Metals & Manufacturing Outlook
9
METALS OUTLOOK
BY ROYCE LOWE
C
HINA Hongqiao Group Ltd, the nation’s biggest aluminum smelter, is curtailing outdated capacity amid a broader crackdown by the government on illegal production – according to two people declining to be identified. This will mean 250,000 tonnes less in annual capacity in the midst of the country’s total smelting capacity of some 40 million tons. China may possibly cut 12 percent of its capacity. Aluminum’s recent price was $1,892 per ton. Donald Trump has been warned by industry executives to take care regarding antidumping actions on imported aluminum.That used for cans is a very different material than that required in the U.S. defense industry. Prodways Group Unveils Rapid Additive Forging Technology France’s Prodways Group, a
subsidiary of Groupe Gorgé, presented its new rapid additive forging (RAF) technology for the 3D metal printing of large titanium parts. RAF technology uses a distinctive metal deposition technology focusing on the metallurgical quality and repeatability of the process. The first metallurgical tests conducted on different parts revealed an absence of porosity and greater mechanical resistance compared with usual 3D metal-printing techniques using laser or electronbeam sintering. The process, which has been tested on various metals, is used to print titanium. The Ellwood Group Inc. has purchased and will operate Gulfco Forge Co., a manufacturer of open-die forgings and rolled rings in Beaumont, TX. The cost and other details of the acquisition were not announced. Gulfco Forge will be a division
of EGI, a Pennsylvania-based organization with 26 business units that include open- and closed-die forging operations producing engineered parts for capital equipment manufacturers. It also has specialty steelmaking and iron casting operations. Gulfco was established in 1919 as a machine shop and manufacturer of heavy components used in oilfield activities and marine manufacturing. The company purchased Beaumont Forge in 1955. Gulfco is able to supply forgings weighing up to 50,000 lbs., measuring up to 4 ft. long and 13 ft. in diameter. Its rolled rings measure up to 132 in. OD with lengths up to 48 in. Its range of products includes discs, bushings, blocks, and gear blanks, as well as seamless rolled rings.
| July 2017