Century Aluminum sells stake in joint venture

Century Aluminum Co. said Tuesday that the company completed the divestment of its stake in certain bauxite and alumina assets.

Century Aluminum ( CENX - news - people ) sold its half of Louisiana-based Gramercy Alumina LLC and Jamaica-based St. Ann Bauxite Ltd. to privately held Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. The two companies jointly acquired Gramercy and St. Ann from Kaiser Aluminum ( KALU - news - people ) and Chemical Corp. in 2004. Noranda, based in Franklin, Tenn., now is the sole owner of Gramercy and St. Ann. Bauxite is the primary ore of aluminum.

In August, Century Aluminum said the transaction will increase its focus on the company's core aluminum smelting business and growth projects.

Gramercy owns and operates a 1.2 million metric ton per year alumina annual capacity alumina refinery located in Louisiana and St. Ann owns and operates a 4.8 million metric ton per year annual capacity bauxite mining operation in Jamaica. As a result of the economic downturn, Century Aluminum said that Gramercy and St. Ann have been producing at about 50 percent and 40 percent of their rated capacities since early 2009.

Last month, Noranda said Century had agreed to purchase alumina---the key ingredient in aluminum-- from Gramercy in 2009 and 2010.

Noranda CEO Layle K. Smith said in a statement the deal is "consistent with our vertical integration strategy and our continuing desire to have a secure strategic supply of alumina. We also believe owning 100 percent of these two operations represents an opportunity to enhance profitability as market pricing improves."

Shares of Monterey, Calif.-based Century Aluminum dropped 18 cents to $10.05 in morning trading.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/09/01/business-materials-us-century-aluminum-sale_6836916.html

Century Aluminum takes USD 73 million Q2 charge

Reuters reported that Century Aluminum Company which already reported a Q2 loss is taking a USD 73.2 million charge that will increase that loss.

The charge relates to the recently agreed transfer of the company's 50% ownership interests in Gramercy Alumina LLC in Louisiana and Jamaica's St. Ann Bauxite Limited.

The non cash charge for equity investment impairment will be reflected in Q2 financial statements on Form 10-Q expected to be filed with the Securities and Exchange on August 10th 2009.

California based company reported a Q2 net loss of USD 33.9 million or 46 cents per share. A spokesman said that those results were only "provisional" and that the impairment charge although incurred in the Q3 would be included in the Q2 results filed with the SEC next week.

Century Aluminum said that it will transfer its stakes in the 2 companies to subsidiaries of privately held Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation.
http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/08/17/MTA3NDQw/
Century_Aluminum_takes_USD_73_million_Q2_charge.html

Martin introduce carriage house doors in aluminum

Martin carriage house doors in aluminum offer almost all of the features of wood, without any of the heavy maintenance or the safety liabilities.

The aluminum doors feature Martin's patented FingerShield joint design as well as over 30 safety and quality items that are standard with each Martin Door.

"This door is the best in its class.

In fact, the Carriage House Collection Aluminum Doors are in a class all their own," David Martin, chairman of MDM, said of the door.

The doors will come in over 70 powder coat colors and include 1/4" thick antique hinges and handles in black or silver.

The doors are only available with a powder coat finish.

The door is almost maintenance free, according to Martin, because of the aluminum and powder coating.

The door comes with a lifetime warranty with few limitations.

Even the door's hardware lasts long on the super strong door because of its lightweight aluminum, according to Martin.

The door features a true 3-D design, he added.

The benefits of the new carriage house look to traditional wood doors are obvious.

"Experience has shown that wood warps, cracks and splits," Martin said.

"Wood has a short warranty and does not last long.

Steel also does not last as long as aluminum.

Hardware usually wears out faster on heavier doors".

