Economy and Business

Alnan launches aluminum project in Nanning

By Huo Yan, Huang Feifei and Huang Zhaohua (China Daily Guangxi Bureau)
Updated: 2010-05-20 16:48

Alnan Aluminum Group plans to develop a 200,000-ton aluminum sheet project this year, amid Nanning's massive campaign to upgrade local industries. The campaign initiated by the city government involves a number of projects for infrastructure improvements.

The Alnan Aluminum Group, of the Guangxi Nanning Aluminum Corp, now consists of subsidiaries including Alnan Aluminum Co Ltd and the Alnan Aluminum Foil Co Ltd. It is a key enterprise supported by Nanning’s industrial upgrading plan.

Alnan Aluminum produces thousands of products, including wood-aluminum compound window frames, coatings and carbon aluminum.

The products have been widely used in the electronics, aviation, automobile, and household appliances industries in both domestic and overseas markets because of their high quality and high added value.

The company is now a provider of high-quality aluminum alloy radiators for many CPU producers at home and abroad. Chen Ping, vice president of Alnan Aluminum Group, said: "When the global financial crisis influenced our export business last year, we quickened the step of innovation and adjusted the product structure in a timely manner. As a result, we reached the production and sales goals set for 2009."

Chen revealed that the group developed 1,400 new products last year, almost four products a day on average. "This is the year we will continue to upgrade technologies and products, targeting to realize sales revenue of 100 million yuan," Chen said.

More added value

Aluminum foil produced by the branch company of Alnan Aluminum Foil is a product with high added value and still has the potential to extend its value chain. With a thickness of just 0.006 millimeters, the product is widely used in many fields, including food and medicine packaging and aeronautics.

According to Chen Jinfu, a manager at Alnan Aluminum Foil, the majority of the foil products were exported to overseas markets in the last few years.

Thus the company's business was seriously hurt by the global financial crisis.

Under these circumstances, Alnan Aluminum Foil has adjusted the product structure and market positioning. The company plans to extend the original value chain.

"A new initiative is to change the size of the foil to meet various customers' demands in both domestic and overseas markets. As a result, the prices of the products have increased several times," Chen said. Milestone project

On February 4, 2010, the 200,000-ton aluminum sheet project broke ground in Nanning, marking a milestone project for both the company and Guangxi.

The project, now operated by the newly founded branch company of Alnan Aluminum Processing Co Ltd, will mainly produce high-quality aluminum sheet that is "as strong as but lighter than steel." Originally, the products were mostly imported from foreign countries, with supplies always falling short of market demands.

Many Chinese aluminum companies have considered building their own aluminum sheet facilities but gave up because the projects needed large amounts of investment, sophisticated technologies and easy access to both resources and markets.

The 200,000-ton aluminum sheet project of Alnan Aluminum has also been strongly supported by the Nanning city government, which expects the project to boost the local economy by driving the development of a number of related industries.

Zheng Yulin, chairman of Alnan Group, believes "the aluminum sheet project will fill the gap in the industry, and is also expected to help Nanning become one of the advanced aluminum industry bases in the world."