wise move?) and, on the other side, is to be a series of courtyard blocks on the A+T site designed within Giorgio Grassi's overall plan by different architects including Roger Diener and Jurgen Sawade. All these sites meet at the Potsdamer Platz itself: an irregular public space, not unlike the old one. It adjoins Leipziger Platz, which is to be recreated on its old octagonal plan (the hamfistedness of its first new building sadly promises some sort of scaleless neo-poMo extravaganza here).

Piano's parti for the Mercedes Benz site is not very complicated to understand in principle. (Though it is difficult to comprehend at the moment in the midst of the vast turmoil on the largest building site in Europe, all of which is amazingly intended to be completed at the end of this year.) From Potsdamer Platz, an avenue, Alte Potsdamer Strasse, lined with mature trees (which astonishingly survived all the destruction) runs south-west to the opposite side of the development area. Here, Marlene Dietrich Platz, a new pedestrian square is to be created, appropriately cradled in the arms of a new casino and a music hall. These back onto the great blank gold east wall of the Staatsbibliothek, into which it is hoped at some time to make a new entrance from Marlene Dietrich (though the library authorities are at the moment opposed to the move because of disruption caused by the colossal works to their east). The other major geometrical moves in the urban plan are retention of the traditional lines of north-south Linkstrasse and the boomerang of strangely named Eichhornstrasse (Acorn Street). From this simple matrix, the other thoroughfares of the complex take their pattern, much as would the minor streets of a nineteenth-century city after its main lines had been laid out.

Beryllium Prices

2007-11-26T04:35:00.000-08:00

BERYLLIUM OXIDE

UOx powder, 10,000-lb lots
(eff. 06/19/00) $100.00 [++]

ALLOYS CONTAINING BERYLLIUM
(typically 2%)

275 C BeCu casting alloy
(eff. 10/01/87) $6.30
165 C BeCu casting alloy
(eff. 10/01/87) $5.67
245 BeCu casting alloy
(eff. 10/01/87) $6.05
10 C BeCu casting alloy
(eff. 10/01/87)
(containing less than 0.5% Mg) $5.62
Per lb contined beryllium
(eff. 09/01/86) $6.05

BERYLLIUM METAL

99% Be Powder, $65 grade
1000- to 4,999-lb lots $350.00- [++]
(eff. 10/22/01) $4000.00

Vacuum-cast ingot (lump),
B26D Grade, up to 1,000-lb $325.00-
lots (eff. 10/22/01) $350.00

AlBeMet (Aluminium Beryllium)

Wrought Products, 62% Be / 38% Al
Sheet, Extrusions, Block
Up to 100-lb lots (eff. 01/01/95) $260.00

BERYLLIUM COPPER [+]

Strip, No. 25 (eff. 01/04/93) $8.90 [++]
Rod, bar and wire, No. 25 $9.85 [++]
(eff. 01/04/93)

BERYLLIUM COPPER MASTER ALLOY

F.o.b. Reading PA, Detroit, and
Elmore OH,
per lb contined beryllium
for 5-lb ingot (eff. 08/17/87) $160.00

(+)Beryllium copper alloys reflect a $0.90/lb base copper price. Prices
fluctuate weekly due to market variations in the price of cooper.

Norsk Hydro buys building systems producer Technal

2007-11-26T04:34:00.000-08:00

LONDON -- Norsk Hydro ASA is acquiring Toulouse, France,-based aluminum building systems manufacturer Technal for 73 million euros ($66 million) and the assumption of about 43 million euros ($39 million) of debt. The company said that final approval from regulatory authorities was awaited.

"With the acquisition of Technal, Hydro will be the worldwide leader in building systems based on aluminum extrusions," the Norwegian group said Hydra is already the largest soft alloy extruder in Europe and the second-largest worldwide.

Technal is France's largest manufacturer of building components used in such products as doors, windows and conservatories. The company was a subsidiary of Alca Inc. until 1999, when it was sold to an investment fund. It has an extrusion plant in Toulouse and sales offices in France, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. The group as a whole employs 1,560 people and had a turnover of 250 million euros last year.

Norsk Hydro envisions the company being integrated into the Hydra Building Systems division of Lausanne-based Hydro Aluminium Extrusion, which has businesses throughout Europe, Latin America and the United States, and joint ventures in Asia and Africa.

Hydro's building division already is one of the market leaders in Germany and Italy, where Technal is not present, said Technal's chief executive officer, Patrick Tanguy. The integration of Technal will double the number of employees at Hydra Building Systems to 3,200.

Some sectors seek growth beyond casting alloys - Automotive

2007-11-22T21:56:00.000-08:00

With aluminum capturing more and more of the North American automotive market every year on a unit-content basis, it is hard to imagine the existence of many unsatisfied people in the aluminum industry. Such people do exist, however--quite a few of them, in fact--because the principal growth segment of their business in the auto sector continues to involve castings, and they'd like to see the same kind of growth for stamping, extruding and forging alloys.

Those three classes of alloys gain a little in the auto market almost every year, but not nearly as much as casting alloys do, and more applications than the aluminum industry would like for the three are term-limited. That is, some are temporary applications representing spot remedies for overweight conditions in a line of vehicles, and tend to last only until the auto engineers can figure out a way to get the original, heavier material back into use. That's usually because the original material is less expensive.

Often, the aluminum component stays as it is until the vehicle is redesigned, which means it may have a life of five, six or seven years. Understandably, the aluminum industry wants the redesigned vehicles to employ its material in the same stamping, extrusion or forging, and in some new applications, as well.

It looks as though the typical North American-built family vehicle in 2002 will have almost 5 percent more aluminum in finished parts applications than it did in 2001, and that would represent a gain of 12 or 13 pounds per vehicle. The majority of the new uses will involve castings, however, including engine blocks, heads, suspension system control arms, and other parts that are medium or large in size and produced in substantial volumes. Most employ casting alloys A380, A319 or A356.

Because of the recessed condition of the market for new cars and light-duty trucks, the aluminum industry as a whole is not getting a lot of enjoyment out of its business with the auto sector this year. However, the suppliers of specification alloys for die casting, lost foam, low pressure and gravity semipermanent mold casting are enjoying it more than others. Some smelters are doing better than others in their highly competitive industry, but just about all of them are pleased by the fact that applications for the three alloys mentioned above, especially, are increasing.

Engine blocks, heads, wheels, control arms, axle housings, crossmembers and the like are big enough to provide the auto engineers with significant weight-savings when aluminum is specified in place of iron or steel, and when those components are made in aluminum, they are usually made as castings. Now and then, big auto parts are forged or extruded--also with significant weight-saving benefits--but usually the forming technique chosen is casting.

Engines continue to represent the single biggest growth application for aluminum, and that will continue to be the case for awhile, the auto engineers say Millions of engines are still being built with iron blocks--and some have iron heads, also--every year, and when these components are converted to aluminum, they are going to stay converted for a long time--i.e., for 10 or 20 years. These conversions are not spot remedies, but tend to last as long as the engines last, even through modifications and design alterations.

Between 5 million and 6 million more all-aluminum engines per year are expected to be in production in North America by 2006 than were being built at the end of last year. Those additional aluminum-block/aluminum-head engines will provide an estimated 700 million pounds or so, net, of new aluminum applications annually. When those engines are in circulation, there still will be some engines with iron blocks and/or heads being built by the automakers in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

It is an entirely different story, however, for aluminum sheet, extrusion and forging alloys, such as hoods, deck lids, fenders, liftgates, bumper beams, structural components, radiator parts and knuckles. New applications for these materials by 2006 are expected to amount to only a fraction of those for casting alloys. The near-term picture, therefore, is not a lot different-- or brighter--than it has been in the past 12 years or so.

Many aluminum industry executives want badly to see things change, and there are a few scenarios for the longer term that might satisfy their wishes. One of these has to do with creative component designs, with the aluminum companies doing the design work and promoting the applications to the automakers. It costs money to do this, and the aluminum producers historically have not been as willing as the steel and plastic industries to spend their money on such projects. However, two of the world's biggest firms, Alcoa Inc., Pittsburgh, and Alcan Aluminium Ltd., are expected to do more and more creative development/selling work of this kind, and probably will be followed by others.

It will take a few years for this to pay off in noteworthy ways. Alcoa went to considerable lengths in the summer (AMM, Aug. 13) to explain how this approach could pay off for the automakers, themselves, who are constantly seeking ways to differentiate their products from those of their competitors.

Norsk talking to smelter VAW's owner

2007-11-22T21:55:00.000-08:00

The Norwegian company is undertaking due diligence on VAW, which it sees complementing its existing operations VAW is particularly strong in rolled products and engine castings, while Hydro's strengths lie in primary metal production and extrusions.

"It's quite a good fit for them. It strengthens Hydro's position in Europe," said John Martin, research manager for aluminum metal and raw materials at CRU International.

"It's not much of a surprise," aluminum analyst Angus MacMillan at Brook Hunt said. He added that Hydro had said it was looking to expand, but in the present economic situation it had been forced, to delay plans for greenfield projects.

"It makes more sense to invest in existing capacity," MacMillan said.

A number of other aluminum companies have been interested in VAW since it was put up for sale last year.

Alcan Inc. confirmed its interest in April of this year. The two companies share an interest in the Alunorf rolling mill in Germany, and Alcan might still be keen to expand in Europe despite the failure of its planned merger with Pechiney SA.

Paris-based Pechiney itself has also been rumored as a buyer. But Pechiney's president, Jean-Pierre Rodier, said earlier this year that while his company might be a potential buyer for some of VAW's assets, it is extremely unlikely to be a bidder for the company as a whole because of antitrust concerns.

Just last month E.ON was reportedly close to concluding a deal with British investment group CVC Capital Partners, but neither party would confirm their involvement in a deal.

E.ON said the sale is unlikely to be finalized until the first quarter of 2002, when it can take advantage of new German tax regulations on disposals that come into force in the new year.

Alumax Extrusions, Inc. agrees to sell facility

2007-11-21T03:44:00.000-08:00

CRESSONA, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 10, 1996--Alumax Extrusions, Inc., a subsidiary of Alumax Inc. (NYSE: AMX; Toronto: AXI), today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement for the sale of the company's Franklin, New Hampshire facility, including one of the two presses at this facility, to Aavid Engineering, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aavid Thermal Technologies, Inc. Alumax Extrusions will relocate the second press to one of its other manufacturing facilities.

Terms of the sale were not disclosed. Closing is expected to occur in approximately one month.

The Franklin, New Hampshire facility was acquired by Cressona Aluminum Company in 1994 from Alcan Aluminium, Ltd., in a transaction in which Cressona also acquired a four-press extrusion operation in Elizabethton, Tennessee. Cressona Aluminum Company was acquired by Alumax on January 31, 1996.

Aavid Thermal Technologies, Inc., headquartered in Laconia, New Hampshire, is a leading provider of thermal management products that dissipate unwanted heat in electronic and electrical components and systems.

Alumax Extrusions, Inc., headquartered in Cressona, Pennsylvania, is a world leader in the manufacture of soft-alloy aluminum extrusions for the building and construction, transportation, machinery, electrical and consumer durables markets. Through its Cressona Aluminum business unit, Alumax Extrusions is a leading supplier to the service center industry.

Alumax Inc. is a world leader in aluminum with year-end 1995 assets of more than $3.1 billion and 1995 revenues of more than $2.9 billion.

Alumax produces and markets primary aluminum ingot, billet and slab and is a major fabricator of value-added aluminum products for the building and construction, transportation, packaging and consumer durables industries.

Austria's Amag posts higher profit despite lower turnover

2007-11-21T03:43:00.000-08:00

D[ddot{U}]SSELDORF -- Austrian aluminum company Austria Metall AG (Amag) posted an 11.7-percent increase in 1999 earnings despite a 6-percent decline in turnover to 556.6 million euros ($520.2 million) due to low aluminum prices in the first half of the year.

Pretax earnings rose to 33.4 million euros ($31.2 million) from 29.9. million euros in 1998. While all units operated at good capacity, German subsidiary Aluminium Unna AG suffered noticeably from internal structural problems and was divested in a staff buyout, Amag said.

The extrusions plant and rolling mill at Amag's main operation in Ranshofen countered the pressure on margins by improved output and a better production mix, Amag said, noting that the rolling mill lifted its output by some 5,000 tonnes to 95,000 tonnes.

Amag said that it expected volumes, at the extrusions plant to decline slightly this year as it had reduced its capacity shifts in favor of flexibility. Due to a restructuring of internal operations, which won't affect the bottom line until next year, the company expects a rather modest operating profit this year.

Amag added that it expected rolling mill sales to remain at a high level, with an expansion of its market position in the United States and the Far East.

Japan output of aluminum mill products slips in July

2007-11-13T09:53:00.000-08:00

TOKYO -- Japanese output of aluminum mill products declined in July for the first time in 15 months--slipping 0.1 percent. From the same month last year to 211,145 tonnes.

July production of rolled products fell 1.4 percent to 117,134 tonnes--the first year-to-year decline in 16 months--due to a 20-percent decline in exports despite high domestic demand in such sectors as foil, can stock, printing, fins, automotive and wholesale/retail, according to the Japan Aluminium Association. Production of aluminum foil, spurred by increased demand from capacitor manufacturers, climbed 2.6 percent in July--the 16th consecutive monthly increase--to 12,479 tonnes.

July production of extrusions increased 1.5 percent to 94,011 tonnes thanks to continuing strong demand from the semiconductor manufacturing equipment, office automation equipment and automobile industries.

The association said that confirmed figures for the first six months of this year put total output of aluminum mill products at 1,216,880 tonnes, up 3.5 percent from the same 1999 period--the first year-to-year gain in three years.

The six-month total comprised an all-time high of 682,810 tonnes of rolled products, up 2.5 percent in the first increase in two years, and 534,070 tonnes of extruded products, up 4.8 percent, in the first rise in three years. Production of aluminum foil climbed 2.4 percent in the first six months of the year to 73,392 tonnes.

Manufacturers taking a 'hard look' at purchasing

2007-11-13T09:52:00.000-08:00

While each aircraft manufacturer is taking its own approach, many--both in the commercial and the military sectors--are taking a hard look at their buying practices and making changes to guarantee just-in-time deliveries and other efficiencies.

Perhaps the most pronounced changes have come in the commercial aerospace sector, where the Seattle-based Boeing Commercial Airplanes Group of Boeing Co. has consolidated its aluminum flat-roll and extrusions supplier base and integrated purchasing of these products. This accounts for much of their materials purchases, as aluminum comprises about 80 percent of their aircraft, under a single service provider--the TMX Aerospace Division of Thyssen Inc. North America, Detroit. TMX is also integrating Boeing's purchases of titanium. Likewise their major competitor, Airbus Industrie of Toulouse, France, is converting itself from a consortium of four European companies into one integrated entity that will eventually, once its metamorphosis is complete next year, utilize centralized metals purchasing.

While many original equipment manufacturers in aerospace and elsewhere have taken moves to consolidate their supplier base and gain greater control of their metals purchasing and other requirements, Boeing's move, according to Jeffrey Phelan, a program manager for the aerospace giant's supply management and procurement division, said, is the first time that it has been done to this extent.