The new aluminum door is also environmentally friendly, because it offers the charm and appeal of a carriage house look, without cutting down any trees.

http://www.buildingtalk.com/news/amw/amw100.html

Alcoa posts loss on sharply lower aluminum prices

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http://www.marketwatch.com/story/alcoa-posts-loss-on-sharply-lower-aluminum-prices-20097817040

Couplings with aluminum hubs have low inertia

Couplings with aluminum hubs have low weight and low inertia making them an excellent choice for servo motor and other precision motion control applications.

Zero-Max CD couplings with aluminum hubs have low weight and low inertia making them an excellent choice for servo motor and other precision motion control applications.

Available in single and double disc pack models, these couplings have high torsional stiffness and zero-backlash.

These aluminum hub CD couplings provide the same torque as the steel hub versions along with a 15 to 20% increase in the couplings rev/min rating for most models.

Both single and double disc pack models combine the best features found in steel disc and elastomeric couplings through the use of a patented open arm disc design made of rugged composite material.

This unique design provides the high misalignment capacity found in many elastomeric couplings but with higher torsional stiffness.

Compared to steel disc couplings, CD couplings with aluminum hubs offer superior damping and isolation of shock and vibrating loads, including elimination of fretting corrosion and dramatic reduction of stress fractures at the bolt hole locations.

The CD coupling also provides excellent chemical and moisture resistance in hostile environments that prove difficult or impossible for elastomeric or steel disc couplings.

The aluminum hub CD Single Flex models are available in either clamp style or keyway with set screw style hubs from 1.85in to 6.00in diameters.

They handle speeds from 5,200 to 17,000 rev/min and have torsional stiffness of 1,800 to 41,485 in.lb/deg depending on size.

The aluminum hub CD Double Flex models are available in either clamp style or keyway with set screw style hubs from 1.85in to 6.00in diameters.

They handle speeds from 4,400 to 17,000 rev/min and have torsional stiffness of 850 to 20,196 in.lb/deg depending on size.

CD couplings are also available with custom designed disc packs for virtually any type or style of application.
http://www.manufacturingtalk.com/news/zer/zer107.html

Aluminum Heads for Biggest Weekly Gain in 21 Years in London

Aluminum rose in London, heading for the biggest weekly gain in 21 years, as inventory figures signaled a possible strengthening in demand.

Aluminum earmarked for shipment from warehouses registered with the London Metal Exchange jumped almost 15 percent to 81,375 metric tons. That was the highest since April 17 and accounted for about 1.9 percent of total inventories.

“Some distributors are showing renewed buying interest on concern that they will not be prepared to meet orders when demand returns,” Deutsche Bank AG analysts Michael Lewis and Joel Crane said today in an e-mailed report.

Aluminum for three-month delivery added $7.25, or 0.5 percent, to $1,571.75 a ton at 5:05 p.m. on the LME. The contract has added 9.1 percent this week, closing in on the largest gain since June 1988, after sliding for three weeks.

Industries from packaging to aerospace use aluminum, which has risen 2 percent this year in London, the least among the LME’s six main metals. Copper has soared 63 percent and lead is up 66 percent.

Aluminum futures open interest, or the number of contracts outstanding, rose to a record 829,336 lots as of yesterday. The increase suggested investors were making purchases, which may represent new bets on higher prices, Deutsche Bank’s Lewis and Crane said.

Still, LME-monitored aluminum stockpiles have almost quadrupled in a year. Supply will exceed demand by 380,000 tons this year, less than last year’s 1.29 million-ton surplus, according to the analysts.

‘Significant Improvement’

United Co. Rusal, the world’s largest producer, said June 3 it expects a “significant improvement” in prices from the third quarter as the global economy rebounds.

Copper for three-month delivery dropped $32, or 0.6 percent, to $4,993 a ton on the LME, after earlier advancing as much as 2 percent. Copper for July delivery fell 0.9 percent to $2.2805 a pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division.

U.S. employers cut 345,000 workers from payrolls in May, the smallest drop in eight months, the Labor Department said today in Washington. Other figures released this week showed that fewer Americans filed claims for jobless benefits and sales of previously owned homes advanced.

