2010
26.07.10 GDA Gesamtverband der Aluminiumindustrie e.V., Düsseldorf, will again be holding its now traditional seminars “Surface Treatment of Aluminium” and “Technology of Extruded Aluminium Profiles” in the autumn. Both seminars will be held in German and are aimed at users from the automotive, mechanical engineering and building and construction fields.
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26.07.10 The British luxury carmaker Jaguar has traditionally used aluminium during its 75 year history. The marque’s flagship is the new Jaguar XJ, which has been in the showrooms since the middle of June and is being marketed by the manufacturer as the ultimate sporting luxury car.
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19.07.10 Carmakers are increasingly turning their attention to lightweight construction. A new working group comprising representatives from the car industry, extrusion plants and research institutes now wants to develop a specification for the manufacture of extruded aluminium profiles for structural car components.
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19.07.10 The internationally recognised and copyrighted Aluminium Logo is now available for use in eight different colours for a nominal charge. In addition, a short line of text in English or German for each of the eight coloured logos emphasises the light metal’s positive properties with respect to the environment, the economy, ecology or conservation of resources.
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12.07.10 Hydro Aluminium has inaugurated its new 14.5-million euro anodising plant in Rackwitz, Germany, one of the largest in Europe. The new plant is capable of anodising up to four million square metres of extruded aluminium a year. Hydro Aluminium Extrusion Deutschland is thus now Europe’s largest supplier of anodised aluminium profiles.
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12.07.10 A new type of aluminium gas cylinder designed for use with forklift trucks from Brühl-based Propan Rheingas is considerably lighter than conventional steel LPG cylinders. The so-called ‘Gasolite-drive’ aluminium bottle fulfils the technical requirements for aircraft construction and offers about 27 per cent more capacity despite its total weight being reduced by three kilograms to eleven kilograms.
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06.07.10 The closing date for the European Aluminium Award 2010 has been extended to 15 July 2010. The competition, which is being held for the seventh time this year, looks for efficient and forward-looking uses of aluminium as a material. Prizes are awarded for products and projects that use aluminium as a material in an innovative manner.
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05.07.10 The good old football tables that were once a familiar sight in pubs, clubs and kids’ bedrooms have been enjoying a comeback for some time. In a design study two years ago, the Munich-based Audi design team turned its attention to this item of leisure equipment and gave it a futuristic look, with aluminium playing an important role.
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05.07.10 Drinking fountains are practical, attractive and healthy and offer quick refreshment for people on the move. A new drinking fountain made of aluminium is now in operation in Germany’s capital, Berlin, where there are plans for many additional new drinking fountains.
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28.06.10 At the recent International Aviation Exhibition (ILA) in Berlin, Tital GmbH, the titanium and aluminium investment casting specialist based in Bestwig, Germany, presented lightweight and environmentally friendly turbine blades made from titanium aluminide.
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28.06.10 A balcony increases the value of a property and an aluminium balcony also offers a high level of value stability and a good cost effectiveness ratio. Compared with steel or concrete balconies, aluminium has the added benefit of good corrosion resistance, which therefore means long-term consequential costs are low.
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21.06.10 The Düsseldorf-based IKB bank is expecting a slight increase in global aluminium production in 2010. Following a downturn in the production of primary aluminium in 2009 to only 36.8m tonnes, there are signs of recovery to about 38.5m m tonnes this year. This is the assessment reached by IKB in its report on raw materials prices for June 2010.
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21.06.10 State-of-the-art air conditioning units made from aluminium for use in buses are on the rise. The latest example comes from Spheros GmbH : the manufacturer has rigorously reduced the weight of its air conditioning units by using aluminium and its Aerosphere World series only weighs 159 kg.
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17.06.10 ALUMINIUM, one of Europe’s most successful industrial fairs, moves from the Ruhr to the Rhine. Starting in 2012, the world’s leading trade fair of the aluminium industry will be held at the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre. A contract to this effect was signed by trade fair organiser Reed Exhibitions Deutschland and Messe Düsseldorf.