What Boeing Commercial is trying to do, said Sid Rose, senior raw materials manager, at a recent National Association of Aluminum Distributors meeting, is "rightsize" its supply base in an effort to come up with a fully integrated supply chain management system that best utilizes aluminum distributors and mills. This, he said, has reduced Boeing's purchases of aluminum flat roll and extrusions by just buying what the company truly needs.

Prior to this move, which was initiated about 2 1/2 years ago, Boeing's purchasing method was very inefficient, Rose said. "Every division operated independently with each having its own supply chain and its own customers," he said. "We didn't do anything together."

Pushed by the company's new thinking that followed Boeing's merger with McDonnell Douglas, this move, which has been termed as the Millennium Contract, was the brain child of the company's strategic sourcing team that was charged with identifying and implementing best practices across the company. Under this new program, Boeing Commercial now contracts with five aluminum producers--Alcoa Inc., Pittsburgh; Pechiney Rolled Products LLC, Ravenswood, W.Va.; Hoogovens Aluminium Walzprodukte GmbH, Koblenz, Germany; Kaiser Aluminum Corp., Houston; and Universal Alloys Co., Canton, Ga.--and three titanium producers--Titanium Metals Corp., Denver; RTI International Metals Inc., Niles, Ohio; and VSMPA of Russia. This is a 50-percent drop from the number of aluminum and titanium mills it used to buy from, and using just TMX represents an 80 percent decline in metal distributors.

However, TMX's role, Rose explained, is somewhat different than that of previous metal service centers. "They also take the time to call on our customers to determine what they are buying, forecast demand and try to provide us with all that data so we can determine what orders need to be placed."

This program, Phelan said, is still only about 80 percent implemented and will not be fully in place for another two years, which was the planned time frame to allow for previous long-term contracts to expire.

Thus far, he said, it has been working well, although there were some growing pains, especially during the beginning of 2000, when a lot of suppliers came on-stream at one time. But since then, he said, many of the kinks have been ironed out, as Boeing and its parts suppliers as well as the mills and TMX get used to the new way of doing business. "Purchasing is more streamlined, forecasting is more accurate, the mills produce what we need when we need it. It has definitely consolidated the supply chain, taking out a lot of the waste," he said.

Whether Boeing will extend this concept to other products in its commercial airplane group, such as aluminum rod, bar and tubing, or to its military airplane unit, is still uncertain, Phelan said, stating that it is possible if this program continues to be successful. "It is a company-wide effort to make efficiency gains, but the decision to expand it lies with our strategic sourcing team."

As for Airbus, as of 1967 the European commercial aerospace manufacturer had been a consortium of four leading companies, each of which were responsible for specific components of the aircraft, a spokesman explained. BAE Systems Plc of England has been responsible for the wings; Construcciones Aeronauticas SA (Casa) of Spain has been responsible for the tail sections; Aerospatiale Matra SA of France was responsible for the cockpit and wing center sections; and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (Dasa) of Germany was responsible for the fuselage. The planes were assembled by Aerospatiale and Dasa. Each company, which had other operations not involved in Airbus, was responsible for purchasing the metals and other materials for their own components.

Booking, shipping picture shows aluminum softness

2007-10-31T00:51:00.002-07:00

NEW YORK -- Early peeks into the U.S. aluminum industry's new business and shipment tallies in the current quarter underscore Alcan Aluminium Ltd.'s recent assessment that fourth-quarter business levels and results were falling below general expectations and Alcoa Inc.'s earlier warnings about its third-and fourth-quarter performance.

The Washington-based Aluminum Associations public tally of November bookings and October shipments is out yet, but the picture painted by early December reports of the trade groups clients on Wall Street and elsewhere showed sharp declines in key market areas.

Merrill Lynch & Co.'s Global Research & Economics group said in a report dated Dec. 14 that the industry's bookings of aluminum sheet, extrusions and other mill products "remained weak during November" and shipment volume remained weak in October.

The company's aluminum industry analyst, Dan Roling, who a week earlier had determined "aluminum fundamentals remain healthy and supportive of higher prices once the soft economic landing is confirmed," said the long downtrend in bookings "appears to have bottomed out (but) a clear trend is not discernable."

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. analyst Wayne Atwell said in a report dated Dec. 13 that "aluminum fundamentals are deteriorating in the U.S., with aluminum orders off seven of the last eight months and November down 11 percent vs. the year earlier."

Atwell also said the U.S. aluminum industry's mill product shipments "are down six of the last seven months and declined 4.6 percent in October vs. the year earlier."

Lloyd O'Carroll of Scott & Stringfellow's BB&T Capital Markets said in his December report that shipments of aluminum beverage can stock, a major item for Alcan and Alcoa, were down 2.8 percent in the first 10 months of this year. He also noted that, excluding exports, can sheet shipments were down only 1.6 percent in the period.

Morgan Stanley's Atwell said the U.S. aluminum industry's November bookings of sheet and plate were down 18 percent from November 1999 (with can stock down 10 percent), while extruded shapes were down 10 percent. Foil bookings, he said, were up 14 percent and bookings for steel reinforced aluminum cable were up 2 percent.

Many aluminum industry analysts have trimmed their ingot price forecasts for 2001 substantially in the past few weeks as the bellwether London Metal Exchange price winds down the current year averaging far short of early expectations. A major sustaining factor has been the spate of production cuts in the Pacific Northwest tied by the producers affected and by the analysts to electric power problems in the region.

Macquarie Research, after taking stock of production cuts to date, said flatly, shortly after Alcan announced its plans to cut output by 50,000 annual tonnes at Kitimat, British Columbia, that "all eyes are now on Alcoa--the producer in the region which appears most exposed to further cuts." Alcoa, which shut its 121,000-tonne-a-year smelter at Troutdale, Ore., late in June, began the year with an announcement that it planned to reactivate 209,000 annual tonnes--some of it in Australia--as the year progressed.

Corus casts doubt on pounds 2.7bn CSN deal

2007-10-31T00:51:00.001-07:00

CORUS, the Anglo-Dutch steel group, cast further doubt yesterday on whether it will proceed with the pounds 2.7bn takeover of the Brazilian steel maker CSN, saying the deal may be subject to delay or renegotiation.

The move came as Corus confirmed that it is selling its downstream aluminium operations to Pechiney of France for EUR750m (pounds 472m). The proceeds will be used to cut Corus' debt further and will take borrowings down to about pounds 700m compared with pounds 1.7bn at the end of June.

The CSN deal has been thrown into doubt by the near certainty that a left-wing candidate will win Sunday's Brazilian elections. Although Luiz Inacio de Silva, or "Lula" as he is known, the leader of Brazil's Workers' Party, has pledged to maintain the country's financial discipline, the prospect of his election has unnerved investors and hit the value of the Brazilian currency.

Corus, run by its chief executive Tony Pedder, signed a non- binding heads of agreement with CSN in July and had planned to reach a definitive agreement in mid-November, paving the way for shareholders to vote on the all-share takeover in the first quarter of next year.

However, a spokesman for Corus said yesterday: "There could be a delay in the CSN deal due to the uncertainty politically, economically and in the financial markets. The fact that the agreement is non-binding means we can revisit the terms of the deal."

Under the agreement announced in July, Corus would pay an 87 per cent premium for control of CSN. Corus shareholders would emerge with 62.4 per cent of the combined group.

The Pechiney deal is subject to regulatory approval in Europe and the US. The Corus spokesman said: "We would hope to have as quick a passage as possible although you can never be sure."

One of the areas of concern for competition authorities may be the increased market share the deal would give Pechiney in the European aerospace market. There are only a handful of companies in Europe making aluminium fuselage and wing parts for commercial aircraft and Pechiney could emerge with a dominant position.

The deal covers Corus' rolled products and extrusions businesses, which employ 4,700 people and have rolling mills in Germany, Belgium and Canada and extrusion plants in Germany, Belgium and China.

Secondary aluminum output, shipments up again

2007-10-27T05:57:00.001-07:00

TOKYO -- Japanese production and shipments of secondary aluminum in November increased on a year-to-year basis for the 13th consecutive month, according to the Japan Aluminium Alloy Refiners Association.

November production came to 78,872 tonnes, up 3.2 percent from the same month of 1999 while shipments increased 3.6 percent to 80,257 tonnes. Shipments for the die-casting industry increased 5.3 percent to 39,730 tonnes while those for the casting segment were 21,202 tonnes, down 0.3 percent. Shipments for rolling rose 0.8 percent to 7,496 tonnes, and those for extrusions rose 19 percent to 6,865 tonnes.

More reasons to be cautious than bullish in 2001

2007-10-27T05:56:00.000-07:00

We are currently forecasting an average cash London Metal Exchange (LME) price for aluminium in 2001 of $1,500 a tonne or 68 cents a pound. That compares with a 2000 average of around $1,548 a tonne (70.2 cents a pound) and a 1999 average of $1,362 a tonne (61.78 cents a pound). There are three main reasons for our caution about 2001.

The first is that we are seeing a fairly hard landing for the U.S. economy in 2001. This coincides with economic slowdowns in Europe and Asia. So aluminum consumption, in our opinion, is likely to fall by at least 1 to 2 percent in 2001, which equates, on a global basis, to a loss of between 250,000 to 500,000 tonnes.

The second reason for our caution is that primary production should rise by around 800,000 tonnes a year in 2001. This increase, the biggest increase since 1992, is from a combination of greenfield and brownfield expansions. That increase combined with the drop in consumption will more than cancel out the loss of production in the Pacific Northwest.

The Pacific Northwest is bullish, in our view, on a longer-term basis. We have lost more than 500,000 tonnes a year of production in the Pacific Northwest already. And the lower aluminum prices stay, particularly from October 2001 onwards, the more certain we can be that we will see more production cuts in the Pacific Northwest. This is particularly so if electricity prices remain at or above $50 a MWH.

These cuts are certainly not bearish! They will help to underpin aluminum prices. But unless consumption growth is really taking off, which requires a strong U.S. economy with robust growth again in the transport and construction sectors, the cuts in themselves are not enough, in our opinion, to send aluminum prices soaring.

Aluminum industry depends on auto industry

The aluminum industry is crucially dependent on the automotive industry for its growth. Unit aluminum consumption in cars has been showing an annual growth rate of around 6 percent a year and has shown no signs of slowing down.

Nor has the volume of car sales. General Motors said last year that it expects worldwide vehicle volumes to grow from 50 million in 1998 to 65 million vehicles by 2008.

The automotive industry wants both stable and low prices. The more volatile aluminum prices are, the less the automotive industry wants to use aluminum in its long-term model plans. A model platform is usually for six to seven years.

Total primary aluminum usage at present in cars is around 30 to 40 percent of the total aluminum used, depending on which region you are in. But primary usage is now growing much more rapidly in the form of sheet and extrusions. This is particularly true for the fast growing sports and utility vehicle section of the market.

That has to be good news for more primary aluminum being consumed as well as secondary. The gains in average unit use in kilos per car are absolutely breathtaking. In Western Europe, we expect to see a rise of 30 kilos per average car between 2000 and 2005. That is a gain of 33 percent. (A kilo is 2.20462 pounds.) In North America, a jump of 35 kilos per average car is expected, a gain of 25 percent. In Japan, a rise of 22 kilos per average car is expected. This is a rise of 21 percent.

Looking at the rises between 1995 and 2000, the figures are just as breathtaking. In Western Europe, the rise was 29 kilos or 47.5 percent. In North America, the rise was a massive 43 kilos per average car or a rise of 45 percent. In Japan, the rise was 33 kilos or a 44.5 percent increase.

But, we hear you ask, can the growth picture in transport really be that wonderful? And the answer is a firm NO! The first problem is that not all of that consumption growth in transport is going to be from primary aluminum.

Secondary consumption as a percentage of primary consumption continues to rise. This is to be expected and is quite normal in all metal industries. But the automotive industry, in particular, is very keen on keeping as much metal as it can circulating within a closed loop. The average annual growth rate in secondary aluminum consumption during the 1990s has shown a stronger rate of growth at 3.6 percent versus 2.9 percent for primary And, as a percentage compared to primary consumption, it continues to grow quite rapidly and now stands at 47 percent.

The second big problem is the absolute need for the aluminum industry to always build enough new capacity to keep the car industry convinced that the aluminum industry can actually go on supplying the car industry with more and more aluminum each year at stable and fair prices.

To do this you need big bucks. The capital expenditure in dollars per tonne terms is scary It costs around $2,500 a tonne for brownfield expansions and anywhere between $4,000 to $6,000 a tonne for greenfield capacity. Demand for primary metal is growing at around 3.7 percent a year compound.

Norsk's Wells gets new shape

2007-10-25T03:25:00.001-07:00

NEW YORK -- Norwegian light metals, energy and fertilizer giant Norsk Hydro AS has reorganized its Hydro Aluminum Wells Inc. operations into three business units.

The Baltimore-based, six-plant network now includes Hydro Aluminum Wells East, which houses the company's extrusion, fabrication and finishing operations in Belton, S.C., arid Moultrie, Ga.; Hydro Aluminum Wells Midwest, which houses the Monett, Mo., and North Liberty, Ind., plants; and the Components and Assemblies Group, which includes plants in Kalamazoo, Mich., and Sidney, Ohio.

Raymond Pallen, recently-installed president of Hydro Aluminum Wells, said the reorganization is designed to "push decision-making closer to the market." The Norwegian company's Lausanne, Switzerland-based Hydro Aluminium Extrusions unit bought the former Wells Aluminum Corp. in February 2000.

Aluminum applications overwhelm SAE show

2007-10-25T03:24:00.000-07:00

New automotive applications for aluminum in North America, Europe and Asia were on display in large numbers at the SAE 2001 World Congress in Detroit earlier this month. Parts-manufacturing companies played a big role in the exhibits, hawking their wares and capabilities to anyone willing to listen. The aluminum products they displayed ranged from engine blocks and heads, transmission cases, suspension control arms, steering knuckles, wheels and structural (frame) parts made as castings, to body panels, powertrain components, luggage racks, tubing, cooling system parts, driveshafts, seat frame parts and load floors made as stampings, extrusions and forgings.

There seemed to be more aluminum parts than normal in the exhibits at the Society of Automotive Engineers' four-day event. That is not to say that parts made of steel, iron, powder metals, magnesium and other materials were hard to find--quite the contrary, those materials were well represented. But aluminum parts were showcased in large numbers by exhibitors from all over the world.

Aluminum currently is on the ground floor in a lot of applications where there is room for growth, and the exhibitors evidently felt this was a good time to show what they can do with the light metal. The global aluminum industry as a whole seems to be focusing on the opportunities for doing more business in the auto market, and doing so in a united way rather than as a host of individual companies.

Among the thousands of people attending the SAE show were top officials of the Aluminum Association, Washington, and the European Aluminium Association (EAA). J. Stephen Larkin, president of the Washington-based trade group, and Richard L. Klimisch, vice president, made the rounds with Patrick de Schrynmakers, secretary general of the European association, and KarlHeinz von Zengen, EAA automotive market manager.

"Our global effort is working, and we're all pleased about that," Larkin said in an interview. "The industry is making progress in its efforts to get aluminum accepted for more and more applications in cars and trucks globally, and the willingness of the industry's participants--no matter where they're located--to exchange information and work together is one of the biggest reasons for that."

