News

Gulf Extrusions is pleased to welcome Christian Witsch as the new Chief Executive Officer, responsible for all the Metals initiatives within the Al Ghurair Group. Christian brings 30 years of extensive business management experience to Gulf Extrusions of which 25 years have been dedicated to the Global Aluminium Extrusion Industry with leading producers such as SAPA and Hydro Aluminium Extrusions. Throughout Christian's career he has been recognised as a Manager who is passionate for Manufacturing Excellence. His extensive understanding, and experience, of business and...

In line with its commitment to Safety Tomorrowland, Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) launched a new safety awareness campaign “My Health ... My Responsibility” on Monday July 10th 2017 targeting Line 6 Contractors at the Alba Oasis Hall.   Organised by Alba and in partnership with the Ministry of Health, this two-day event was held under the patronage of the Undersecretary of Bahrain’s Ministry of Labour and Social Development, Subah bin Salem Al Doseri. The campaign was inaugurated by Alba’s Chief Executive Officer, Tim Murray in the presence of Alba...

Alcoa Corporation has announced plans to restart three of five potlines at its Warrick Operations aluminium smelter near Evansville, Ind., an action that will further improve the competitiveness of the on-site rolling mill. The process to restart the three lines, with 161,400 metric tons of annual capacity, will begin immediately and is expected to be complete in the second quarter of 2018. The three potlines will directly supply the Warrick rolling mill, which serves the North American market with flat-rolled aluminium for the food and beverage can packaging industry. The...

Government and industry initiatives put spotlight on lighter weight auto and consumer materials  2017 marks a key year for aluminium, with China’s 13th Five-Year Plan putting the emphasis on the development of light-weight vehicles and the implementation of policies to encourage the auto industry to deliver greater energy efficiency and low emissions. With lighter manufacturing becoming the new global norm, the aluminium industry Is gearing up to seize new opportunities and next month’s Aluminium China 2017 in Shanghai from 19-21 July, will put the spotlight on...

Norsk Hydro has agreed with Orkla to acquire its 50 percent interest in Sapa for a total enterprise value of NOK 27 billion, giving full ownership in the global leader in extruded aluminium solutions and making Hydro a leading force in the global aluminium industry. The transaction will be financed through cash positions and issuance of bonds in Norwegian and international markets, and will be temporarily funded by committed undrawn credit lines. Following the transaction, Hydro is committed to retain its investment grade rating and a robust balance sheet. Hydro will maintain its...

The Huafon Aluminium Cooperation based in Chongqing and part of the HUAFON GROUP took the strategic decision to expand its production due to its success in the production of a wide range of flat rolled products particularly for household and building technology and for the automotive, packaging, transport and electronic industry. For this purpose a new production site is established in Chongqing, Sichuan province, Central China. One of the first investments are two Achenbach OPTIMILL® Foil Rolling Mills: one Roughing Foil Rolling Mill and one Finishing Foil Rolling Mill. Also...

Bruno Rea, commercial director at Laminazione Sottile Group of Italy, has been elected the new President of the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA) at the Association’s summer conference in Bilbao, Spain.  He succeeds Jan Homan of Constantia Flexibles, who served two terms. EAFA is the international body representing companies engaged in flexible packaging, in rolling and rewinding of alufoil as well as in the manufacture of aluminium closures and semi-rigid containers. Its more than 100 members include companies in Western, Central and Eastern Europe. Following...

After commissioning a new hot rolling mill in September 2014, AMAG opened Europe's most state-of-the-art aluminium cold rolling mill in the presence of around 700 guests on June 22, 2017.  By taking this step, the company becomes the leading centre of expertise in aluminium rolled products. Helmut Wieser, CEO of AMAG Austria Metall AG, took the opportunity to express his thanks: "We would like to thank our owners who are enabling our strategic growth development through their forward-looking decisions, as well as our customers who have supported us on this path and...