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14.06.10 Alcan Singen has received an order to supply Bosch GmbHs with an aluminium profile that is to be installed as a supporting ring for the stator in the new hybrid drives from Volkswagen and Porsche. The component shows that aluminium components will also be of great importance in electrical and hybrid drive systems.
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14.06.10 A novel coating process allows aluminium alloys to be sealed in such a way that their corrosion resistance and resistance to alkalis can be improved considerably. It enables these light metals to be used in areas with a high pH.
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07.06.10 German aluminium foundries have put their most difficult year ever behind them. Production of castings in 2009 was drastically lower than in the previous year. The first quarter of 2010 saw production start to pick up again and was reasonably satisfactory.
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07.06.10 In terms of its industrial history, aluminium is a young metal that from the beginning has inspired artists to use it in a creative and imaginative manner. Outstanding protagonists of the artistic use of aluminium in their works are the artist couple Heike Rose and Bernd W. Schmidt-Pfeil, who live in Bavaria.
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31.05.10 Mercedes-Benz has developed a new generation of V engines that are characterised by considerably lower fuel consumption and significantly more power. The pistons and cylinder heads of the new engines are weight-optimised aluminium die-castings.
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31.05.10 he hulls and masts of modern sailing boats and yachts are increasingly being made from seawater-resistant aluminium. Thanks to their light weight, aluminium sailers can also reach significantly higher speeds. And aluminium masts are much stronger than those made from timber.
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25.05.10 The German manufacturers of tubes and aluminium aerosol cans enjoyed considerably improved demand in the first four months of 2010. With the exception of plastic tubes, where there was only a moderate rise in demand, orders received showed marked improvements with double-digit growth year-on-year.
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25.05.10 The project is innovative and forward-looking: motor racing without using a drop of fuel, only the power of the sun. That is the aim of students and professors at a technical college in Germany – Fachhochschule Schweinfurt – who have formed the FH-SW Solar Racing e.V. society.
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19.05.10 Dr. Hans-Joachim Bock, Managing Director of Schlenk Metallic Pigments GmbH, has succeeded Gert Rohrseitz, the long-serving chairman of the Metal Powder specialist trade association of GDA - Gesamtverband der Aluminiumindustrie e.V.
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17.05.10 For months now the raw materials used in flexible packaging, especially those used for plastics such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), have been undergoing drastic price increases. In many cases prices have risen by a third to a half on a year-on-year basis.
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17.05.10 alugraphics, a metal processing company based in Freiberg, Germany, is now paving the way for increased use of aluminium in the office. It has developed a mouse pad series that can be tailored to meet a customer’s specific requirements and turns the pad into a small work of art or a sought-after collector’s item.
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10.05.10 The programme for the conference that will be run in parallel with the ALUMINIUM 2010 trade fair – which takes place from 14-16 September in Essen – has now been finalised. In keeping with the motto of the conference, ‘Aluminium – Material for the Future’, the programme committee has accepted 30 papers, which are arranged in five sessions: Processes, Transport, Automotive, Surface and Aluminium Markets.
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10.05.10 Thanks to their predominantly aluminium bodies, the latest versions of the Audi TT Coupé and the TT Roadster will be even more attractive. The body is a key factor in the TT’s high vehicle dynamics - it arises from the use of the Audi Space Frame (ASF) technology, a hybrid construction.
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03.05.10 GDA has given Solarkochschule e.V. in Rheinbach, Germany, ten solar ovens for the earthquake victims in Haiti. The solar ovens will be used to boil water and prepare hot meals in kindergartens and orphanages in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti.
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03.05.10 Third parties can now use Alcan Engineered Products’ research and development centre in Voreppe, France, to develop new applications. Previously, the state-of-the-art R&D facility, which is dedicated to aluminium and its alloys, only conducted research for Rio Tinto group companies.
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26.04.10 There is no better way to celebrate the future than to draw lessons from history, which is why the European Aluminium Foil Association is celebrating the 100th anniversary of aluminium foil with a look at past, current and some future technical developments.
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26.04.10 The basic structure of a new transportable container is made of aluminium. There are collapsible sides and end walls between the roof and base elements. The container can be collapsed to its minimum volume in a similar manner to a standard folding shopping box.