Worldwide, aluminum producers and their trade association representatives have taken some criticism over the years for not working together to remove the obstacles to using aluminum in car and truck applications dominated by other materials. The establishment of standardized test procedures in formability, surface characteristics and certain other areas was thought to have been neglected for too long, and the automakers said so. There also was a need for more cooperative research and development work in technical areas involving improved metal production, parts forming, assembling, handling, repairing and recycling methods.

About a year and a half ago, nine national aluminum trade associations on six continents decided to combine their efforts to tackle some of those matters and raise the level of acceptance of their metal in cars and trucks. The principal idea was to cooperate in all areas, from research to manufacturing to promotion, in order to expand the applications of aluminum sheet, casting, extrusion and forging alloys in vehicles, which represent the global aluminum industry's largest market.

Larkin said at that time that the nine organizations intended to keep current with each other on breaking issues and to enhance one another's efforts by exchanging information on their individual national programs. At this month's SAE World Congress, Larkin and Schrynmakers both said that progress was being made on numerous issues of importance internationally, demonstrating the power of cooperation. "We're all mindful of the fact that we have to create ways to make aluminum catch on in those applications where it has not been before, or where its position is weak," Schrynmakers said. "The more people involved in this effort, the better things are likely to go."

Von Zengen, whose former employer, Audi AG, was the first automaker in the world to build aluminum body/frame cars in volume, said that aluminum had made big strides in Europe primarily because the need for lightweighting was particularly strong there. "Fuel prices are higher there than in this country, and good fuel economy is important to most vehicle owners," he said. Von Zengen noted that Audi was "getting better at designing aluminum cars cost effectively as it gains more and more experience."

Applications for aluminum also have been growing significantly year after year in North American-built cars and trucks, and Klimisch--who heads up the Aluminum Association's Auto and Light Truck Group--said that all research projects being carried out by the relatively new Auto Aluminum Alliance were making progress. The alliance, a partnership among the Big Three U.S. automakers and a number of aluminum companies, is working on overcoming such technical challenges as the development of hydroforming for aluminum parts; producing tailored aluminum blanks economically; and sorting aluminum scrap by alloy for recycling.

Japanese aluminum mill output rises for first time in three years

2007-10-15T03:34:00.002-07:00

TOKYO -- Japanese production of aluminum mill products in fiscal 1999 ended March 31 increased for the first time in three years, rising more than 4 percent from the previous year to 2,394,660 tonnes, according to the Japan Aluminium Association.

Production of flat-rolled products totaled 1,326,921 tonnes, up 4.4 percent from the previous year, while extrusions accounted for 1,067,739 tonnes, up 3.8 percent.

Shipments in fiscal 1999 also saw a turnaround for the first time in three years, increasing 4.2 percent to 2,408,722 tonnes.

The upturn in production and shipments resulted from a recovery of domestic market demand starting in June, the association said.

March production totaled 212,835 tonnes, a 2.5-percent increase from the same month last year and a continuous rise for 11 consecutive months. Production consisted of 120,304 tonnes of flat-rolled products (up 1.2 percent for the 12th consecutive monthly gain) and 92,531 tonnes of extruded products (up 4.3 percent, capping a steady rise for five straight months).

March shipments totaled 218,775 tonnes, up 3.6 percent from a year earlier for an uninterrupted rise for 10 months. Shipments consisted of 126,366 tonnes of flat-rolled, products (up 3.1 percent for the 5th consecutive monthly increase) and 92,409 tonnes of extrusions (up 4.4 percent).

The strongest growth in fiscal 1999 occurred in aluminum foil, where production rose 5.7 percent from the previous year to 146,068 tonnes. March production of aluminum foil totaled 13,085 tonnes, a 7.4-percent rise for a continuous 12-month gain.

New auto applications drive extrusion demand - Aluminum

2007-10-15T03:34:00.001-07:00

Pushed by new applications in the automotive and light truck marketplace, aluminum extrusions look to be in the driver's seat heading into 1997.

Even the building and construction sector, which has been plagued with material substitution away from aluminum extrusions, expects to see growth this year. Due to overcapacity for soft alloy extrusions, however, further rationalization of operations seems a distinct possibility.

Shipments of aluminum extrusions have risen continuously over the past several years and are expected to rise again this year, according to Michael J. Ott, national sales and marketing manager for the extrusions division of Reynolds Metals Co., Richmond, Va. Ott predicted that approximately 3.71 billion pounds of extrusions will be shipped this year, up 4.7 percent from the 3.55 billion pounds shipped in 1996.

Shipments, he said, will be bolstered by an anticipated 9-percent increase in demand to 967 million pounds within the transportation sector, including a 11.28-percent increase to 217 million pounds in the use of aluminum extrusions in automobiles and light trucks.

"There has been a big push by the aluminum industry in cooperation with the automotive producers and governmental agencies to make cars more lightweight, and the result has been the use of more aluminum, including extrusions, per vehicle," Manfred F. Schroeder, chairman of the Wauconda, Ill.,-based Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) and former chief executive officer of VAW of America Inc., said. Schroeder contends that aluminum is an excellent choice for an automotive building material in that it is about a third of the weight of steel.

Already aluminum and aluminum extrusions have gained quite a bit of ground in the automotive market. For example, in 1991 the average American car contained only about 182 pounds of aluminum, according to Ott. Last year, he noted, automotive aluminum content rose to 242 pounds, and by the 2000 model year, aluminum content per vehicle is expected to jump to 350 pounds. Extrusions will be one of the growth areas, Ott said, adding that aluminum extrusions are expected to rise to about 45 pounds per vehicle by 2000 from their current level of between 16 and 26 pounds.

One prime example of this move is the contract General Motors Corp. (GM), Detroit, recently awarded to Alumax Inc., Norcross, Ga., to supply radiator enclosures for its redesigned Chevrolet C/K and GMC Sierra pickups as well as its Suburban, Tahoe and Yukon sport utility vehicles. This contract, which is expected to account for 20 million pounds of aluminum extrusions a year over a 10-year period, constitutes the largest existing application for extrusion stock in the domestic light-truck or passenger car industry today and is reportedly larger than any application in the history of the North American automotive industry. GM will start producing these vehicles in 1999.

There are, meanwhile, several new automotive applications for extruded aluminum, including structural applications in cars already on the road, especially in 1997 model-year automobiles. Richard Larimer, vice president of sales and marketing for Hydro Aluminum Automotive Structures Inc., Holland, Mich., said that his company alone is involved with projects that have added at least 21.5 million pounds of aluminum extrusions into the marketplace this year.

These projects included seat-back frames for the Chevrolet Malibu and Oldsmobile Cutlass, third-row seat cushion frames for the Ford Expedition and front and rear bumper beams and power seat tracks for the Buick Park Avenue.

"We are also working on other things for 1998 and 1999 which are extremely high volume," he said.

One significant move, according to a spokesman for Easco Inc., Girard, Ohio, is that extrusions are now starting to play a major role in the frame of the vehicle.

"Previously (extrusions) had been used for head rest supports, bumpers and bumper reinforcements. Now it is being used for rails for the structure itself," he said.

Larimer agreed, noting that before the 1997 model year the only structural extrusions were found in some seat tracks and in the rear frame of the Chevrolet Corvette. The dearth of structural applications, he asserted, was because automakers have a distinct comfort zone with steel and, in the past, weight and fuel economy did not have as high a priority as it does today.

But design requirements are changing, according to Jay M. Linard, president of Alumax Extrusions Inc., Cressona, Pa. "Auto engineers are becoming more comfortable with aluminum and they are beginning to see the real benefits of our light-weight metal," he said.

Further acceptance, however, will be greatly influenced by the price of aluminum, Rick Matalone, vice president of merchandising for Marmon/Keystone Corp., Butler, Pa., stressed. "When the price is down, as it has been, aluminum extrusions become more competitive. But if ingot goes sky high, then we will see people go back to other products," he said.

Japan's aluminum mills hit high note - Brief Article

2007-10-11T00:49:00.000-07:00

TOKYO -- Japanese production of aluminum mill products increased for the 12th consecutive month in April to 204,880 tonnes, up 1.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the Japan Aluminium Association.
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April production of flat-rolled products remained unchanged from last year at 116,040 tonnes, with a high level of domestic demand offset by a drop in exports due to the weaker dollar. But extrusions production increased for the sixth consecutive month to 88,840 tonnes--up 2.7 percent from last' year--thanks to strong demand from the semiconductor, office equipment and automotive industries.

The association said that production of foil soared to a new April high of 12,342 tonnes, up 2.2 percent from a year ago, bolstered by strong market demand for use in capacitors.

Alufed criticizes British government's energy levy - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

2007-10-11T00:48:00.000-07:00

The levy, scheduled to take effect in April 2001, is 0.43 pence per kilowatt for electricity and 0.15 pence per kilowatt for liquid fuel or natural gas. There will be exemptions to the levy--such as the electrolysis in primary aluminum production--and industries can reduce the levy by up to 80 percent by setting themselves certain targets.

The aluminum industry's target is a reduction of energy consumption by 20 percent compared with, 1999 within 10 years, according to an Alufed spokesman, but rolling and extrusions operations would not be eligible for the exemption.

Alufeds president, Paul Rata of British Alcan Aluminium Plc, attacked the British government for taking the European Union's Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (IPPC) as a basis for eligibility. "The chosen IPPC definition actually omits to mention some parts of the aluminum industry's processes while including those in competitive industries, raising a serious competition issue," he said.

Rata noted that the hot rolling of steel was included but the hot rolling of nonferrous metals was not, although the potential for pollution was equal. "As things now stand, if you were to buy a can of Coke in a steel can the levy on the material would be 20 percent of the tax, while for the aluminum can the levy would be 100 percent of the tax. This is nonsense," he said.

Choosing Cooking Pots and Pans

2007-10-10T04:37:00.000-07:00

Buy good saucepans
– Years ago, people bought cheap pans and expected to throw them away and buy another set. Now, the price of good pans has come down, and most people can comfortably afford a pan that will last twenty years if you look after them. The exception is non-stick pans, which last about 5 years with care if you buy a good one and don't use metal implements.
– Copper pans last for 20 years and more if they are lined with stainless steel, but wear out if they are lined with tin (you have to get them relined which can be expensive). They are great heat conductors, and they can be used on the stove and in the oven, and look great when serving food from them on the table (French Onion Soup served from a copper casserole pan is spectacular).
– You need to use the correct spatula for your pan – a non-stick one for non-stick (you can get ones that are fine up to 240ºC which means that they don’t melt if you forget that they are sitting on the pan) and whatever you like for the rest, preferably wooden spoons because you can scrape the bottom without scratching it – over time those small invisible scratches will make the food catch and burn.

Heat
– You don’t need to use a high heat on most saucepans, except to bring liquids to the boil. Pans are generally more energy-efficient now, so you need to adjust your thinking to this.
– If you put high heat under your pans, you will scorch the contents, and over time, take the good out of the pan.
– This is especially true with non-stick pans which don’t survive burning well – when the coating gets damaged they often have to be thrown away shortly after when everything starts to stick.

Small saucepans
– As you wouldn’t cook a casserole or meat stew or a steak in a small saucepan, but do cook things that can burn easily (butter, sauce or milk), it makes sense to opt for non-stick for your small saucepan.
– You could also invest in a stainless steel ‘milk pan’ which is handy for re-heating stock to add to risotto and making tomato sauce, where you may need to caramelise the celery, tomatoes and onions first, but don’t want to cook it in a larger pan. It has a handle so you can hang it over the cooker and have it to hand.

Sauté pans
– Stainless steel sauté pans are good for frying meat, browning vegetables, cooking risotto and general cooking jobs (eg caramelising onions for onion tart, sautéeing celery, onions and peppers to start off a dish in a larger pan, making the sofrito for a paella etc).
– Use non-stick for omelettes, pancakes, for frying eggs etc.
– Non-stick pans brown but don’t caramelise so if you use them to sauté meat or onions, they will go brown but you will lose the potential for that lovely sticky sweet outer coating.

Skillet
– This is a ridged pan for cooking meat and vegetables, giving them a distinctive chargrilled effect.
– Buy a non-stick or cast-iron skillet (they are not for the limp-wristed) and leave the meat to sear for at least 2 minutes before you turn it, otherwise it will stick.
– Always oil the meat, fish or poultry, not the pan – that way you won’t get that awful smeech that smokes out of the pan and makes your eyes water.
– To get a hatch pattern, put the meat, fish or chicken on the pan. Cook for a few minutes, lift one piece gently with a tongs to see can you lift it comfortably. If you can, turn it 90 degrees and leave it for another 2-3 minutes until it sears and you are able to lift it without tearing the flesh.

Match the ring to the pan
– Use a pan that fits the ring you are using.
– A large pan needs a large ring so the heat isn’t concentrated on one spot.
– A small pan will get burnt around the outside if a flame can lick up its side. It’s also dangerous.

Speed of cooking
– Over time, you will work out the speed of your pans: some pans will burn onions if they are in it only a minute or two, whereas another pan will be fine.
– We have a stainless steel sauté pan that is great for risottos, where you gently fry rice for a minute or two, then add liquid, but burns the outside of sausages on the lowest heat after ten minutes, before they get a chance to cook in the middle and caramelise. However, it delivers a lovely brown crust to the sausage!
– When you have gathered this intuitive knowledge, it will help you to work out which pans are best for what task. If you find that a pan is taking up space and not doing its job properly, give it to a charity shop where it will find its way into another saucepan collection where it fills a gap, and buy a more appropriate one.

Stainless Steel
– These are the most servicable pans, dishwasher proof with great heat conduction and they take a bit of battering.
– You can use whatever implement you have to hand (no rooting around for the non-stick spatula) but be careful not to scratch them.
– You can buy good weights of pans at a reasonable price.
– They also allow the food to caramelise, a key factor for adding flavour and getting the best from meat and poultry.
– Their downside is that they can stick, especially if you don’t let the meat cook on the outside, before lifting it. They are generally useless for frying eggs and fish sticks in them, and with the best will in the world, they are not great for omelettes (cast-iron or aluminium are much more suited).

Non-stick
– You can get great deals on good non-stick saucepans. You usually get a free frying pan or other pot when you buy a set of three. You can’t put them in the dishwasher (we tested it and it takes the non-stick coating off them, surprisingly quickly on the frying pans, it takes longer on the saucepans but please don’t try it at home. We did it so you don't have to!).
– Use non-stick implements on non-stick pans.
– Food won't caramelise, only brown in non-stick.
– Non-stick pans can emit fumes if they are heated to a very high temperature for a sustained period of time. This is another reason you should never leave a non-stick pan on the heat with nothing in the pan.

Cast iron
– Brilliant for pancakes and omelettes.
– Use a low-heat as they are highly energy-efficient and using a high heat will damage the surface over time.
– People who get Le Creuset pans as a wedding present sometimes complain that they stick, this is often because they have been using too high a heat (wouldn’t you stick if you were put on a high heat!).
– You need to be careful not to drag a cast iron pan across a surface, they are heavy and sometimes you may get a slightly rough edge on one which can scratch a surface.
– You need to season cast-iron pans in the same way as you season a wok. Heat the pan, add oil, keep the heat high and wait until it turns the surface black, turn the heat off, wipe the oil off. Repeat if it is a large pan. This will return the non-stick surface.
– Wipe them clean or wash them in soapy water and rinse well. Dry immediately or they will rust. If they rust, scrub them clean, then re-season (see above).

