The market in the metals industry is constantly on the move - and so are raw material prices. This report, which is published monthly by IKB Deutsche Industriebank, focuses on aluminum and zinc and highlights the most important developments in January 2022.

Due to its many advantages, Magnesium is increasingly used in the automotive and aircraft industry. The lighter components are, the less CO₂ is produced, reducing green house gas emissions. 595 °C is the temperature at which magnesium turns into a liquid state. For 595° Solutions GmbH, successor of the historical Schulte & Schmidt Leichtmetallgießerei GmbH, the name says it all.

The initial question in the title of this article might seem a bit odd at a first glance as it is probably rarely the case that the terminologies "game theory" and "metal casting" are used together in one sentence. So, how can both be brought together so that one serves as a baseline to optimize the other?

In November 2021, incomming orders in the machinery engineering sector exceeded its prior-year level by 23 % in real terms, thanks in part to a number of major orders. Despite the double-digit increase, the period of extremely high momentum is over.

Standard tool steel H11/H13 (1.2343/ 1344) can now be produced in a process-reliable manner using metal 3D printing. This opens up completely new possibilities for the tool- and die making industry.

RUSAL opens the first phase of the world’s most advanced low-carbon aluminum production plant in Taishet, Siberia, further demonstrating RUSAL’s commitment to decarbonization of its operations and consumer product chains. Pre-operation verifications and testing has begun on December 17,2021.

Due to the considerable cost explosion for raw materials and energy, the business situation for non-ferrous metal foundries has now deteriorated significantly. The negative trend in expectations for the next six months continues. The European Foundry Industry Sentiment Indicator (FISI) decreases from 108.6 to 107.0 points in November 2021.

Lightweight design is the future of manufacturing - on the one hand, emissions are saved, and on the other, better component performance can be achieved. We highlight the most important materials, trending technologies, and solutions for the future development of modern lightweight design.

SLM Solutions announced its cooperation with MAHLE, a global automotive supplier and development partner from Germany. MAHLE will utilize SLM Solution’s systems to empower OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers to fulfill their need for metal AM in serial production. By joining forces, the two companies are improving the speed and quality of automotive components in both prototype and serial production.

TRIMET Aluminium SE commissioned a new casting machine at its Hamburg site in November, significantly expanding its production capacity for aluminum sows. The aluminum smelter can now annually cast around 45,000 metric tons of the aluminum produced by means of electrolysis and has almost doubled its capacity following the investment.