Nippon Kinzoku to Start New Secondary Al Plant in China

Nippon Kinzoku, Japanese major maker of aluminium additives used as deoxidizing agents for steel making, will start commercial operation of a secondary aluminium alloy plant in Guangdong, China in March 2008. The plant is controlled by Guangdong Longda Aluminium Industry, a joint venture in which Nippon Kinzoku has 21% shares. The plant will supply initially 50,000 tonnes per year of secondary aluminium alloy for castings and die castings to Japanese automakers’ sites integrated around Guangzhou and Shanghai.The plant is constructed on a site of 11,500 square meters, equipped with two 20-tonne melting and holding furnaces, two automated continuous casting lines, a dust chamber and a coal gas generator with about 150 employees. Capital expenditure for the plant is US$ 8.5 million (approximately 909 million yen), 51% shared by Baoding Longda Aluminium Industry, 21% by Nippon Kinzoku, 17% by Hebei Lizhong Nonferrous Metals Group.Nippon Kinzoku has produced aluminium alloy at Baoding Longda Aluminium Industry, a JV with Chinese maker. Baoding plant is under full operation and difficult to be expanded more. Nippon Kinzoku decided to invest in a new JV in Guangdong to meet increasing demand from Chinese automotive industry.Initial capacity of Guangdong plant is 50,000 tonnes per year while the capacity is scheduled to be doubled after the second-stage expansion in January 2009. The plant will use mix metal scrap imported from USA and Europe or high grade aluminium scrap generated in China as a main material for secondary aluminium alloy.