Clay
– A clay pot is a big bulbous pot with a lid that you make soup or stock in. You’ll find them in the Asian stores – they are quite cheap and there is something wonderfully earthy about using them.
– It uses low heat (never use a high flame, use a diffuser under the pot if you are bringing it to the boil, then turn the heat down as soon as it does).
– It doubles up as a place to store potatoes (it is very efficient, it keeps them dark, and the hole in the lid allows just enough air in). The only downside is you have to take the potatoes out to cook.
– They usually come glazed but if not, you need to soak the lid and the bottom for an hour in warm water before you use it. Ideally, you should soak the clay pot for 15 minutes after you use it each time. Better to buy a glazed one we say!
– A clay pot is like a womb for its ingredients – it helps to release the flavour and keep it within. The small hole in the lid lets out just enough steam to stop it boiling over.
– Terracotta pots or tagines need to be treated the same, they are made of clay and you have to be careful not to overheat them or they will crack. – You can use clay pots and terracotta in the oven. Make sure they do not touch the side of the oven and be careful lifting them out, they are very heavy when they are full.
– Always check for cracks when you buy a clay pot, don't buy it if it has. It is a weak spot.

Tips on getting the best from your pans
– Never heat an empty pan – always add a little fat, or some liquid. The exception is a wok.
– The dishwasher is fine for stainless steel, a huge advantage for a family cook. It is not suitable for cast iron (which rusts), copper or most non-stick pans (it removes the coating).
– Check the manufacturer’s instructions to see if the handles are suitable for dishwashing. Sometimes a plastic handle is fine, sometimes not. You don’t want them to become loose from the heat of the water as this could make them dangerous to use. Never put a wooden handled saucepan into the dishwasher.
– You can get special cleaners for copper pans.
– If you have a special omelette pan, you don’t need to wash it. Just wipe it out after use with paper towel. It will season over time and add to the flavour of the omelette and build up a non-stick surface.
– Copper should be washed with soapy water, rinsed and dried immediately. You can clean the outside with copper cleaner from specialist shops every so often to spruce them up. Make sure to rinse and buff it well afterwards to get rid of the chemicals, so it doesn’t taint the food. If you are the type of person who wants to do this everytime you cook with them, then they will drive you mad, and eventually your food will taste of copper cleaner. Pans should carry their history with them.
– If you don’t want to use copper polish, tomato ketchup is good for getting rid of tarnish on copper pans, but you will have to forego the shine. Just leave it on for 5-7 minutes, then wash in soapy water, rinse and dry well.
– If your copper pans are tin-lined, don’t scour them as you will take off the tin and the copper, which is poisonous, will come through quicker.
– Rinse non-stick pans in hot soapy water, rinse and dry. Do not scour or scrub. If you have burnt food in them, soak in hot soapy water, and gently move the food off the pan with a sponge. Repeat if you need to.

Safe use of pans
– Check the handles of your pans every so often, and tighten the screws on any that need it.
– Always keep the handles of pans turned in from the edge so that you can’t knock them on top of you or a small child can’t reach them. It also means that if you mistakenly lift a pan, forgetting that the handle is hot, when you drop it, the contents are less likely to spill on you.
– When using wooden handles, make sure they are not exposed to a gas flame as they will obviously burn! (It’s easy to forget when you are used to using pans with metal handles).
– Put pans with boiling liquids on the back rings near the wall rather than in the front of the cooker.
– When deep-frying, always have a dampened teatowel nearby in case a pan goes on fire. Better still, buy a small fire extinguisher for the kitchen or a fire blanket.
– Get to know your pans and how long it takes for the handles to get hot. You can boil a small saucepan of water, and the handle should not be so hot tht you can’t lift it to the sink. If it is, be careful when using it and don't buy that type again.
– Check that the handles of your saucepans are oven-proofed to a high temperature – if they are and you use them in the oven, get the oven gloves ready. When you see a saucepan you naturally tend to grip the handle before you realise that it is now in the oven, not on the stove and the handle has been getting hotter and hotter.
– Always use a diffuser under a terracotta or clay dish or pot.

Advantages of Induction Bottle Sealing Machine

2007-10-10T04:35:00.000-07:00

The function of the induction sealing machine is to make caps that are used to prevent any leakage of contents from plastic and glass bottles. The cap is supplied with foil liner inserted inside it, and the bottle is filled and capped in packaging operations. The capped bottle goes under the electromagnetic wave, emitted by an induction cap sealing machine.

The process in which it works is very simple: a high-frequency state induced by a sealing head heats only the foil liner. Then it penetrates the cap and the heat foil layer rapidly melts a polymer coating that forms a hermetic seal with the lip of the bottle. Some of the frequent packaging applications of induction cap sealer machine include inner seals for ketchup, relish, water, milk, juice, barbeque sauce, mustard, drug, coffee cream, etc.

Induction cap sealer has a lot of advantages: it prevents leaks during handling and storage, prevents the air to go inside the bottle, improves shelf life of the products, and enhances customer satisfaction. The ways in which bottle caps are used to seal the openings are varied. For glass bottles, a small circular piece of metal with plastic backings is used, while plastic bottles use a plastic cap.

Induction bottle sealing machines are manufactured by a number of companies. It is because of this that we have bottle caps in various colours and designs. Very often they are colourfully decorated with the logo of the brand of the beverage. Generally, plastic bottle caps are made of different types of plastic that may be of the type of plastic used in the bottle itself. These caps may not be recyclable.

A sophisticated induction cap sealer machine can help you do the capping in various ways and for various types of bottles. You can use them to seal champagne bottles with corks, aluminium caps. You can get these machines at competitive rates after good market research and price comparisons.

The author, Robin Smith, has immense expertise about the bottle sealing machines and cap manufacturing business. He is presently associated with CapSolutions, a company dealing with all sorts of machines used in this industry. He provides professional consultancy to users of these devices with regard to maintenance and utility instructions.

Bid battle looms as Novar rejects Melrose

2007-10-05T02:37:00.000-07:00

THE BUILDING supplies group Novar set the scene last night for a full-blown takeover battle by serving notice that it would reject the pounds 650m bid being lined up by Melrose, the shell company led by a former Hanson executive.

A source close to Novar, which recently changed its name from Caradon, said: "You can rightly assume we don't find the price range or the structure of the bid attractive."

Melrose, a tiny AIM-listed company set up specifically to look for companies to buy, has said that it intends to bid between 140p and 150p a share for Novar using a mixture of cash and stock. It is expected to launch its offer towards the end of this week.

In a pre-emptive strike over the weekend, Novar criticised the structure of the bid, which could result in a pounds 100m profit for the four directors of Melrose, who include the former Hanson executive Chris Miller and the director general of the Institute of Directors, Miles Templeman.

The four directors hold "incentive shares" in Melrose which would entitle them to 10 per cent of any increase in the value of Novar over the next three years because of the way the bid will be funded largely using Melrose stock. If Novar doubled in value they would net pounds 70m and if it trebled the payout would be pounds 110m.

Last night, a Melrose spokesman hit back at Novar over its attack on the incentive scheme. "If the four directors turn the business around then, yes, they will do very well but so will the rest of Novar's shareholders. This is a private equity-style deal but the difference is that it is being carried out through a publicly-quoted company. What Melrose will ask shareholders to do is back its management team against the new management team at Novar."

In response to Melrose's announcement last Thursday that it was considering a bid, Novar brought forward the appointment as chief executive of Stephen Howard, who had not been due to join until next January.

Novar, which specialises in aluminium extrusions and temperature control systems, is chaired by the former Enterprise Oil chairman Sir Graham Hearne. Active Value, the investment fund which specialises in agitating for management change and which holds just under 17 per cent of Novar, is likely to play a pivotal role in the bid battle.

Novar chief pockets pounds 810,000 bonus in US takeover deal

2007-10-05T02:22:00.000-07:00

THE CHIEF executive of Novar, the building supplies, fire protection and cheque printing group, is to walk away with an pounds 810,000 bonus for five weeks' work after the company accepted a pounds 798m break-up bid yesterday from Honeywell of the US.

Stephen Howard, who took the helm on 4 November, is entitled to a success fee equivalent to 1.25 times his pounds 650,000 salary for pulling off the deal which trumps an earlier hostile bid from Melrose.

Analysts said the 185p-a-share offer was likely to prove a knockout price. Together with a 6.6p final dividend which Honeywell will pay Novar shareholders and the cost of taking on its pounds 300m in debt and buying out preference shareholders, the deal values the company at pounds 1.2bn.

Melrose, a buyout vehicle put together with the backing of a number of big institutional shareholders and led by a former Hanson executive, had bid 173p in a mixture of cash and shares. Following the Novar board's decision to recommend the Honeywell offer, Melrose said it was reviewing its options. But an increased bid is thought unlikely unless its institutional backers show appetite to provide more funding.

Honeywell said it only intended to keep Novar's fire alarms, lighting systems and CCTV division and dispose of the other two which specialise in aluminium extrusions and cheque printing.

Mr Howard defended the bonus he is set to collect on the grounds that the value of the company had increased by pounds 300m since his appointment. Mr Howard was made chief executive on the same day that Melrose announced its intention to bid. Honeywell's offer represents a 49 per cent premium to the Novar share price the previous day.

He said that Novar had already been looking at strategic options for the group, including a break-up, when Melrose declared its bid intentions. "We were going to move ahead regardless of what Melrose did," Mr Howard added.

Novar's biggest shareholder, Active Value, has given irrevocable undertakings to accept the Honeywell offer unless a competing bid worth at least 10 per cent more is made. There is a pounds 6m break fee if Novar sells out to another bidder.

David Anderson, Honeywell's finance director, said there would be job losses as a result of combining Novar's remaining business with its own automation and control systems division but he declined to say how many.

Mr Anderson estimated that the deal would generate $100m of additional profits a year and said he did not expect any regulatory opposition because the products and markets that the two companies operated in were largely complementary.

Alcan names US units in sale - British Alcan Aluminium names U.S. units to be sold

2007-09-21T03:01:00.000-07:00

The U.S. operations being included in the proposed sale of 12 business units of Alcan Aluminium Ltd.'s U.K. subsidiary, British Alcan Aluminium Plc, involve seven plants in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and California employing about 550 workers.

The East Coast units include Reade Manufacturing of Lakehurst, N.J., which makes and markets magnesium particulates, and Alcan units in Flemington, N.J., and Aspers, Pa., specializing in the production and sale of zirconium chemical products for flame-proofing, antiperspirant, paper coating and other applications.

Also on the block are Luxfer USA, which produces high-pressure compressed gas cylinders at plants in Riverside and Placentia, Calif., and Graham, N.C.; and the Superform USA facility in Riverside which makes superplastic aluminum pressings for aerospace and architectural applications.

Montreal-based Alcan Aluminium said last week that it had entered exclusive negotiations to sell the 12 business units, which have 35 locations in the United Kingdom and one in Ireland, as a single group.

The intended buyer was identified as a new company formed by Mercury Asset Management Plc's development capital arm, Mercury Development Capital. There has been speculation that the package eventually would be broken up, although Lazard Brothers, which since last March has been helping British Aluminium sell the package, reportedly indicated last week that this was far from decided and a Mercury spokesman dismissed the idea of any immediate unbundling.

Other operations involved in the 12-business package include the production and marketing of aluminum extrusions, wire and cable, plate and household foil.

German Hydro Aluminum unit picks president of Mich. plant - Hydro Aluminium Automotive Structures Inc. selects Per Kr. Oestby, Michigan facility

2007-09-21T03:00:00.000-07:00

Among other things, the Holland plant is the producer of the domestic auto industry's first extrusion-based aluminum subframes, which have been used in the Chevrolet Corvette sports cars since 1993.

Although no announcement of the executive change has been made by Hydro Aluminium or its parent company, Norsk Hydro A/S in Norway, company sources said Oestbye left Raufoss Automotive Co., Raufoss, Norway, to take the top job at the Michigan concern.

Raufoss Automotive, where Oestbye served as general manager of structural products, is an automotive components manufacturer that is 40-percent owned by Norsk Hydro.

Hydro Aluminium Automotive Structures (HAAS) also has major operations in Europe, including a plant in Tonder, Denmark, that makes extrusion-based spaceframes for some of the automakers, including Renault SA in France and Lotus Cars Ltd., Norwich, England.

The Holland, Mich., operations of HAAS began making the Corvette subframes a little more than three years ago, and those subassemblies were the first units employing extrusions to be installed in a line of North American-built cars.

Norsk Hydro boosts extrusions

2007-09-11T05:36:00.000-07:00

Norwegian light metals giant Norsk Hydro AS Tuesday set plans to add another aluminum extruder to its lengthening chain of extrusion operations built up mainly via acquisitions in Europe and the Western Hemisphere in the 90s. The Oslo-headquartered aluminum, magnesium and energy company said it had agreed to purchase Acro, a two-press extruder situated near Sao Paulo, Brazil for an undisclosed sum.

The move came close on the heels of an announcement by Norsk Hydro that it had agreed to buy Rackwitz Aluminium GmbH., an ailing aluminum extruder and smelter in Leipzig, for an undisclosed sum.

Norsk Hydro said it plans to add a third press at the Acro unit, renamed Hydro Aluminium Acro, and have the plan running at 17,000 metric tons a year by next March.

The company's plans for Rackwitz include getting two extrusion presses back in operation some time next year and combining the modestsized smelter with its own facilities in Cleraux in Luxembourg.

Rackwitz resumed operation in January of this year after having been out of action in 1996 during a search for new financing. Norsk Hydro said it expects to have the two-press Leipzig plant running at 12,000 tons a year initially and 15,000 tons a year eventually.

Charge Of The Light Brigade - Industry Overview - Statistical Data Included

2007-09-11T05:34:00.000-07:00

Audi's second-generation aluminum car will prove out production process for the 2003 A6 midsize sedan -- and high volumes.

Back in 1976, VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech, then head of development for Audi, paid a visit to the Coors plant in Colorado to look at the production of aluminum beer cans. It's taken the best part of a quarter century to go from cans to cars, but Piech's vision of a high volume, mass produced aluminum automobile has moved a step closer with the launch of the Audi A2.

The A2 is Audi's second aluminum intensive vehicle. The first, the limited volume A8 luxury sedan launched in 1994, pioneered the productionization of Audi's innovative aluminum space frame (ASF) technology. The A2 takes lessons learned from the A8, and moves ASF technology downmarket for consumers and across the supplier chain. It will be built in four times the volume of the A8, and be used to prove out production processes for the 2003 Audi A6, which is currently planned to use ASF construction.

With prices starting from the equivalent of $22,000 in Britain, the A2 is an expensive small car -- about the same price as the larger 1.6L VW Golf -- even though in absolute terms, it is the world's most affordable aluminum intensive vehicle. What's crucial, however, is the A2 delivers on the much vaunted promise of aluminum autos, offering lower weight, better fuel economy and fewer emissions without compromising performance, comfort or safety. In this context the A2's sporty handling, funky styling and superb build quality are bonuses.

