Domestic aluminum processing materials usher in greater opportunities for development

With the continuous expansion of the use and application of aluminum products, the competition between mid-to-low-end aluminum products has become increasingly fierce. More and more aluminum processing companies have increased their input in deep processing, and have extended to the deep processing of downstream aluminum products. At the just-concluded 2017 China International Aluminum Industry Exhibition, this trend has also been reflected.

Aviation Aluminum Opens up New Blue Ocean

Aluminum has been a key structural material in the aviation industry. However, in recent years, with the development of technology, the aluminum industry is also facing competition from other materials, and the proportion of civil aircraft and other materials has declined. Hu Yanping, senior engineer of the China Aviation Industry Development Research Center, introduced the aluminum processing workshop and said that aluminum alloys accounted for 61% of the structural materials of the A380 passenger plane, and the use of aluminum alloy for the B787 passenger aircraft was reduced to 20%. At the same time, the use of composite materials has risen.

Despite the challenges faced by other materials, Hu Yanping pointed out that the aluminum alloy field is also evolving, and new breakthroughs in aircraft engines are also being sought. For example, Alcoa and PW have developed engine fans made of aluminum alloy materials. blade. In addition, in the new aircraft design, the signal of the return of metal materials such as aluminum alloys has gradually emerged. B787's wing contractor Mitsubishi Heavy Industries changed the wing material design of MRJ regional aircraft from composite materials back to aluminum alloy; A350XWB is not a composite material but a composite structure of advanced metal materials and composite materials.

According to Boeing's forecast for the future demand for global passenger aircraft, by 2020, the number of aircraft will reach 33,000, an increase of about 33% compared to the current 24,891; by 2036, the global aircraft demand will reach 46,950, plus scrap replacement. A total of 41,030 aircraft will need to be added.

The increase in passenger aircraft demand will bring about material demand. Antaike predicts that, between 2017 and 2036, civil aircraft will need a total of 2.63 million tons of aluminum, of which aluminum needs 2.24 million tons.

From the domestic point of view, the successful development of domestic aircraft such as the C919 has also driven strong demand for aviation aluminum and its components. With the rapid development of China's aviation industry, the aviation aluminum market will usher in a substantial expansion.

However, the high-end aluminum used in the aerospace industry is also a short board for the aluminum industry in China. It has maintained a net import situation for many years. It is reported that the total mass of the aluminum of the C919 accounts for 65% of the total net aircraft mass, but the aluminum is mainly imported and the proportion of domestic materials used on the C919 is not large.

In the future, aircraft projects such as China's C919 trunk passenger aircraft, ARJ21 and new series of regional passenger aircraft are expected to bring 80% of aviation aluminum plate purchase opportunities to Chinese domestic companies. Ministry of Industry and Information Technology “Development Plan for Nonferrous Metals Industry (2016-2020)” also made it clear that it will promote the localization of aviation aluminum materials, and will list and develop the key grade aluminum materials as a key work program for 2017, striving to break through technical barriers and achieve aluminum. The purpose of all domestic materials.

This will undoubtedly provide a good opportunity for the development of China's domestic aviation aluminum. China's aviation high-end aluminum materials have huge import substitution and development space, but at the same time it also enhances the urgent need for Chinese aluminum processing companies to develop and produce aviation-aircraft aluminum alloys. sense. High-end aviation aluminum is still a vast application of the new "Blue Ocean", is waiting for the Chinese aluminum processing company "Nuggets", and the urgent needs of domestic aviation aluminum materials also require Chinese aluminum processing companies to step up research and development of high-end aviation aluminum products, Improve product quality and enhance supporting production capacity.

Aluminum alloy casing trend is obvious

In recent years, the consumer market has developed rapidly. Aluminum alloys are used in 3C electronics because of their high value, light weight, high strength, and high corrosion resistance. As aluminum processing companies continue to mature processing technology and technology, the cost of aluminum alloys is declining. The products are also lighter, more environmentally friendly, and aesthetically pleasing, which has prompted various types of consumer electronic products to gradually transform aluminum alloy materials.

The data shows that in 2016, the penetration rate of mobile phone aluminum alloy casing reached about 38%, the penetration rate of tablet PC reached 50%, and the penetration rate of notebook PC reached 30%.

As the size of the consumer electronics market has entered a stage of steady development, consumers and consumer electronics companies are paying more and more attention to product designs and materials.

"Innovation is a constant theme in the consumer electronics field." Zhao Yongjun, deputy general manager of Kunshan Chihiro Metal Products Co., Ltd., said at the "Aluminum Deep Processing Forum" that from the current development trend of consumer electronics, the metallization of the chassis has been Become an important direction of appearance innovation, and gradually form the trend of scale application. He estimated that the demand for aluminum in the four consumer electronics sectors of domestic mobile phones, tablet computers, mobile power supplies, and televisions in 2017 will be approximately 120,000 tons, which is expected to increase to nearly 200,000 tons in 2018.

However, Zhao Yongjun also pointed out that the primary factor in the metal shell of electronic products is the breakthrough of the technical bottleneck. From the perspective of the current domestic manufacturers, there are very few manufacturers that have the ability to look at the overall solution, and they have a single process in terms of stamping, die-casting, and full CNC. There are also few manufacturers with advantages. The market demand is not met and the production capacity is upside down.

He believes that attention should be paid to the new properties, new technologies, new trends, and new applications of aluminum materials. Expanding the aluminum market and further opening up the channel between technology companies and brand manufacturers is a problem that needs to be solved in the industry.

The rapid development of downstream industries such as construction, transportation, and electronics has not only led to an increase in aluminum demand, but also puts higher requirements on aluminum precision machining technology and innovation capabilities. Aluminum deep processing has broad market prospects. For aluminum processing companies, in the increasingly fierce competition of homogenization, in response to market demand, vigorously developing intensive processing of aluminum products will also help it stand out from the competition and achieve sustainable development.