Copper stockpiles monitored by the LME dropped 3,225 tons to 299,975 tons. Inventories tracked by the Shanghai Futures Exchange have jumped 15,263 tons, or almost 51 percent, to 45,480 tons this week. Including Comex stockpiles, inventories totaled 396,999 tons, up 1 percent for the week.

Economic Rebound

Optimism about an economic rebound has helped to drive copper and other metals higher this year. Tobias Merath, head of commodity research at Credit Suisse Group AG in Zurich, said today by phone he has yet to see any signs of improved demand and Western economies remain in recession.

“As demand continues to be weak, metals can’t rally indefinitely,” he said.

Among other LME metals for three-month delivery, nickel fell 0.9 percent to $14,575 a ton, and lead lost 0.2 percent to $1,663 a ton. Zinc gained 0.6 percent to $1,565.25 a ton, and tin was unchanged at $14,700 a ton.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aP8z_WtJWM44&refer=latin_america

Steel faces longer-term threat from auto aluminum

SEOUL (Reuters) - A collapse in steel demand from the ailing auto sector may be foremost on steelmakers' minds at the moment, but rising government fuel standards are the greater cause for alarm as aluminum and magnesium steal market share.

While the auto industry consumes only about 6 percent of the world's crude steel production, mills have long counted on steady growth in car sales to generate new business -- growth that may now be in doubt as aluminum and other super-light materials replace steel to help meet tougher environmental regulations.

The threat became more apparent this week as U.S. President Barack Obama introduced the most aggressive proposal yet to boost U.S. auto fuel economy standards, which would encourage automakers to invest in fuel-saving technology.

Under the new standards, U.S. passenger vehicles and light trucks must raise fuel efficiency by 5 percent yearly to an average 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. The current law requires a similar gain by 2020.

"To achieve weight-saving and improve fuel efficiency, it's inevitable to replace steel to lighter materials, as steel accounts for around 50-60 percent of total vehicle weight," said Han Do-suck, principal researcher of South Korea's Hyundai Motor's (005380.KS) materials research team.

"We are open to all possibilities and new technologies but any dramatic and immediate change is unlikely, mainly because of cost issues."

The incentives are clear: fuel efficiency usually rises by 5-10 percent for every 10 percent reduction in vehicle weight, and per-vehicle steel consumption is well over 1 tonne.

That can be a big blow to already reeling steelmakers, such as Nippon Steel (5401.T), POSCO (005490.KS) and AK Steel (AKS.N), which count auto firms as a major client and face reduced demand as auto output falls by as much as 20 percent this year.

Already automakers are increasingly stripping off sheets of steel in favor of lighter and more stylish materials, such as aluminum, magnesium, titanium, plastics and carbon fiber.

The Mazda2 subcompact, for example, reduced weight by almost 100 kg from its predecessor by using lightweight and thinner ultra-tensile steel, altering the electrics, suspension and exhaust, and even by changing door speakers to save weight.

Aluminum LEADS, COST STILL CONCERN

The substitution has been led by aluminum, which can halve weight of vehicle body frames, thus dramatically reducing emissions of carbon dioxide blamed for global warming.

A survey by research firm Ducker Worldwide showed that per-vehicle aluminum content in North America would rise to 376 pounds by 2020, or 10.4 percent of total vehicle weight, from an estimated 8.6 percent this year.

Aluminum, which is as stiff as steel but weighs one third as much, has been developed for around two decades for use in autos but its high price and relatively complicated processing structure have prevented its use for the whole auto-body frame.

"Aluminum is some three to four times more expensive than steel per volume, and as a relatively less standardized and commoditized processing tool it costs a lot more to process the metal for auto use," said Kim Hyung-wook, a chief researcher at Korea Institute of Materials Science.
http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/idUSTRE54L13Y20090522