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SPe CIAL
ALUMINIUM ROLLING INDUSTRY
Aus einem ständig laufenden Blechband
werden mit einem hochmodernen Laserverfahren
Platinen geschnitten
Cutting-edge lasers are used to form
blanks from a continuously running coil
On the new line, laser beams cut aluminium
strip of gauges between 0.7 and 3 mm
into sheets from 200 x 200 mm up to 2,000 x
4,000 mm. This enables the customer to form
elements from small parts to fortify the body
over one-piece bonnets onto complete side
panels for premium automobiles.
The stock comes from Hydro’s rolling
mill in nearby Grevenbroich, where capacity
of the annealing line in the centre for automotive
strip is being almost doubled, up to
50,000 tonnes a year – based on a European
market for aluminium car body that is expected
to grow by 15 to 20 percent each year
between 2011 and 2018.
In Dormagen, the engineering company
Schuler has installed the very first type of
its newly developed DynamicFlow laser-cutting
technology. On Hydro’s Dormagen site,
the new facility is operated by the Alu-Laser-
Service (ALS). “We thereby continue a partnership
with ALS managing director Heinz-
Walter Schewe that has proven successful already
for many years with the slitting facility
next door,” says Franz Steimmel, head of the
Automotive & Heat Exchanger product group
in Hydro.
Recently, Hydro also established a partnership
with the Kobe Steel group from Japan:
through exchange of technology, both parties
strengthen each other as suppliers of premium
rolled aluminium products for an increasingly
global sourcing and manufacturing in the automotive
industry. Hydro primarily supplies
to the leading premium carmakers in Europe.
“All these decisions follow our strategy
in the Rolled Products business to keep our
leading edge by offering innovative solutions
and advanced products – while helping namely
the automotive industry to boost the making
of light-weight cars and thereby reduce
automotive CO 2 emissions,” says Hydro executive
vice president Oliver Bell, who leads
Rolled Products.
■
Installation of UACJ cold-rolling mill for Thailand in final stage
In recent years, the demand for aluminium
has increased worldwide, especially in the automotive
industry. This has led Japanese manufacturers
to expand overseas, as they seek to
provide high-quality aluminium products for
the global market. The UACJ Group has also
been establishing production and sales bases
in regions around the world to strengthen its
network and ensure stable supply.
As part of this plan, the company is currently
constructing a new integrated factory in
Thailand that will undertake all processes related
to rolled sheet production, from melting
to casting, rolling and finishing. Initially, the
new factory will supply products such as can
end and automotive heat exchanger materials.
Work on the new factory began in March
2012. Construction and installation is now in
the final stage for the cold-rolling to finishing
line. Start of operations is scheduled for January
2014.
Construction on a second line has also been
underway since February 2013. This line, to be
commissioned in March 2015, aims at handling
casting and hot-rolling processes. The facility
is expected to have a total production
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capacity of up to 180,000 tonnes a year. “This
volume will give us a clear edge in cost over
our competitors, including Chinese and Korean
manufacturers, who have grown in market
strength in recent years,” UACJ says. ■
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