The genesis of the A2 dates back to 1991, when Piech announced that an affordable production car capable of fuel consumption of 3.0 litres per 100 km (about 80 mpg) should be feasible by 2000. That goal, Piech insisted, could not be achieved simply through powertrain and transmission improvements. He calculated that both vehicle mass and rolling resistance would have to be cut by 35%. It was against this background that the product specification of the A2 was determined.

By definition, then, the A2 was to be an efficient and roomy small car, with lightweight construction and a low coefficient of drag (Cd). Audi engineers calculated that a 10% reduction in vehicle weight translated to a 5% reduction in real world fuel consumption, while a 1% reduction in the coefficient of drag meant a 2% reduction in fuel consumption. Baseline modeling suggested a vehicle weighing 1,815 pounds and with a 0.25 Cd, powered by a 1.2L direct injection turbodiesel, could achieve the 3.0 liters/100 km fuel consumption bogey, with acceptable performance and driveability.

These are in fact the parameters for the fuel economy leader version of the A2 due next fall (see sidebar), but initially the car is being launched with 1.4L gasoline and the 1.4L TDI direct-injection turbodiesel engines. Weighing 1,969 pounds and 2,178 pounds, respectively, and capable of returning 47 mpg and 66 mpg, these are still light and efficient by conventional small car standards. Tougher safety laws and consumer demand for higher feature content mean the weight of a typical "C' segment car has increased by up to 25% over the past 15 years, with an average 45 to 50 mpg diesel-engined model now tipping the scales at 2,640 pounds.

The 1.4L 4-cylinder gasoline engine is a low-friction variant of the dohc, 16-valve powerplant used in VW's "B" segment Polo. It develops 74 hp at 5,000 rpm, and 93 lb-ft of torque at 3,800 rpm, driving the front wheels through a magnesium-cased 5-speed manual transmission. Claimed fuel consumption of 47 mpg is partly due to the low idle speed of just 680 rpm. The gasoline A2 is a lively performer, accelerating from 0 to 62 mph in 12 seconds, and reaching a top speed of 108 mph.

The 1.4L TDI is a 3-cylinder unit that shares the same bore centers as the new 4-cylinder Golf DI diesel. This enables the engines to be built on the same line. The TDI also develops 74 hp, but at 1,000 rpm lower than the 1.4L gas engine. A key feature of the TDI is a new high-pressure Bosch fuel injection system, which permits injection pressures of up to 29,725 psi (2,050 bar) and helps the engine achieve its peak torque of 143 lb-ft at just 2,200 rpm. As a result, the 66 mpg 1.4L TDI pulls strongly in the mid-range, and delivers similar performance to the petrol version -- 12.3 seconds 0 to 62 mph and 108 mph top speed -- despite being 209 pounds heavier, due to its cast-iron block, aluminium transmission casing and more robust gear clusters and axles.

Where It Beats Mercedes

The A2's front suspension is MacPherson strut with forged steel wishbones, while at the rear is a hydroformed torsion beam axle. Steering is electro-hydraulic power assisted rack and pinion, with the electric motor modulating the hydraulic pressure in the system on the basis of steering wheel angular velocity and vehicle speed. Audi claims the system can be delivered and installed as a ready module, and encoded on line to give vehicle-specific steering characteristics, reducing complexity and cost.

Extruders plunge into downstream processing - Special Section: Extrusions

2007-09-11T05:32:00.000-07:00

Rising demands for quality and a shortening of product life cycles are prompting manufacturers to order extra services from aluminum extruders, industry executives said.

For extruders that can provide extra services, downstream processing can mean charging customers by the part instead of by the pound. It also facilitates recycling of scrap and reduces questions on accountability for quality.

Although several extruders have been focusing on value-added work for more than a decade, the trend has accelerated in recent years, according to Donn W. Sanford, president of the Aluminum Extruders Council. "For the past two to three years, there's been a growing number of extruders adding value-added services at the request of their customers," Sanford said. "More extruders are offering the services, and the ones already offering them are offering more services.

"There's a tremendous surge in quality concerns. Quality control and time are big factors driving the downstream movement."

Shortened product life cycles are spurring the need for timely services, according to Dick Smith, president of Mideast Aluminum Industries, Mountaintop, Pa., a division of Indal Inc.

"If you can offer a variety of machines for extra processing, you can help a customer get a product to market quickly," Smith explained. "The customer doesn't have to invest in the machines because you can provide the service. If the product really takes off, then the customer may buy the equipment to process in house."

Providing value-added processing has been part of Mideast's strategy since its founding some 20 years ago, and it has been gradually adding to its services ever since, Smith said.

Improving service is the rationale for an upgrade now under way at Mideast. The company is adding 130,000 square feet to its extrusion and finishing plant. This work is part of a project to consolidate Mideast's Dayton, N.J., plant into the Mountaintop facility.

While Mideast's value-added processing helps some customers bring new products to market quickly, the services are being demanded by customers who wish to simplify existing manufacturing operations, as well.

"We're seeing a lot of customers who are finding it less cost-effective to do their own finishing in house as part of manufacturing and assembly operations," Smith said. "If they have the extruder do the work, they don't have to worry about dealing with scrap or meeting tolerances."

Precision Extrusion Inc., Bensenville, Ill., also is seeing a pickup in requests for value-added services from manufacturers looking to simplify their operations.

"Adding services makes for one-stop shopping," said Richard Zihm, the company's president. Manufacturers "don't have to send parts on to a fabricator or a finisher before they can use them. And with value-added parts, you don't have to worry about blame assessment if something out of specification arrives on the line."

An extruder in the Southeast concurred. "Once they get a part from us, it can go right into a machining center or right out onto the line," the extruder said. "In the past two years, we've seen a tremendous increase in requests for value-added processing."

Mideast's Smith said that providing downstream processing places a big responsibility on aluminum extruders because parts that are out of specification can be costly.

"Customers want rejection rates in parts per million," he said. "If you take an extrusion that would cost $1.10 a pound, then add $50 of machining per part, you don't want to scrap it."

Such quality concerns are what drives customers to ask for more from their extruders, according to Jim Sharpe, president of Extrusion Technology, Randolph, Mass. He said that turning to downstream processing helped the company reorganize and emerge from Chapter 11 creditor protection in the late 1970s.

"Having an extruder do value-added work initially looks more expensive, so some companies try to cut costs by doing work in house," Sharpe said. "After a while, a lot of these customers become willing to pay more for services so that they don't have to pay for mistakes."

Only about one-third of Extrusion Technology's investment is in extrusion equipment, Sharpe said, revealing that 85 percent of the company's business comes from customers seeking value-added services.

"The rest of our investment is in machining operations," he said. "We've become more focused on running our machining operations instead of being just an extruder."

The drive toward downstream processing is spurring an interest in the new 9000 regulations of the International Standards Organization (ISO), extruders said. The ISO 9000 standards were adopted by member nations of the European Community to ensure the quality of goods moving across borders as trade barriers were removed.

"A lot of companies coming to the U.S. are looking for this certification in their suppliers," said Mideast's Smith. "We currently are going through quite a learning process to get certified."

GM in big aluminum switch

2007-09-07T04:56:00.000-07:00

DETROIT -- In what is expected to be the biggest new automotive application of any kind for aluminum extrusion alloys getting under way this year, General Motors Corp. will switch the bumper beams on the front and rear of all of its standard-size cars in the Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac lines to aluminum from steel.

If GM builds and sells as many of those cars as it thinks it will, the new bumpers will consume 8.3 million pounds or more of aluminum per year, according to GM sources here.

That's more than the big automaker is expected to use in two other important new applications for aluminum extrusion alloys starting up this year--the engine cradles in two Chevrolet car lines and the radiator enclosures in standard-size Chevy, GMC and Cadillac sports utility vehicles (AMM, Dec. 17).

Because of all these applications as well as certain others, 1999 is shaping up as a breakthrough year for extrusion grades of aluminum, which typically are magnesium-silicide alloys, in the North American auto market. Although domestic automakers have been using light-alloy extrusions in their vehicles for years, the year-to-year increase in applications is generally small and relatively difficult to measure.

GM sources said the new bumper beams, which will weigh around 26 pounds per car, will be used on the -redesigned Buick LeSabres, Olds Auroras and Pontiac Bonnevilles coming out this year as 2000 models. The new Auroras will replace the Olds 88s in GM's product stable.

More than 14 million pounds of steel per year will be replaced by the aluminum bumper beams, these sources said. The reinforcement beams will be covered by plastic fascias on all three car lines and will serve as the principal structural components in the front and rear bumper systems.

GM will buy the beams from Hydro Raufoss Automotive, Holland, Mich., which is expected to get its metal from one or two sources. The likeliest suppliers of the aluminum 6082 alloy are Hydro Goldendale, Seattle, Wash., and/or Alcan Aluminium Ltd., Montreal.

Hydro Raufoss also will make the new extruded bumper beams that GM will employ on its redesigned Cadillac DeVille luxury cars for 2000, GM sources said. Altogether, the aluminum used in the new Buick, Olds, Pontiac and Cadillac car bumpers will exceed 10 million pounds annually. In the DeVille bumpers, too, the aluminum will be replacing steel.

Alcan hires exec Bettcher

2007-09-07T04:55:00.001-07:00

NEW YORK -- Alcan Aluminum Corp. has hired away Stephen J. Bettcher, a 21-year veteran of the hotly competitive, $4-billion-a-year-plus aluminum can stock business, from Kaiser Aluminum Corp. as vice president, global can stock sales and marketing.

Alcan Aluminum, Cleveland-based U.S. arm of Canada's Alcan Aluminium Ltd., did some serious tire kicking at Kaiser Aluminum's big Trentwood, Wash., aluminum rolling mill at one point in 1998, but did not pursue the matter. Both the U.S. unit and the Montreal-headquartered parent company have been building up substantial aluminum can stock capacity in the '90s in the United States, Europe and Brazil.

Trentwood, along with four other large Kaiser plants in the United States, has been run with non-union personnel since the United Steelworkers went on strike Sept. 30.

Prior to his long stint as Kaiser Aluminum's vice president, can stock sales and marketing, Bettcher, who will make his headquarters in Cleveland, held sales positions in Kaiser's ingot, forgings, extrusions and sheet and plate departments. He has been chairman of the Aluminum Association's Aluminum Can Committee since 1991.

India's budget protects primary producers

2007-09-06T05:59:00.000-07:00

NEW DELHI, India - The Indian governments budget for fiscal 1998-99 provides protection for domestic primary aluminum producers with an additional 8-percent custom duty on nonferrous metals.

The budget, released by finance minister Yashwant Sinha this week, will boost the import tariff to 33 percent, benefiting such ingot manufacturers as Hindalco, National Aluminium Co. (Nalco) and Bharat Aluminium Co. (Balco).

Aluminium Association of India officials said that with increased production, the primary aluminum producers will be able to market their products more effectively and will find it easier to meet Indian demand for primary aluminum.

But the budget is not favorable to producers of secondary aluminum such as Indian Aluminium Co. Ltd. (Indal). The import tariff structure for ingots, downstream products, extrusions, foils and scrap remains at 25 percent.

Indal managing director Tapan Mitra said the new budget has not given relief to the secondary aluminum industry, which is facing tremendous pressure from demand constraints and competition from cheaper fabricated aluminum products. He said the industry had expected the government to increase the customs duty to 30 percent on aluminum sheet, foil and other extruded products.

Motoring: The slippery shape of things to come; Road Test

2007-09-06T05:55:00.000-07:00

This is one of those moments that make a motoring journalist's life. A car shaped for the future, first revealed as a radical 1997 Frankfurt motor show concept, is about to take to the road in a form ready for you, me or anyone to buy and use. I am going to drive it, and future is about to become present.

Seeing Audi's radical A2 under a motor show's bright lights is one thing, but how will it look out in the open, on real roads, interspersed among more prosaic fellow cars? (Terrific, actually.) Will people point and stare? (They do.)

And how will it feel to drive? That other future-radical car, the Citroen DS, was always best admired when stationary. On the move, its grumbly old engine sat oddly with the space-age shape and Dan Dare detailing, breaking the spell. The A2 shares its engines with Volkswagen's Polo and Lupo, so these engines are a point of contact with the known automotive universe. Might they, too, burst the bubble?

With radical looks goes radical construction. The A2's structure is an aluminium skeleton of castings and extrusions clothed in lightweight panels. It weighs 40 per cent less than if it were made of steel, to the great benefit of performance and fuel efficiency, but costs two-and-a-half times as much to manufacture. Audi has used this technology before, in the large, expensive and exclusive A8, but this is the first time a low-cost, mass- produced, profit-generating car has been formed in aluminium.

If the design language is unmistakably millennial Audi - the hefty wheel arches, the headlight shape, the domed roof - the size and proportions are more Mercedes A-class. The front wings are bendy plastic, the wheel arches are separate, easily-replaced mouldings, the roof has four stiffening ribs and the tailgate and rear window are cut far into it. There is no rear wiper, but the window has a "hydrophobic" coating. Do not let your dog lick it.

Inside, you will find a style and substance to shame both the A- class and Audi's own A3. Nearly every surface is soft to the touch, unless it is the aluminium of the gearlever stem, the glovebox catch or the dial surrounds. The design theme is bold, horizontal lines. You sit quite high, but not MPV-high; ahead of you is a twin-armed, single-bladed, pantograph windscreen wiper, behind you are just two foldable and removable rear seats. This is surprising, and bodes ill for the A2's role as a family transport capsule, but a three-seat row is optional. This lacks a full three-point belt for the centre occupant, which will come in due course.

Adults may find a lack of rear legroom, but children will fit comfortably. If they are small, you can take advantage of their short legs and specify the optional floor boxes which fit in the deep rear footwells. This extra storage space could be useful, because the boot is not large despite a small-diameter spare wheel, which needs to be inflated before use (an electric pump is supplied). Another option is the "open sky" full-length glass roof, complete with a sunscreen of aluminium mesh. It looks great, but cannot do much for the A2's lightweight credentials.

What appears to be the radiator grille is a plastic flap which flips down to reveal hinge-out orifices for oil and washer fluid, plus the dipstick. The bonnet does not hinge open, but is unclipped for servicing. Apparently, today's drivers dislike opening a bonnet and so neglect these essential checks. Now they need never be confronted with signs of mechanical mystery, and will not know what the A2's two 1.4-litre, 75bhp engine options - a four-cylinder petrol and a three-cylinder TDI turbodiesel - look like.

The TDI is the better choice for the A2-shaped, car-reinvention experience. Its deep thrum is a suitably off-beat soundtrack, and it delivers a torrent of torque absent from the quieter, smoother, freer- revving but blander petrol engine. The diesel A2 is much more economical, too, even though it weighs 990kg instead of 895. That extra weight is nearly all over the front wheels, so it is the petrol A2 that better delivers the agility, precision and lightness of dynamic touch that the lightweight construction promises.

