Rio Tinto is investing USD87 million to increase its low-carbon aluminum production in Canada with 16 new smelting cells at its AP60 smelter, in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec. The investment will increase production at the smelter by around 45 % and provide a secure future for approximately 100 employees who work at the facility.

In October, the European Foundry Sentiment Indicator (FISI) dropped significantly. The decrease of 1.0 index points was the largest month-on-month drop since April 2020 when the first wave of Covid-19 infections hit Europe. The index value decreases to 106.6 points in October.

Exports of machinery and equipment from Germany rose by almost 11 % in the first nine months. While Italy continues to grow at rapid pace, the USA remains the most important export market, ahead of China.

Prices for raw materials, energy and logistics have soared on a broad front while an increasing number of input factors is prone to run out of European stocks within the next weeks. Forwarding these unavoidable cost increases is however not taken for granted.

Due to several influences, the aluminum foundry industry has experienced significant change over the last few years. These influences and connected questions are addressed in this strategy review.

Magnesium die casting has an enormous field of application: Many different engineering disciplines benefit from the special material properties of this non-ferrous metal.

In 2013, the IMA published the study "Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Magnesium Components in Vehicle Construction," which was written by the Institute of Vehicle Concepts of the German Aerospace Center. This report details the results of the update.

One of the next decades’ goals will be a further reduction of emissions to lower the growing environmental impact. Considering this, light metals as construction materials are generally viewed to become critical in the future.

Creaform announced the latest additions to its R-Series lineup, including a new MetraSCAN-R BLACK | Elite HD with improved performance as well as a new edition of VXelements. This set of solutions also includes a new version of VXscan-R module specially made to accommodate custom automated 3D scanning cell layouts, while keeping the ease of use of its digital twin programming software.

With the Carat 840 and the Carat 920, Bühler has further extended its portfolio as the demand for larger and more complex parts continues to increase. These larger parts require new production processes, a new challenge for customers. Building on its experience on current large solutions, Bühler is their partner for innovating the entire production cycle.

Climate change is by far the most serious issue facing the world today. As governments move to combat climate change via CO2 reduction strategies, industries will need to adopt new technologies to reduce pressure on the environment and decrease energy use. This is exemplified by recent efforts to develop lighter components and smarter production processes for the automotive industry.

Exactly two years after the foundation stone was laid, the new Casting Technology Laboratory of Fraunhofer IGCV in Garching was inaugurated on October 13, 2021. The guests were impressed by the new building, which in the future will provide a home for research at every step of the casting process: from mold production to the finishing process.

Hydro has made the investment decision for the construction of a new state-of-the-art aluminum recycling plant producing 120,000 tonnes of aluminum extrusion ingot per year. Construction is set to start in early Q2 2022, with production commencing in 2023. The plant will have approximately 70 direct employees.

KUKA and its majority owner, the Midea Group, have defined a joint growth vision. This way, both companies are laying the foundation for a leading role in global robot-based automation by 2025 and beyond.

Physical life cycle assessment offers the possibility of identifying optimization potential in the manufacturing process, e.g. for reducing energy use and thus avoiding CO2 and other greenhouse gases. This report describes the physical life cycle assessment for the recycling of zinc scrap with the aim of producing zinc alloys for use in zinc die casting.

ASK Chemicals Group announced that Frank Coenen will retire from his role as CEO. He will be succeeded by Frank Goede, an experienced business leader who is currently the CEO of Tokai Cobex GmbH, a global materials science company active in the manufacturing of carbon and graphite products.