Constellium has opened a new finishing line for aluminium sheet production in Neuf-Brisach in the Alsace region. With the new line, in which it has invested 180 million euros, Constellium intends to satisfy the automotive industry's growing demand for aluminium auto-body sheet.

Dr.-Ing. Walter Hueck, former President of the Gesamtverband der Aluminiumindustrie e.V. (GDA), passed away in October of this year at the age of 82. Dr. Hueck was President of the GDA from 1995 to 2001, and had spent the time before that shaping and influencing the work of German aluminium industry associations in various capacities and on various committees in the aluminium branch.

In areas like vehicles, low weight can ensure a maximum in driving enjoyment or dynamic performance at low consumption. Aluminium-titanium lightweight bearings offer the same performance values as standard bearing technology used to date, but they do it at half the weight and at a moderate price.

The member companies of AEROBAL could be more than happy with developments in shipments around the world. In the first half of the year, they boosted output of aluminium aerosol cans by a remarkable 4.5 per cent compared with the corresponding period a year earlier to about 2.9 billion cans.

Dr. Hinrich Mählmann (59), president of the Gesamtverband der Aluminiumindustrie e.V. (GDA) in Düsseldorf, has been elected again by the general assembly of the GDA for a further three-year term of office. As vice presidents again elected is Oliver Höll, Karl Höll GmbH, as well as Kjetil Ebbesberg, Hydro Aluminium.

Sapa has installed at its plant in Finspång, Sweden the largest friction stir welding (FSW) machine in Europe and one of the largest in the world. The new large-scale FSW machine offers single-sided and double-sided welding of aluminium profiles with material thicknesses up to 16 mm, produced as 18 by 3.5-meter panels.

The mat "emco Ecoline Pionier" consists of functional layers of materials lying in robust aluminium profiles. The entrance mat – from yarn to aluminium profiles – can be completely recycled without exception.

On the way to the finish line at the Olympic Games, for cyclists every gram counts. Because, the less weight that has to be set in motion, the better the acceleration. Aluminium components are particularly lightweight and especially tailored to suit the needs of each of the individual German track cyclists.