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COMPANY NEWS WOR LDWIDE
an ingot casting centre and a pusher furnace
for the operation’s hot-rolling mill.
The investment bolsters Novelis’s position
in the beverage can and aluminium packaging
markets and should allow the company to
take advantage of expected growth in the automotive
sector as well. That’s because Brazil
has set carbon dioxide-emission reduction
targets that should see carmakers looking to
make lighter weight and more fuel-efficient
vehicles.
Pindamonhangaba already has the biggest aluminium
recycling centre in South America and
plans to expand further, increasing the use of
aluminium scrap and developing new alloys
that contain more recycled content.
Brazil recycles 98% of all cans sold compared
with slightly more than 50% in the US.
The expansion comes as Brazil prepares for
the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics,
which should see increased beverage can consumption
in the country.
On the move
Constellium N. V. appointed Paul Blalock as
head of Investor Relations US. He will be
responsible for managing the company’s communications
and relationships with investors,
analysts and shareholders in the USA.
Alcoa promoted Roy Harvey to COO for
the company’s Global Primary Products (GPP)
business, effective immediately. He will focus
on the day-to-day operations of Alcoa’s 22
aluminium smelters and nine alumina refineries
worldwide, as well as bauxite assets.
Succeeding Harvey as GPP CFO is Leigh Ann
Fisher, who had been group controller for
GPP.
Aditya Birla Group flagship Hindalco Industries
has named Satish Pai the next CEO
of its aluminium business in India.
Alcoa appointed Libby Archell vice
president of Corporate Affairs. Reporting to
Klaus Kleinfeld, Alcoa chairman and CEO,
Ms. Archell will be a member of Alcoa’s
executive council and have responsibility for
communications activities that impact Alcoa’s
reputation, relationships with the media and
employee engagement.
Former Marc Rich & Co. and Glencore
executive Isaac Querub has joined Michael
Armbruester on the board of BlueQuest
Resources. Trading firm BlueQuest Resources
was known as JB Commodities until early July
2013, when ex-Glencore aluminium trader
Josef Bermann ended his association with the
company.
Production of rolled
aluminium in Japan down 5.3%
Japanese production of rolled aluminium
products for the first half of 2013 decreased
by 5.3% from the previous year to 952,406
tonnes. According to Japan Aluminium Association
the result for the first half of calendar
year decreased for the first time in two
years.
■
Suppliers
Potroom insulation measurement
VHE’s enhanced ohmmeter can measure the
electrical resistance between points of different
voltage potential. Conventional ohmmeters
do not have this capability. Much of
the equipment installed in aluminium smelter
potrooms has significant electrical potential
to earth (or ground). The series connection of
the pot busbar system means that pots frequently
have a potential to earth of 1,500 V
dc, and in the most recent systems this can
exceed 2,000 V dc. Alumina dust and metallic
objects can compromise the installed electrical
insulation, and so it is necessary to monitor
insulation performance on a regular basis.
SMS Siemag cold rolling
plant for Nela rolls first strip
Exit area of the new cold rolling mill at Nela
The new six-high cold rolling mill at Northeast
Light Alloy Co. Ltd. (Nela) successfully rolled
its first strip at the end of May. At its production
site in Harbin, in the Chinese province of
Heilongjiang, Northeast Light Alloy now has
an installed production capacity of 85,000 tpy
of aluminium cold strip. The rolling mill features
latest equipment, designed to produce
premium-grade strips. Technological features
of the mill include CVC plus, hot edge spraying
and DS systems. The up to 1,900-mm-wide
strips are rolled to minimum final gauges of
0.1 mm to be used, among others, as input
material in foil production.
In addition to the rolling mill, SMS Siemag
also supplied the equipment for coil preparation
and coil transport as well as the media
supply system.
Luoyang Wanji grants FAC for
two SMS Siemag rolling mills
Following the smooth and efficient commissioning
of two new CVC plus six-high cold
rolling mills, Chinese aluminium producer
Luoyang Wanji Processing C. issued the Final
Acceptance Certificate (FAC) for both mills to
SMS Siemag, Germany.
On cold rolling mill No. 1, the first strip
had already been rolled in 2012. The FAC was
granted before the end of the year, marking
the successful completion of the hot commissioning
phase, with the rolling mill becoming
an integral part of production operations.
This success was repeated at the end of March
this year, when the FAC was also granted for
cold rolling mill No. 2.
Luoyang Wanji’s new production facilities
in the province of Henan in East China now
boast installed production capacities totalling
260,000 tpy. The commissioning of these
© SMS Siemag
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