But with quick, sharp steering and nearly lean-free cornering, both A2s are fun to drive. Do not be tempted by the optional fat wheels and ultra- low-profile tyres, though, because they destroy the suppleness you get with the standard footwear. You will need to develop a supple neck, too, because those thick, curved windscreen pillars block the view badly. On one twisty stretch of road, a preceding Renault 5 disappeared entirely.

The petrol A2 arrives here in September, and the pricier TDI follows in January. Should you buy one? Fuel consumption apart, it offers little practical advantage over a regular five-door hatchback. But that is not the point. Drive an A2, and you drive a piece of the future.

Hydro Acquires Technal

2007-08-29T04:48:00.000-07:00

LAUSANNE, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 25, 2002

Hydro Aluminium has reached a final agreement to acquire Technal group, a major European player within aluminium building systems, head quartered in Toulouse, France.

This finalizes the deal announced on October 30th 2001.

In 2001 the Technal group had a turnover of EURO 275 million, approximately 10 per cent up from 2000. Hydro paid approximately EURO 73 million for the equity of the Technal group and assumed at the same time the EURO 38,3 million debt of Technal.

The Technal group designs, manufactures and markets a broad range of building systems which are used in the fabrication of a variety of products such as doors, windows, facades and conservatories. The Technal group has presence throughout Western Europe including France, Spain, Portugal and the UK as well as export and licensees in a number of countries.

With this acquisition Hydro Building Systems will be the world leader in building systems based on aluminium extrusions, with over 3200 employees and operations in more than 20 countries.

Hydro Building Systems is part of Hydro Aluminium Extrusion, one of the seven business sectors of Hydro Aluminium.

Norsk Hydro ASA, the Norwegian Oil and Energy, Light Metals and Agri group, earlier in January announced an agreement to buy all shares of VAW aluminium AG, the German aluminium company. The acquisition, subject to clearance by the European Union competition authorities, will make Hydro Aluminium one of the world's top-tier light metal companies, with a leading position in Europe.Total sales in Hydro Aluminium activities after the acquisition will be approximately 10 billion Euro, (NOK 80 billion), and the merged company will employ more than 30,000 persons.

"With the acquisition of the Technal group we will not only be by far the biggest player within aluminium building systems in France and a leading one in the rest of Europe, but also have a strong position for further growth, especially outside Europe," says Jan Fredrik Meling, Executive Vice President of Hydro Aluminium Extrusion and head of Hydro Building Systems, "the Technal brand with its excellent reputation ideally complements our WICONA and DOMAL brand range as well as our geographical spread. It is our intention to stick to our decentralised business concept and run the Technal brand in parallel to our existing Wicona and Domal ones."

Patrick A. Tanguy, Chief Executive Officer of the Technal group, stated," We are pleased to become a part of Hydro Building Systems. We believe that combining the strengths of both companies will accelerate the development of global presence of Hydro Building Systems."

Hindalco increases foll capacity

2007-08-29T04:47:00.001-07:00

NEW DELHI, India, - India's leading private aluminum producer, Hindalco Ltd., will double the production capacity of its aluminum foil plant by December 1999 in an effort to capture the growing domestic foil market.

Hindalco's foil plant at Silvasa in Western India has an installed capacity of 5,000 tonnes per year and began operation in February.

Hindalco president Askaran Agarwala said the company will invest an additional $10 million to increase the foil plant's capacity to 10,000 tonnes per year.

He said Hindalco will sell 70 percent of the output in the domestic market, while 30 percent is made for exports.

Hindalco executives said the company is continuing to pursue the acquisition of Hyderabad-based primary aluminum producer Pennar Aluminium Co., which has asset value worth $75 million (AMM, May 11).

Hindalco, headquartered at Mumbai, is India's largest private producer of aluminum with installed capacity to manufacture 210,000 tonnes per annum of aluminum and 350,000 tonnes per annum of alumina. Hindalco also produces value-added aluminum sheets, extrusions and rods.

The company is planning investments of about $475 million dollars to increase capacities of alumina and aluminium plants and value-added units.

Norsk Hydro's Acquisition of VAW Completed

2007-08-28T07:09:00.000-07:00

Norsk Hydro ASA, the Norwegian Oil and Energy, Aluminium and Agri group, has as of today completed the acquisition of the German aluminium company, VAW aluminium AG.

The closing in Dusseldorf today comes just a little over two months after Hydro entered into the agreement with the German utility and industry group, E.ON, to acquire VAW. The completion of the transaction is to be followed by a rapid integration of Hydro and VAW, which will create Hydro Aluminium - an innovative global force in the aluminium industry.

"VAW and Hydro represent an excellent strategic fit. The combination of our strengths in rolled products and extrusions enable us to offer customers a broader product range and move closer to aluminium end users. We will also be able to increase our recycling activities. The combination open significant value creation opportunities," stated Jon-Harald Nilsen, Chief Executive Officer of Hydro Aluminium and Executive Vice President in the Norsk Hydro Group.

Hydro Aluminium will be one of the top three global aluminium suppliers, and market leader in important market segments. Hydro Aluminium will have a total business volume within primary aluminium cast house products of approximately 2.8 million tons. The combined group will have strong positions in markets for rolled and extruded products, and will be a global leader in aluminium applications for the building and automotive industries.

Hydro will be the leading aluminium company in Europe and have significant positions in North America and Asia/Pacific.

Integration planning in advance of the closing has prepared the ground for a rapid integration. Top management in Hydro Aluminium has been identified. Business sector managements will be appointed during April and the combined company will be fully operating as one from July 2002.

The acquisition will be funded through drawing on existing cash funds. VAW aluminium AG will be consolidated into Hydro's accounts as of the closing date.

Certain statements in this press release are or may constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that are not in the nature of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements and may contain identifying words such as "believes", "anticipates", "plans", "expects" and similar expressions. These forward looking statements are based on Hydro's current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the company and the industries in which it engages in business. All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. For a detailed description of factors that could cause Hydro's actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements, please refer to its annual report on Form 20-F for the year-ended December 31, 2000 and subsequent filings on Form 6-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Boeing picks suppliers

2007-08-28T06:50:00.000-07:00

Five companies to provide $4.3 billion of aluminum By BOB REGAN

NEW YORK -- Boeing Co.'s Commercial Airplane Group Monday named five aluminum companies that will provide $4.3 billion worth of flat-rolled aluminum and extruded aluminum products it expects it will need for commercial aircraft production over the next 10 years.

The Seattle-headquartered aircraft/aerospace giant in July selected Thyssen Inc. North America as its exclusive distributor of flat-rolled aluminum and certain small and intermediate-size extrusions. The 10-year contract, seen posing far-reaching implications for the existing metals distributor networks serving Boeing, prompted Thyssen to form a new division, TMX Aerospace, to administer the Boeing contract, valued at $300 million over the 10-year period

Asked how the five aluminum companies-Aluminum Co. of America, Pittsburgh; Kaiser Aluminum Corp., Houston; Century Aluminum Co., Monterey, Calif.; Universal Alloys Co., Canton, Ga.; and Hoogovens Aluminium Walzprodukte GmbH, Koblemz-were selected, a Boeing spokeswoman said there was an open bidding procedure and the choices were based on prices and such other criteria as business plan alignment, location, warehousing and other factors. At least two companies- Alcoa and Kaiser-had been selected earlier

Boeing said Monday that its strategy will be to buy its aluminum directly from the mills and then ship it through its single-source distributor to its external component suppliers and its internal shops. Boeing's previous aluminum procurement strategy involved itself, a system of 500-plus aerostructures suppliers and other smaller suppliers dealing with seven aluminum mills, 14 aluminum extruders and more than 50 distributors.

Boeing said its new system is designed to "eliminate speculative demand and "ensure a continuous supply of raw materials to Boeing internal operations and external suppliers at the lowest possible cost."

Boeing said Monday the new system will get under way soon, with aluminum deliveries under the new regime scheduled before the end of the year.

Ingot price stable for Sept.: Alcan

2007-08-24T06:19:00.001-07:00

NEW YORK -- Ale an Aluminium Ltd. once again opted to hold its postings for primary aluminum ingot and extrusion billet unchanged through September after ingot prices held steady on the hedge and dealer markets during August.

The Montreal-based integrated international aluminum producer left its postings at 68 cents a pound for ingot and 78 cents a pound for alloy 6063 extrusion billet- levels selected for both July and August. Richmond, Va.,based Reynolds Metals Co., which has been putting more emphasis on the ingot sector after selling off much of its mill products and fabricating base over the past year or so, reportedly held its September tags unchanged at 69 cents a pound for unalloyed ingot and 79 cents for 6063 extrusion billet.

The London Metal Exchange cash aluminum price, which forms the basis for most of the world's aluminum ingot pricing and much of North American producer pricing for aluminum can stock, common alloy sheet, soft alloy extrusions and some other mill products, averaged 59.5 cents a pound in August, not much changed from July's 59.4 cents or June's 59.3 cents.

Premiums applied to producer metal sold to dealers, Midwest delivery basis, have centered on 4.5 cents a pound over late spring and thus far this summer. On this basis and with the LME cash price finishing Friday at 60.63 cents, he merchant price started the new week at 65 cents to 65.25 cents a pound, 3 to 4 cents under Alcan's September posting.

Held in check by rising imports, U.S. aluminum industry shipments of primary and secondary ingot in the first half of 1998 were virtually unchanged from the same 1997 period at 1,321,827 tonnes, according to the latest Aluminum Association and U.S. Department of Commerce tallies.

Imports jumped 234,330 tonnes, or 20.9 percent, to 1,354,850 tonnes, topping the domestic industry tally by more than 33,000 tonnes. U.S. aluminum industry purchases from Russia are running at a record clip this year. Imports from Australia also are higher, while metal brought in from Canada was down in the first half of this year.

Building market enjoys modest growth; production cutbacks, gyrating prices pull at both ends - Building and Construction Aluminum - Industry Overview

2007-08-24T06:18:00.000-07:00

The overall market for building and construction aluminum continued to recover this year--despite some still-lagging regional pockets--as both mill producers and downstream fabricators enjoyed 10 percent to more than 15 percent growth in demand compared with last year.

Even so, gyrating aluminum prices, spurred by worldwide aluminum production overcapacity and hefty Commonwealth of Independent States aluminum exports, have prompted some major mills to announce cutbacks in the past year:

* Reynolds Metals Co., Richmond, Va., said it would downsize its McCook, Ill., rolling mill, a move that affects, among other products, common alloys for the construction markets.

* Alumax Inc., Norcross, Ga., said it would end aluminum rolling operations in Joliet, Ill., and Riverside, Calif., which produce common alloy sheet for the construction and appliance markets.

* Alcan Aluminum Ltd., Montreal, plans to sell or shut down its building products network in the United States, which makes aluminum, vinyl and steel items. It later disclosed plans to sell two aluminum extrusion facilities to Cressona Aluminum Co., Cressona, Pa.

* AmeriMark Inc., Raleigh, N.C., said it would close its Gnadenhutten, Ohio, plant due to the "long, continuous decline in consumer acceptance" of aluminum siding.

Does this shakeout mean the survivors have clear sailing?

"I don't think anybody in the aluminum business today would say we're having a windfall because of McCook's plight," said Joe Byers, vice president of sales and marketing for Barmet Aluminum Corp., Akron, Ohio. Even though the cutbacks have undoubtedly altered the U.S. supply picture, Byers observed in late June, "we live in a global economy and we're seeing imports we didn't see six months ago."

With the former Soviet Union exporting such mainstay flat-rolled products as 5052 alloy coils, he explained, the pressure will remain on U.S. mills to keep their own production costs as low as possible.

Meanwhile, a cross section of construction-related aluminum companies report their business has strengthened considerably since the slump of 1990-91.

J.G. Braun Co., a distributor based in Skokie, Ill., reported a 10-percent improvement in sales in 1993 following a slow 1992 and said it is optimistic about the likelihood of an even bigger increase this year.

Dan Sullivan, sales manager for the distributor of angles, channels, tubing and hand railing components for both the residential and commercial construction markets, said the market "seems to be escalating this year, so there could be the chance of a 15-percent or even 20-percent increase." But he emphasized that 1994's ultimate strength could depend on recovery in regions such as California and parts of the East where the construction market is lagging the country as a whole.

New England "is still slow as far as commercial construction is concerned," said John Duran, director of marketing for Leed/Himmel Industries Inc., Hamden, Conn., which extrudes shapes and also buys large shapes and mill products for its fabricated products that are sold for both construction and industrial applications. But New York and New Jersey appear somewhat stronger, he said.

Duran pointed out that the public works market--which includes construction of schools and government buildings--is accounting for a disproportionately higher share of business in New England, presumably due to the decline in commercial business.

At the F.W. Dodge division of McGraw-Hill Inc., New York, which tracks the building and construction market, the forecast this year is for a 9-percent rise in overall construction compared with a 6-percent improvement last year. This general upturn, though, masks uneven progress among various categories. A Dodge analyst pointed out that residential, public works and institutional construction is increasing from levels of "relative strength." But office, hotel and warehouse commercial construction has just begun to rise after languishing close to 30-year lows.

Austria's Amag posts higher profit despite lower turnover

2007-08-21T03:26:00.002-07:00

Austrian aluminum company Austria Metall AG (Amag) posted an 11.7-percent increase in 1999 earnings despite a 6-percent decline in turnover to 556.6 million euros ($520.2 million) due to low aluminum prices in the first half of the year.

Pretax earnings rose to 33.4 million euros ($31.2 million) from 29.9. million euros in 1998. While all units operated at good capacity, German subsidiary Aluminium Unna AG suffered noticeably from internal structural problems and was divested in a staff buyout, Amag said.

The extrusions plant and rolling mill at Amag's main operation in Ranshofen countered the pressure on margins by improved output and a better production mix, Amag said, noting that the rolling mill lifted its output by some 5,000 tonnes to 95,000 tonnes.

Amag said that it expected volumes, at the extrusions plant to decline slightly this year as it had reduced its capacity shifts in favor of flexibility. Due to a restructuring of internal operations, which won't affect the bottom line until next year, the company expects a rather modest operating profit this year.

Amag added that it expected rolling mill sales to remain at a high level, with an expansion of its market position in the United States and the Far East.

Japan output of aluminum mill products slips in July

2007-08-21T03:26:00.001-07:00

Manufacturers taking a 'hard look' at purchasing

2007-08-13T06:16:00.000-07:00

While each aircraft manufacturer is taking its own approach, many--both in the commercial and the military sectors--are taking a hard look at their buying practices and making changes to guarantee just-in-time deliveries and other efficiencies.

Perhaps the most pronounced changes have come in the commercial aerospace sector, where the Seattle-based Boeing Commercial Airplanes Group of Boeing Co. has consolidated its aluminum flat-roll and extrusions supplier base and integrated purchasing of these products. This accounts for much of their materials purchases, as aluminum comprises about 80 percent of their aircraft, under a single service provider--the TMX Aerospace Division of Thyssen Inc. North America, Detroit. TMX is also integrating Boeing's purchases of titanium. Likewise their major competitor, Airbus Industrie of Toulouse, France, is converting itself from a consortium of four European companies into one integrated entity that will eventually, once its metamorphosis is complete next year, utilize centralized metals purchasing.While many original equipment manufacturers in aerospace and elsewhere have taken moves to consolidate their supplier base and gain greater control of their metals purchasing and other requirements, Boeing's move, according to Jeffrey Phelan, a program manager for the aerospace giant's supply management and procurement division, said, is the first time that it has been done to this extent.

