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Yoplait selects boxal
aluminium bottles for Dizzy
Dairy products company Yoplait has launched
Dizzy, a new generation dairy beverage in the
ultra fresh segment in a 250 ml aluminium bottle
from Boxal. The trendy bottles printed in
high definition surrounded by metallic purple
targets the 15 to 25 years old. Boxal
was choosen by Yoplait for integrating
shaping, printed and noble material
aluminium. As one of the leading
suppliers to the beverages cosmetics
and pharmaceuticals markets, Boxal
offers a global capacity of over 900
million units annually. Photo: Boxal
Aluminium pint bottles from ball
Ball Corporation is bringing its new
16-oz. Alumi-Tek aluminium beverage
bottles to market with Miller Lite. The
sleek, resealable bottles feature
a wide, 38 mm opening that
provides a smooth flow, are
quick to chill and completely
recyclable. „This package
drinks like a bottle and
cools like a can to deliver
an invigorating taste experience“,
says Grant Leech,
Vice President of Marketing
for Miller Lite.
The Miller Lite aluminium
pint will be tested
throughout much of the Midwest
and South of the USA
through the end of the year.
In addition to beer, the light weight
Alcan plant without accidents
Alumi-Tek bottle can be used for a variety
of beverages, such as carbonated
soft drinks, juices and energy drinks.
Ball leverages its twopiece
aluminium beverage
can manufacturing expertise
to produce the Alumi-
Tek bottle because the
manufacturing technology
for both packages is
very similar. The bottles
have the same high quality
graphics found on
cans and are decorated
with the same printing
process. Both 12-oz. and
16-oz. bottles are manufactured
at Ball’s aluminium
beverage can plant in
Monticello, Indiana.
Photo: Ball
Rio Tinto Alcan‘s Lochaber plant employees
reached a major safety landmark,
completing the facility‘s second
consecutive year without accidents in
the workplace. “This track record also
applies to contractors and suppliers
working within the Lochaber works“,
said Works Manager Mick Routledge.
The new ‘Stop and Think’ safety
model focuses on preventative measures
and minimising the risk of accidents.
Following the introduction of
this safety model, Lochaber‘s 167 employees
have undertaken over 12,000
pre-job risk assessments.
The safety model has been adopted
at all levels of the local organisation.
“We‘re all used to undertaking
the pre-job risk assessments and it has
become very much a part of the processes
we follow within our working
day“, said Peter McIntyre, a lab analyst
who has worked at the Lochaber
and Kinlochleven plants for the last
32 years.
uC rusal sees “fundamental
changes”
in aluminium sector
Aluminium and alumina giant UC
Rusal has completed the first nine
months of 2008 with positive results
and growth in the entire product
range:
• Bauxite output rose 3.4% to 13.5m
tonnes compared to the same
period a year earlier
• Alumina output grew 2% to reach
8.4m tonnes
• Primary aluminium production
rose 6.5% to 3.3m tonnes
• Output of value-added casthouse
products increased by 10.8% to
constitute 51% of the company’s
total aluminium output
• Foil production rose 5.7%
• Total revenues increased by 14%
to USD12.3bn
• Revenues from sales outside Russia
rose 14.6% and reached USD9.3bn
• Revenues from sales on the Russian
market increased by 12.2% and
were USD3bn.
Commenting on the global aluminium
industry, Alexander Bulygin, CEO of
UC Rusal, said the sector “is facing a
challenging time. 75 percent of aluminium
producers in Europe, the
USA and China are already operating
below break-even with the aluminium
price at USD2,500 per tonne. As
a result, today the aluminium industry
is the only metals and mining sector
with such a high concentration of unprofitable
production facilities. This
will inevitably lead to fundamental
changes in the global aluminium industry.”
Uncompetitive companies
would be forced to cut production
at unprofitable plants, reconsider investment
programmes, abandon new
projects and put on hold expansion
programmes that are already under
development. “In this environment,
even if the global economy falls into
the recession during the coming year
and in the worst case scenario, the
demand for aluminium drops by 10
percent, supply will still be far behind
demand in the medium term.
This will support the future sustainable
growth of the aluminium price”,
Bulygin added.
ALUMINIUM · 11/2008