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19.04.10 The German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld has designed a limited-edition aluminium bottle for Coke Light for the beverage company Coca-Cola. The exclusive drinks bottle made from aluminium in a trendy retro-look design has the distinctive Coca-Cola curves.
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19.04.10 Böllhoff, the Bielefeld-based specialist for installation engineering and systems technology, and Clage, the Lüneburg-based manufacturer of solar collectors, have developed a new technology to join aluminium solar-collector frames more quickly and in a more flexible manner.
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12.04.10 The German window market bucked the general trend last year and grew by 3.6 per cent. According the latest study by leading trade associations, which was presented at fensterbau/frontale at the end of March, the window market sector is even expecting growth of 4.1 per cent in 2010.
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12.04.10 According to the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), one of its research teams has built an optical clock based on the oscillations of an aluminium ion that beats the record for the most precise atomic clock. The new clock would neither gain nor lose a second in 3.7 billion years.
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06.04.10 An innovative method of manufacture that combines the cold impact extrusion of aluminium with subsequent hot working promises to create a new generation of lightweight aluminium components. The new process will be unveiled at the Tube trade fair in Düsseldorf from 12-16 April 2010.
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06.04.10 A new ultra-lightweight aluminium superstructure with an integral elevating roof for use with trucks having a gross vehicle weight up to 12 tonnes makes larger payloads possible and facilitates loading.The elevating roof, which only weighs 50 kg, has been developed by Fahrzeugbau Karl Tang GmbH based in Hilden.
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29.03.10 GDA’s 2010 seminar programme has got off to an excellent start: both the ‘Introduction to the Technology of Aluminium’ seminar, a joint co-operation between aec - aluminium engineering center aachen and GDA, and the GDA seminar ‘Joining of Aluminium Profiles and Sheet’ were very well attended.
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29.03.10 Deutsche Mechatronics (DTMT) based in Mechernich near Cologne, Germany, is supplying the aluminium roof construction for new trains for the Scottish train company First ScotRail. DTMT is manufacturing not only the actual aluminium construction but is also supplying the units ready-to-install and equipped with air conditioning and telecommunications technology.
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22.03.10 GDA presented its comprehensive range of teaching materials at the didacta trade fair in Cologne from 16-20 March 2010. There was particular interest in the teaching DVDs produced in co-operation with MedienLB. The DVDs contain short film clips together with teaching aids for pupils and teachers...
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22.03.10 Eduard Hueck GmbH & Co. KG of Lüdenscheid commissioned its new 27-MN extrusion press at the beginning of March. The 2,700 tonne press has a billet heating furnace and the necessary downstream equipment and replaces a 16-MN press that was built in 1989 and which has already been dismantled.
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15.03.10 Two companies – fastener specialist Schürmann & Hilleke Umformtechnik and wire drawer Drahtwerk Elisental – both based in Neuenrade, Germany, have investigated the possible use of high-strength aluminium alloys for manufacturing self-tapping screws attach solar panels to extruded profiles.
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15.03.10 Leichtmetallkompetenzzentrum Ranshofen (LKR) is to carry out research as part of the Advanced Aluminium Application within Eco-Transport (AdvAluE) project, which begins in the spring of 2010. The aim of the AdvAluE project is to develop lightweight materials that meet the highest possible demands...
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08.03.10 espite a slight decline in volumes in 2009, the producers of aluminium packaging managed to cope relatively well with the economic crisis. Overall, the production of packaging made from or using aluminium recorded a slight fall in 2009. “In 2010 our sector is expecting a slight upward trend similar to that of the general economic forecasts" explains Stefan Glimm, managing director of GDA in Düsseldorf.
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08.03.10 American carmaker Fisker Automotive is demonstrating the technology behind its Karma hybrid model for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show 2010. Fisker has developed an extremely rigid but nevertheless lightweight aluminium space frame for its hybrid luxury limousine with its electric drive.
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01.03.10 The Borbecker Halblang Project is one of the many projects for the European Culture Capital Ruhr 2010 programme. There are 21 schools and over 400 schoolchildren from the Borbeck area of Essen participating in this interactive project. Some 100 aluminium figures will be colourfully painted by the children and then erected at events in the area.