What Boeing Commercial is trying to do, said Sid Rose, senior raw materials manager, at a recent National Association of Aluminum Distributors meeting, is "rightsize" its supply base in an effort to come up with a fully integrated supply chain management system that best utilizes aluminum distributors and mills. This, he said, has reduced Boeing's purchases of aluminum flat roll and extrusions by just buying what the company truly needs.

Prior to this move, which was initiated about 2 1/2 years ago, Boeing's purchasing method was very inefficient, Rose said. "Every division operated independently with each having its own supply chain and its own customers," he said. "We didn't do anything together."

Pushed by the company's new thinking that followed Boeing's merger with McDonnell Douglas, this move, which has been termed as the Millennium Contract, was the brain child of the company's strategic sourcing team that was charged with identifying and implementing best practices across the company. Under this new program, Boeing Commercial now contracts with five aluminum producers--Alcoa Inc., Pittsburgh; Pechiney Rolled Products LLC, Ravenswood, W.Va.; Hoogovens Aluminium Walzprodukte GmbH, Koblenz, Germany; Kaiser Aluminum Corp., Houston; and Universal Alloys Co., Canton, Ga.--and three titanium producers--Titanium Metals Corp., Denver; RTI International Metals Inc., Niles, Ohio; and VSMPA of Russia. This is a 50-percent drop from the number of aluminum and titanium mills it used to buy from, and using just TMX represents an 80 percent decline in metal distributors.

However, TMX's role, Rose explained, is somewhat different than that of previous metal service centers. "They also take the time to call on our customers to determine what they are buying, forecast demand and try to provide us with all that data so we can determine what orders need to be placed."

This program, Phelan said, is still only about 80 percent implemented and will not be fully in place for another two years, which was the planned time frame to allow for previous long-term contracts to expire.

Thus far, he said, it has been working well, although there were some growing pains, especially during the beginning of 2000, when a lot of suppliers came on-stream at one time. But since then, he said, many of the kinks have been ironed out, as Boeing and its parts suppliers as well as the mills and TMX get used to the new way of doing business. "Purchasing is more streamlined, forecasting is more accurate, the mills produce what we need when we need it. It has definitely consolidated the supply chain, taking out a lot of the waste," he said.

Whether Boeing will extend this concept to other products in its commercial airplane group, such as aluminum rod, bar and tubing, or to its military airplane unit, is still uncertain, Phelan said, stating that it is possible if this program continues to be successful. "It is a company-wide effort to make efficiency gains, but the decision to expand it lies with our strategic sourcing team."

As for Airbus, as of 1967 the European commercial aerospace manufacturer had been a consortium of four leading companies, each of which were responsible for specific components of the aircraft, a spokesman explained. BAE Systems Plc of England has been responsible for the wings; Construcciones Aeronauticas SA (Casa) of Spain has been responsible for the tail sections; Aerospatiale Matra SA of France was responsible for the cockpit and wing center sections; and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (Dasa) of Germany was responsible for the fuselage. The planes were assembled by Aerospatiale and Dasa. Each company, which had other operations not involved in Airbus, was responsible for purchasing the metals and other materials for their own components.

Booking, shipping picture shows aluminum softness

2007-08-13T06:09:00.000-07:00

Corus casts doubt on pounds 2.7bn CSN deal

2007-08-10T00:40:00.002-07:00

Secondary aluminum output, shipments up again

2007-08-10T00:40:00.001-07:00

More reasons to be cautious than bullish in 2001

2007-07-30T06:50:00.000-07:00

Airbus, Alcoa Recognize Partnership on the Airbus A380 At Alcoa Howmet Castings in Whitehall, MI

2007-07-30T06:49:00.000-07:00

WHITEHALL, Mich. -- Airbus and Alcoa (NYSE:AA) officials joined together today at Alcoa Howmet Castings' facility in Whitehall, Michigan to acknowledge the contributions Airbus is making to America's aerospace industry and increased employment levels, as well as to recognize the products that Alcoa Howmet Castings is supplying to enhance the assembly of the A380, Airbus' new airliner and the world's largest commercial aircraft.

Airbus and Alcoa Howmet Castings were joined at the event by representatives of The Engine Alliance and Rolls-Royce, to whom Alcoa supplies engine components for the A380.

"Airbus could not build the A380 without the significant support of American aerospace companies," Allan C. McArtor, Chairman of Airbus North America, told an audience of national and local officials and Alcoa Howmet Castings employees this morning. "While out-sourcing is an issue for so many today, Airbus is delighted to be among those companies who are 'in-sourcing' high-technology jobs. Fifty percent of the A380's components and subsystems will be made in the United States. We are especially pleased to include Alcoa Howmet Castings, a global leader in designing and producing jet aircraft components, as a vital link in our supply chain."

"Every new aircraft presents a series of unique technical challenges. We are thrilled to be working with The Engine Alliance and Rolls-Royce to be a part of aviation history on the Airbus A380 and adding jobs to make that happen," said Michael Pepper, Vice President - Aerospace Sector at Alcoa Howmet Castings.

"The A380 is going to be the flagship of the 21st century," McArtor told the crowd. "This craft will carry 550 people 8,000 miles. The A380 is going to create a lot of jobs, not only for the next generation of Alcoa employees, but for those in many other companies as well."

Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Howmet is the world's largest manufacturer of precision investment castings of superalloy, titanium and aluminium alloys, for jet aircraft and industrial gas turbine engines. Howmet and its affiliates operate 27 production facilities in the United States, Canada, France, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Japan.

In addition to Alcoa Howmet Castings, Alcoa's other aerospace businesses include: Alcoa Mill Products, Alcoa Europe Rolled Products, Alcoa Fastening Systems, Alcoa Engineered Products, Alcoa Wheel and Forged Products, and Latin American Rolled Products businesses. These businesses supply Airbus and the balance of the aerospace industry with aluminum sheet and plate, extrusions, fasteners, forgings, structural castings, and propulsion components such as super alloy turbine blades. Alcoa's aerospace revenues were approximately $2 billion in 2003 and reflect the company's expanded aerospace materials, product and technology portfolio.

Airbus spends more than $5 billion annually in the United States, which equates to around $15 million a day. In all, more than 100,000 jobs in the United States can be tied to Airbus.

Aluminum needs global unity; Granges exec claims US cooperation is needed - part 1

2007-07-23T06:14:00.001-07:00

STOCKHOLM -- The permanent structural changes required in the world aluminum industry cannot be effected without a more open, cooperative position by United States producers toward their international counterparts, according to Per-Olof Aronson, president of Granges Aluminum AB.

"We must cross the national barriers a little bit more," he said in an interview in Sweden. "It's a little bit surprising that you haven't done it to a larger extent, because the aluminum industry is very international. There are many typical multinationals in the market. Still, when it comes to physical business it is not enough."

Attention has focused on the U.S. because of the strong dollar and its impact on metal prices and the overall world economic scene. "It was not easy to foresee the impact, but many U.S. industries have not taken into account the import pressure you get from such a high dollar rate," he observed.

Cooperation and structural changes are being achieved successfully among European producers, but Aronson believes more efforts are necessary to counter the cyclical swings of the business. The U.S., which "showed the way" in product and market development, now needs to adapt to the new order on the production side, he said.

Indeed, he attributed Granges successful 1983 and 1984 first-half performance to such a strategy. The company is a net buyer of metal, and has placed its emphasis on fabrication and higher value-added products like extrusions and foil.

"If you want to avoid the worst swings in the business cycle, you have to be a net buyer," he said. "We try to avoid the most cyclical end use areas. We stay closer to the consumer."

Granges has "given up commodity sheet" because of the strong position of the Eastern Bloc producers, who hold most favored nation status in Sweden, concentrating instead on thin-gauge material, including can body stock.

Granges' smelting capacity is in Sundsvall, northern Sweden. In 1986 work will begin to retrofit the plant, increasing capacity by 10 percent to 90,000 metric tons per year, at a cost of Swedish kroner 250 million (8.6-$1 U.S.). The project involves 20,000 tons of production capacity, installing 150 KA (kiloamps) prebake pots, upgrading that output to 22,000 tons without any increase in energy consumption. Production will begin in 1987. This project, too, "reflects my thinking of the business cycle.

The second component of Granges' strategy is Sapa, its wholly owned extrusion business which combines a very strong market position in Sweden with successful product and market development work, one of the few profitable extrusion businesses in Europe, where capacity exceeds demand. "Europe uses 75 percent of its extrusion capacity," he noted.

Sapa's annual capacity is 50.000 tons, with one-third of its manufacturing and marketing abroad and the balance in Sweden. Sapa has four domestic plants: two in Vetlanda, one in Finspang and one in Skultuna: a plant in the United Kingdom: a facility in West Germany recently acquired from a bank following a bankruptcy; and one in the Netherlands in which Sapa holds a minority interest.

Granges' foil business is concentrated in two plants, one in Skultuna, the other in Helsinki. It operates two converter plants, in Skultuna and Odense, Denmark.

About 40 percent to 45 percent of Granges' business is domestic. The UK represents its principal export market, about 20 percent of its turnover. Norway, Denmark, Finland, West Germany, France and Italy take the balance.

Granges does not sell or buy in the U.S., although it does some trading, "more to improve the efficiency of our system, to make use of swapping possibilities. Aronson said, Granges is starting a "small organization" at its head office, to be called GA Trading, part of his philosophy of "opening up a little."

"The aluminum industry in general, producing companies, should do a lot more trading between themselves instead of going to traders," Aronson observed. Granges does a lot of trading with the major Norwegian producers.

Prohibitions to such an open approach, he maintains, are suspicions among producers, and it is this aspect of the industry, he believes, which is in need of change, especially in terms of the new order being created in the world marketplace.

"It is necessary that we stick more together in the aluminum industry, that you try to rebuild cooperation between various companies again, that we open up a little more," the executive said. He cited the U.S. as a key example, pointing to its need to restructure, and the inhibiting effects of anti-trust policies and trade laws.

"There is a need to get rid of high-cost production units and get some closer cooperation between the U.S. aluminum industry and metal producers abroad, like South America or Canada. That is the only way to balance the system economically," he said.

For example, Aronson suggests producers, that closed high-cost smelters, then would enter into supply contracts with some of the new producers to fill their metal needs.

Demand for aluminum in Japan forecast up

2007-07-23T06:13:00.000-07:00

TOKYO -- Japanese market demand for secondary aluminum in fiscal 1999 starting April 1 is forecast to be stronger than in the fiscal year ending this month, according to the Japan Aluminium Alloy Refiners Association.

Market demand in fiscal 1999 is projected at 1,405,300 tonnes, up 2.0 percent from 1,380,200 tonnes estimated for fiscal 1998. The fiscal 1998 figure represents a 5.3 percent decline from 1,502,651 tonnes in fiscal 1997, however, the association said.

The fiscal 1999 demand by area of use is: casting, 282,300 tonnes (compared with 273,500 tonnes in fiscal 1998), up 3.2 percent; diecasting, 680,700 tonnes (661,600 tonnes), up 2.9 percent; rolling, 326,000 tonnes (326,000 tonnes), unchanged; steelmaking, 84,700 tonnes (84,700 tonnes), unchanged; and other, 34,600 tonnes (34,400 tonnes), up 0.6 percent

Japanese exports of automobiles in fiscal 1999 are expected to see a decline because of increased Japanese production overseas. But on the positive side, the association said, sales of mini-cars are expected to increase in Japan, while the government's stepped-up public works projects are likely to put a stop to declining sales of trucks.

In the rolling sector, some recovery in demand for extrusions is anticipated. But demand for sheets is forecast to run level because an expected increase in demand from aluminization of automotive radiators will be negated by an encroachment on the can stock market by plastic bottles, the association noted.

Secondary aluminum demand for steelmaking use is forecast to be flat as domestic demand for steel is expected to be stagnant in both construction and manufacturing segments, coupled with a sharp drop in steel exports, the association said.

Metal composite nabs cop cars

2007-07-19T05:03:00.002-07:00

DETROIT - Ford Motor Co. has decided to put ultra-lightweight metal matrix composite (MMC) driveshafts into the police cruiser versions of its standard-size Crown Victoria cars, which are ticketed for production and sale in volumes up to 65,000 annually--a record for MMC driveshafts in North American-built passenger cars, according to auto industry sources here.

MMCs have a high elastic modulus, which allows driveshafts made of the material to operate at higher speeds.

The aluminum MMC driveshafts will be installed in the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor models, as Ford calls them. The automaker will buy the shaft assemblies from its subsidiary, Visteon Automotive Systems, Dearborn, Mich.

Ford sources said that Visteon would put the driveshafts together using seamless extruded and drawn aluminum matrix composite tubes weighing 6 or 7 pounds apiece from the Extrusion/Tube division, Lafayette, Ind., of Alcoa Inc.

The facility will acquire the MMC billets as the raw material for the tubes from the Duralcan USA unit, Novi, Mich., of Alcan Aluminium Ltd. The billets are the products of the Duralcan plant in Dubuc, Quebec.

Most driveshafts use steel tubes, which are the principal components of the assemblies. Some, however, use conventional aluminum tubes, and some of those, in turn, employ graphite fiber wrappings for strength.

Most aluminum matrix composite tubes that have been put into use up to now were going into pickup trucks, but passenger car applications began showing up here and abroad a few years ago. General Motors Corp.'s Chevrolet Corvettes, which started using them in 1997, employ the units as standard equipment in volumes of 26,000 to 32,000 per year--more than any other known car application to date.

The Ford Police Interceptor applications, which are virtually certain to outnumber the Corvette installations, will start to be used this year, although Ford sources did not give an exact launch date.

The second-largest domestic automaker expects the Police Interceptor models, which differ from the regular Crown Victorias only in the rear-axle ratio and the specialized equipment they have on board, to account for 85 percent of all police pursuit vehicle sales in the United States and Canada for the foreseeable future.

Duralcan's Dubuc plant, which has a rated capacity of 30 million pounds per year, is regarded as the largest aluminum MMC ingot and billet manufacturing facility in the world.

The MMCs Duralcan makes for driveshafts and other wrought products contain up to 20 percent aluminum oxide particulates. Those composites also are used in the Corvette driveshafts (AMM, March 4, 1996).

Most of the new applications for MMCs that have been launched in the auto industry around the world started in the 1990s. Most of the materials are aluminum composites, which usually save weight even compared with conventional aluminum extrusions, castings or forgings. In addition to driveshafts, the applications for MMCs include brake rotors and drums, engine cylinder sleeves and sprockets.

Numerous other parts made in high volumes by or for the auto industry, including engine piston components and connecting rods, are regarded by auto engineers as candidates for aluminum MMCs as the automakers turn out lighter-weight vehicles with lower emissions characteristics and higher fuel economy in the future.

The new MMC parts are expected to be made in a variety of ways, including high-pressure die casting, gravity semi-permanent mold casting, extruding, rolling and forging.

