Source: Sunlight Metal Author: Wang Dengwen
(Editor's note: Today, industrial aluminium extrusion products have become China Zhongwang’s key business focus, reflecting the success of the Company’s ongoing strategic transformation. The Company has formulated four development strategies, including optimising production capacity, strengthening research and development, intensifying market development efforts and developing high value-added aluminium alloy plate products in order to strengthen its core competencies and bolster its leading position within the industrial aluminium extrusion product market. As high value-added aluminium alloy plates are principally applied in various transportation sectors like automobiles, aviation and vessels, diversification into this aluminium alloy plate product sector will not only enable China Zhongwang to further leverage its leading status in aluminium alloy smelting and product research, but will also help create synergies with the Group’s existing extrusion business by taking full advantage of its customer base and market resources in downstream application sectors to drive profit growth. As the second largest aluminium extrusion product developer and manufacturer in the world and the largest in Asia, China Zhongwang is expected to lead China's industrial aluminium extrusion products industry to reach new heights in the area of high-precision aluminium plate production.)
In China, high-precision aluminium plates and strips mainly refer to those materials used in easy-open aluminium cans, CTP aluminium lithographic sheets, aluminium thick plates for the aviation industry and aluminium plates and strips for automobile bodies. The supply of these four types of aluminium plates and strips has relied largely on imports in the past years and is expected to remain so in the coming years.
According to a survey conducted by a leading aluminium and magnesium industry research institute, as at the end of 2010, China owned 71% of the world’s total number of single-stand double-winding aluminium strip hot mills (including those under construction), 29% of the world’s total number of multi-stand hot mill production lines (including those under construction), and 50% of the world’s total number of SMS (SMS manufactured) and VAI (VAI manufactured) cold mills. This rapid modernisation of aluminium rolling equipment is laying a foundation for the future production of high-precision aluminium plates.
China has been building up its capability for the manufacture of aluminium can material, CTP aluminium lithographic sheets and aluminium thick plates for aviation. Concerning aluminium for cans, Nan Shan Light Alloy Company Limited and Chinalco Southwest Aluminium (Group) Company Limited have already begun mass production for aluminium plates and strips targeted for easy-open cans. Commencing its production on 17 December 2010, Asia Aluminium Group will continue to mass-produce aluminium can material in 2011. According to an estimate by a research institute within the aluminium and magnesium industry, the domestic production volume of aluminium can material is expected to increase by about 20% in 2010.
In the CTP lithographic sheet sector, Alcoa Bohai Aluminum Industries Company Limited, Chinalco Ruimin Company Limited and Xiamen Xiashun Aluminium Foil Company Limited have begun importing the world’s leading pure stretcher levellers from BWG in Germany to manufacture modern CTP lithographic sheets. Alcoa Bohai’s CTP lithographic sheet project is already at the production stage, while production at Chinalco Ruimin and Xiamen Xiashun will start in 2011 or 2012. The domestic production capacity of CTP lithographic sheets is set to reach 250,000 tons per year by that time.
To produce high thickness aluminium plates for the aviation industry, Chinalco Southwest Aluminium (Group) Company Limited’s 4300mm thick plate main engine production line is ready for operation; while Northeast Light Alloy Company Limited’s 3950mm aluminium plate production line project is progressing on schedule. Currently, the overall installation of the hot rough mills, electrical facilities and piping systems has been completed. The two 4.5MW main engines of the 3950mm hot rough mill have undergone a test-run. Upon completion of the above two projects, the annual production capacity of aluminium thick plates for the aviation industry will exceed 130,000 tons.
As at the end of 2010, the domestic supply of high-precision aluminium plates and sheets for car bodies had not yet responded to the demands of the automobile industry. Currently, China still lacks sufficient aluminium plate and strip production lines for automobile bodies. According to Professor Wang Zhutang, an aluminium industry expert - “China’s modern hot mill and cold mill production lines are already equipped with world-class gears, but the production of aluminium ‘short plates’ for automobile bodies still lacks high-end finishing equipment.” Aluminium plates for car bodies have to demonstrate outstanding mechanical qualities such as corrosion resistance, formability, weldability and bake-hardening properties as well as strict quality requirements concerning the surface processing of these kinds of products. To satisfy these requirements, the plates and strips will be processed by hot mills and cold mills equipped with modern finishing machines, including pure stretcher levellers and lines for annealing, degreasing, cleaning, edge trimming, laser-precision cutting, painting and coating.
Domestically, the production of passenger car doors and aluminium alloy strips for engine covers is limited by the development of finishing equipment and R&D standards. This restricted output and quality standards in the PRC have yet to meet automobile manufacturers’ requirements. Examples from overseas show some large aluminium companies establishing their own automobile aluminium plate and strip centres equipped with professional production lines using modern hot and cold rolling equipment as well as high-tech finishing production lines. For instance, Hydro Aluminium’s Automobile Aluminium Plate and Strip Centre was built with two aluminium roll coating production lines and an automatic annealing line (both imported from BWG in Germany). The aluminium roll coating production line started operations in 2003 with a production capacity of 40,000 tons per year. The aluminium roll annealing line began production in November 2008. All three production lines can operate independently or as a group. Alcoa Samara Metallurgical Plant has a universal coating production line and a pure stretch leveller - Levelflex (from BWG in Germany). Also, many companies like Alcoa, Rio Tinto-Alcan, Novelis, Sapa, Kobe Steel, Furukawa-Sky and Nippon Light Metal have established their own aluminium professional units for automobile production to handle research and development, production and technical services concerning aluminium used in automobiles.
The automobile industry is at the core of China's economy which has been developing rapidly in the 21st century. According to statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, China’s automobile production volume reached 18.26 million in 2010 at a CAGR of 24% from 2001 to 2010. China has truly become the world’s largest automobile manufacturer. In addition, people are calling for energy savings and emissions reductions, both domestically and globally. This societal trend will certainly accelerate the development of lightweight materials for the automobile industry and create excellent market opportunities for the application of aluminium and aluminium products. “According to current developmental trends, the production of China’s automobile aluminium plates and strips may reach 550,000 to 600,000 tons by 2015,” Professor Wang added.
Concerning the prospects for aluminium plates and strips for automobile bodies, the market capacity and revenues look highly promising in both domestic and overseas markets. For aluminium plate and strip production equipments designed for automobile bodies, China already has both modern hot rolling and cold rolling production lines. The only missing element is a modern and professional finishing line for aluminium plates and strips used for automobile bodies. Professor Wang believes that China has already fulfilled the basic criteria for setting up an automobile aluminium centre, and companies that enter the market at an early stage will benefit sooner. The industry is now curious to discover who will conquer the maiden territory in China’s high-precision aluminium plate and strip market for automobile bodies.