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01.03.10 Who wouldn’t like to drive though a town without causing pollution? The Italian Tazzari Group, which specialises in mechanical engineering and aluminium fabrication, is now making this possible in Germany. The brash and colourful Tazzari ZERO is the first Italian electrical sports car to enter the German market.
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25.02.10 GDA will be presenting information on teaching materials relating to aluminium at the didacta trade fair in Cologne from 16-20 March 2010. Visitors to its stand (B 001 in Hall 10.1) will not only be able to find out more about the different teaching materials and information leaflets available: GDA will be presenting its new teaching DVD produced in co-operation with MedienLB.
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25.02.10 Dr Monika Kopra-Schäfer, managing director of Viechtach-based Linhardt GmbH & Co. KG, has succeeded Oliver Höll as chair of the Tubes, Cans and Impact Extrusions specialist trade association within Gesamtverband der Aluminiumindustrie e.V. (GDA).
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22.02.10 Companies with an innovative product made from aluminium will again have the opportunity to win one of the aluminium industry’s most prestigious prizes in 2010. For what will be the seventh time, European Aluminium Awards will be presented during the ALUMINIUM 2010 trade fair.
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22.02.10 Australian packaging company Amcor has completed its acquisition of Rio Tinto’s European food packaging businesses and worldwide pharma and tobacco packaging businesses.
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15.02.10 A conference has been held in parallel to the ALUMINIUM trade fair in Essen for many years. In 2010, this event is being organised for the first time by GDA Gesamtverband der Aluminiumindustrie in conjunction with Reed Exhibitions. The Conference offers opportunity for presentations on wide range of aluminium-related topics.
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15.02.10 Aluminium industry pleads for a sustainable loop economy +++ The epithet “100% recycled metal content” is not a yardstick for ecological common sense +++
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08.02.10 Apple has a reputation for being one of the most innovative computer companies. In addition, the company is committed to using aluminium in its products completely...
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08.02.10 Despite the economic crisis in 2009, there was a slight recovery in the German window market with a rise of two per cent on the previous year. The market volume totalled some 12 million window units.
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01.02.10 At the Detroit Motor Show Audi presented a compact concept sports car with an all-electric drive. The e-tron uses well-known aluminium space frame technology and shows how the world of electric sports cars from Audi could look in the future.
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01.02.10 The aluminium drinks bottle widely used in America has now also gained a foothold in Germany in discos and cult bars and restaurants. This is where many new drinks innovations, such as Prosecco, available in exclusive designs of aluminium can, develop into something big.
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25.01.10 As part of its increased co-operation with universities and colleges, GDA has been offering Academic Membership since the beginning of the year. The aim is to strengthen the co-operation between industry and academia.
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25.01.10 The prize-winners of the International Aluminium Pressure Die Casting Competition 2010 have now been announced. Six castings in the categories ‘Structural Parts’ and ‘Multifunctional Near-Net-Shape Castings’ received awards during the Euroguss 2010 trade fair.
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18.01.10 GDA’s seminar programme begins this year with two events in the first quarter: ‘Introduction to the Technology of Aluminium’ will be held from 1-5 March 2010 in Aachen and ‘Joining of Aluminium Profiles and Sheet’ takes place on 23-24 March 2010 at SLV Duisburg. Both seminars are in German.
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18.01.10 With effect from January 2010, the Global Advisory Group has chosen a new chairman and a new secretariat for the next two-year term. The Global Advisory Group (GAG) was formed in 2005 as a network for globally operating aluminium companies.
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04.01.10 Audi is setting new standards for luxury class saloons with the next generation of its A8. The body is made from lightweight aluminium using Audi’s space frame method of construction, the engines – likewise made of aluminium – are more efficient than their predecessors, and a new chassis made of aluminium and steel is intended to combine speed with comfort.
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04.01.10 The German town of Niebüll will only be installing aluminium street lighting columns in future. This follows a decision made by the members of the local planning committee responsible for such matters. Over time, new columns produced in the Netherlands will replace the old columns made from galvanised steel.
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