Aluminum service center shipments fall

2007-07-19T05:03:00.001-07:00

NEW YORK -- Aluminum mill product shipments at the service center level flopped to a 14-month low as 1999 got under way, in marked contrast to the aluminum industry as a whole. The industry laid claim to a 5.1-percent gain for sheet, extrusions and other mill products in January and a 10.8-percent jump in ingot.

The latest tally from the National Association of Aluminum Distributors (NAAD) put the Quick Pulse shipment index (1994=100) at 111.1 for January, down 4.9 percent from the same month last year to the lowest level since November 1997.

The Aluminum Association last week reported mill product shipments industry-wide at 628,187 tonnes for gains of 9.2 percent on the previous month and 5.1 percent on January 1998.

NAAD said that distributors, who had added to aggregate inventory last year to the tune of 6.4 percent, downloaded in the opening weeks of 1999 and ended January with the aggregate inventory down about 1.5 percent for the month and down nearly 5 percent from the year-earlier level.

NAAD's executive vice president, Julie S. Thane, said that distributors were looking for a flat year in 1999 volume-wise and were determined to improve margins by improving service and paying closer attention to costs.

A review and survey prepared for NAAD by Alcan Aluminium Ltd. and released late February projected a 1.5-percent gain in shipping volume for aluminum distributors this year compared with a 0.7-percent gain for the industry as a whole.

Alcan projected that distributors would boost their share of markets in which they compete directly with the aluminum producers and fabricators to 36.9 percent this year and 37.1 percent in 2000 compared with 36.6 percent in 1997.

NAAD's monthly poll found an eastern service center inclined to chalk January's shipment gain up mainly to some inventory rebuilding at the consumer level.

A southern distributor reported in with shipping volume holding even with the year-ago level but selling prices down 6 percent.

Japan aluminum outlook dims

2007-07-18T04:26:00.000-07:00

Market demand for products seen edging downward in fiscal '99

TOKYO -- Japanese market demand for aluminum products, including: rolled, cast, die-cast, forged and other products, is expected to edge downward by 0.3 percent in fiscal 1999 to 3,713,000 tonnes from an estimated 3,725,400 tonnes in the fiscal year just ended, according to the latest forecast by the Japan Aluminium Federation.

Although the decrease predicted for the year ending March 31, 2000, would be the third consecutive annual decline, it would be much smaller than the 9.5-percent fall in fiscal 1998 from 4,115,000 tonnes the previous year.
Demand for rolled products in fiscal 1999 is forecast to total 2,041,600 tonnes--up 0.7 percent from 2,027,600 tonnes the previous year-- comprising 1,013,500 tonnes of flat-rolled products (up 0.8 percent from 1,005,900 tonnes) and 1,028,100 tonnes of extrusions (up 0.6 percent from 1,021,700 tonnes.

Demand for cast products is anticipated to be 356,500 tonnes, down 1.4 percent from 361,600 tonnes, comprising 323,700 tonnes for automotive use (down 1.3 percent from 328,000 tonnes in fiscal 1998) and 32,800 tonnes for other uses (down 2.4 percent from 33,600 tonnes), according to the Japanese federation.

Demand for die-cast products in fiscal 1999 is expected to total 673,100 tonnes, down 1.3 percent from 681,900 tonnes--505,700 tonnes for automobiles (down 1 percent from 510,600 tonnes), 42,200 tonnes for motorcycles (down 3 percent from 43,500 tonnes) and 125,200 tonnes for other uses (down 2 percent from 127,800 tonnes).
Demand for other products include forgings, 22,900 tonnes (down 0.9 percent from 23,100 tonnes); electric wire, 46,000 tonnes (down 21.1 percent from 58,300 tonnes); steel-making, 108,100 tonnes (down 2.2 percent from 110,500 tonnes); powder, 14,500 tonnes (unchanged); and others, 32,400 tonnes (down 0.9 percent from 32,700 tonnes).

Imported products are expected to remain unchanged at 129,800 tonnes, while exports are forecast to increase 0.9 percent to 288,100 tonnes from 285,400 tonnes.

The Japanese economy is expected to enter a recovery phase in fiscal 1999, according to the federation, as a result of the government's economy-buoying program. "But the pace of the business recovery is expected to be very slow and gradual," the federation said, noting that most research institutes were predicting a negative growth for the Japanese economy in fiscal 1999.

For rolled products, the federation noted, demand for can stock and other aluminum products in the food sector is likely to remain flat, but there will be a slight increase in demand from the foil, consumer electrical equipment and machinery and automobile industries, with an overall increase in demand of 0.8 percent.

The automobile industry, the largest user of cast and die-cast aluminum products, is likely to continue to increase its use of aluminum. But, the federation noted, auto production will remain stagnant, and as a result demand for castings is likely to go down 1.4 percent and die castings by 1.3 percent.

SSM spurs greater aluminum use. technology - semisolid metal SSM

2007-07-18T04:24:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK -- The need for weight reduction in automobiles, for reasons ranging from accommodating a growing list of accessories going into increasingly larger and heavier vehicles to environmental concerns, are creating opportunities for aluminum in many forms: castings, sheet and extrusions, to name a few.

A relative newcomer in the field--semisolid metal (SSM) technology--is expected to spur aluminum's growth in passenger vehicles in the near term, attendees at a two-day SSM conference in Wheeling, W.Va., were told.
Michel Garat, foundry development manager for Paris-based Aluminium Pechiney, told the conference, hosted by Ormet Corp., that 1999-2001 "should see the start-up of large-volume SSM production of suspension parts, engine brackets" and other components. and that "the appearance of high-pressure injection gasoline engines should also boost (SSM) use."

Moreover, the need for weight reduction generated by the increase in equipment being placed in passenger vehicles and by environmental concern-inspired legislation was playing an important role, according to John Summerill, laboratory manager for British master brake cylinder manufacturer Lucas Varity. He said that the use of aluminum in the average passenger car had doubled since the mid-1980s and the trend line should rise steeply over the next several years.

Ray Donahue, director of materials engineering for Mercury Marine, told the conference that SSM had permitted the beneficial redesign of swivel brackets for outboard motors that yielded savings in manufacturing costs due to decreased cycle time, increased die life and other factors that more than offset the higher cost of the feedstock.

Japan aluminum outlook dims

2007-07-17T02:33:00.000-07:00

SSM spurs greater aluminum use. technology - semisolid metal SSM

2007-07-17T02:31:00.000-07:00

Japan aluminum sees hope

2007-07-16T04:23:00.001-07:00

TOKYO -- There are signs that the Japanese aluminum market has bottomed out, according to Junnouke Furukawa, president of Furukawa Electric Co. and chairman of the Japan Aluminium Association.

The executive, noting that shipments of flat-rolled products in March reached an all-time high of 122,603 tonnes, up 1.6 percent from a year earlier, said he sees a "dim light" over the horizon.

But shipments of extruded products in March were down 1.8 percent from the same month last year to 88,507 tonnes, a decline for 21 consecutive months but, it was pointed out, the smallest decline.

Total shipments in March, including flat-rolled and extruded products, reached 211,110 tonnes, up 0.1 percent from last year. Small as it may be, it was the second consecutive monthly increase.

Production in March totaled 207,635 tonnes, down 1.4 percent from a year ago--the 20th consecutive monthly decline. Output consisted of 118,978 tonnes of sheet and other flat-rolled products, down 0.8 percent, and 88,657 tonnes of extrusions, down 2.2 percent.

Aluminum is a relatively young industry compared with steel, Furukawa said, noting that there was no problem of overcapacity in the aluminum industry as contrasted to steel.

March results brought total production in fiscal 1998 ended March 31 to 2,307,697 tonnes, down 7.6 percent. It consisted of 1,270,702 tonnes of flat-rolled products, down 3.4 percent for the first decline in six years, and 1,036,995 tonnes of extrusions, down 12.3 percent.

Shipments in fiscal 1998 totaled 2,311,936 tonnes, down 7.4 percent--the second consecutive decline. It included 1,275,131 tonnes of flat-rolled products, down 3.2 percent for the first decline in six years, and 1,036,805 tonnes of extruded products, down 12.1 percent, according to the association

Changes in Japanese production on a year-to-year basis were: April 1998 (down 10.4 percent May (down 10.7 percent), June (down 9.4 percent), July (down 11.5 percent), August (down 9.0 percent), September (down 10.1 percent), October (down 10.4 percent), November (down 3.8 percent), December (down.5.0 percent), January 1999 (down 5.1 percent), February (down. 2.3 percent) and March (down 1.4 percent).

Aluminum prices head in different directions - Brief Article

2007-07-16T03:59:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK -- Aluminum prices went in two directions Friday, with Alcan Aluminium Ltd. hiking its postings for primary aluminum ingot and extrusion billet by 2 cents a pound for metal delivered to customers in June while ingot and billet prices dropped more than a cent a pound to their-lowest levels in seven weeks on the hedge and dealer markets.

Montreal-based Alcan set its ingot and billet prices at 68 cents and 78 cents a pound, respectively.

London Metal Exchange traders Friday let cash and three-month metal fall 1.2 cents a pound at the outset to 56.16 cents and 57.40 cents a pound, respectively-lows dating back to April 9-before struggling back up about a quarter-cent in later dealings.

On this side of the Atlantic, the Comex aluminum contract continued to struggle for a place in the sun but volume remained on the meager side. Light trading Friday saw the September contract at 61.85 cents a pound at midday, down 4.75 cents from its debut price two weeks earlier.

Meanwhile, local dealers early Friday put the Midwest delivery basis merchant price, which tracks prices on producer sales to dealers, at 61 to 61.25 cents a pound, 7 cents under Alcan's June posting, largely on the strength of the LME decline. The merchant price inched up a quarter-cent after midday.

The cash LME price averaged 56.1 cents a pound through May, down 9 cents, or nearly 14 percent, from the 65.1-cent-a-pound average in the same period last year. The nearly 5-cent-a-pound drop in the cash and three-month prices since the end of April could apply some downward pressure on recently posted price hikes on common alloy sheet and soft alloy extrusions.

LME and Comex traders found little news of a bullish nature in the smelter labor picture as the week drew to a close. Century Aluminum Corp., which faced a May 31 deadline on the current United Steelworkers union labor pact at its big smelter/rolling mill complex in Ravenswood, W.Va., awaits a rank-and-file. vote on its latest contract offer but the results aren't expected until about June 11. Ormet Corp., which faced a May 31 deadline at its smelter/rolling mill complex in Hannibal, Ohio, was expressing optimism that an agreement would be reached, as were USW negotiators.

Meanwhile, USW strikes continue at smelting and rolling mill facilities owned by Kaiser Aluminum Corp. and Southwire Corp.., but operations are continuing with nonunion personnel.

Top 50 North American Metals Companies

2007-07-14T05:43:00.000-07:00

AMM 1998 'Top 50' Corporate Profiles

A.M. CASTLE & CO.

Metal sales: $792,846,000 (100 percent of gross sales)

Gross sales: $792,846,000

Metal products: Distributor and processor of carbon and stainless steels, specialty metals, non-ferrous metals, rounds, hexagons, squares and flat bars, plates, tubing, shapes, sheet and coil

Markets: Durable equipment producers

Headquarters: 3400 N. Wolf Rd., Franklin Park, Ill.

Sales and earnings:

Year Revenue Earnings
1998 $792,846,000 $18,522,000
1997 754,865,000 23,845,000
1996 672,617,000 26,104,000
1995 627,617,000 26,826,000

Summary: A.M. Castle believes it performed well in 1998 considering the difficult steel environment, but it still recorded a 22.3 percent dip in its 1998 earnings compared to the previous year.

The company blamed the drop in earnings principally on higher interest costs, along with higher amortization and depreciation levels, associated with investments made over the past three years. In 1999 and beyond, the company expects that those costs will moderate.

Net sales in 1998 rose 5 percent in 1998, to a record $793 million, compared to 1997. The increase reflected contributions from two acquisitions completed during the past two years, Castle said. In 1998, the company acquired Oliver Steel Plate Corp., Twinsburg, Ohio, a plate processor, and Aerospace Metals Ltd., Bury, England, a specialty metals distributor that specializes in bar products for the aerospace industry.

Castle also entered a joint venture with specialty metals distributor Energy Alloys Inc., Houston, which takes the company into the tubular business for the oil field industry, a highly specialized market niche.

However, operating earnings in the year-to-year comparison dropped 3 percent, to $48.7 million. The operating profit was affected by increased transaction activity as Castle said customers ordered in smaller quantities with more frequent deliveries. Operating earnings were also affected by increased expenses related to the start-up of new processing equipment and the integration of recent acquisitions.

"These expenses are largely behind us, Castle said in its annual report.

AK STEEL CORP. 11

Metal sales: $2,393,600,000

(100 percent of gross sales in 1998)

Gross sales: $2,393,600,000

Metal products: Hot and cold-rolled steels, aluminized, hot-dip galvanized, flat-rolled and other specialty steels

Markets: Automotive, appliances, construction, manufacturing

Headquarters: 703 Curtis St., Middletown, Ohio, 45043, (513) 425-5000: Website: www.aksteel.com

Sales and earnings:

Year Revenue Earnings
1998 $2,393,600,000 $114,500,000
1997 $2,440,500,000 $150,900,000
1996 2,302,000,000 146,000,000
1995 2,257,000,000 269,000,000
1994 2,013,200,000 257,600,000
1993 1,594,500,000 (42,700,000)
1992 1,404,500,000 (544,100,000)

Summary: For the full year 1998, AK Steel earned $114.5 million, or $1.92 per share of common stock, on shipments of 4.6 million tons Net sales were $2.4 billion, resulting in operating profit of $213.6 million, or $46 per shipped ton. In 1998, AK Steel's shipments to automotive customers were a record 2.3 million tons, surpassing by 11 percent its 1997 automotive shipments. AK Steel shipments to automotive customers have increased 155 percent since 1992.

The company achieved these numbers despite competing in a marketplace flooded with low-priced imports of foreign steel. The year brought about the early start-up of its new cold rolling and coating facilities in Rockport, Ind. At the same time, AK plants in Middletown, Ohio, and Ashland, Ky., posted record safety and productivity performances.

AK's percentage of shipments of value-added cold-rolled and coated products set a new annual record for the sixth consecutive year. Cold-rolled and coated products accounted for 68 percent of total shipments in 1998, up 9 percent from 1997 and reflecting product mix improvements from the start of cold-rolling and coating operations at Rockport.

During the year, two major units of AK's new Rockport Works began operations three months ahead of schedule. In June, operations commenced on the 800,000-tons-per-year hot-dipped galvanizing and galvannealing line, while in September. the 60,000 horsepower continuous carbon/stainless cold mill began operations. All the remaining units at Rockport Works were expected to be in operation later in 1999. AK Steel said it expected to begin finishing 300- and 400-series stainless flat rolled products at Rockport during 1999 to further enhance the mix of higher-margin products.

ALCAN ALUMINIUM LTD. 2

Metal sales: US$7,092,000,000 (91.0 percent at gross sales n 1998)

Gross sales: US$7,789,000,000

Metal products: Primary aluminum, fabricated, rolled sheet and foil prod ucts, litho sheet, alumina and alumina chemicals, secondary metal

Markets: Automotive, transportation, buildings and construction, containers and packaging, electrical, and alumina and chemicals