Aluminum industry: the road to material substitution is getting wider

Significantly expanded application

Aluminum is the second largest metal material after steel. Due to its excellent structural and functional characteristics, combined with the improvement and improvement of the properties of aluminum and its alloy materials, its application range is expanding. Statistics show that among the 124 industries in China, there are 113 industries related to aluminum. It can be said that in the whole life cycle of aluminum, its excellent light weight and recycling performance have brought great social and environmental benefits to many industries, and have been more and more widely recognized.

"Since 2012, aluminium profile suppliers have always grasped the application of expanding aluminum not to relax, and we have found a breakthrough every year, 6 years and 6 themes, from all-aluminum trailers, aluminum alloy cables, aluminum alloy building templates, 

aluminum alloy cladding panels. New energy city bus aluminum alloy body to aluminum furniture, from the transportation field, power field to construction field, from the industry into the family, continue to inject new vitality into aluminum consumption." Chen Quanxun said that in 2018 we launched the expansion of aluminum applications In the seventh year, from the perspective of tracking, the effectiveness of expanding applications is very significant.

Up to now, China's aluminum alloy vans have increased from more than 20 vehicles to more than 20,000 vehicles. They have been favored by large-scale logistics companies such as Jingdong, Shunfeng and Shentong, and have achieved bulk export; aluminum alloy tankers started from zero, currently The aluminizing rate has exceeded 10%; the application ratio of aluminum alloy formwork has increased from 3% in the promotion to the current 20%, and the amount of aluminum used is close to 3 million tons; by the “government subsidized new energy vehicle”Dongfeng, aluminum alloy new energy bus The car has increased from zero to more than 35,000 vehicles. The aluminum furniture has received high attention due to its excellent performance in environmental protection, zero formaldehyde, corrosion resistance and high residual value. The shop has settled in the Red Star Macalline and the home. In the first year of the start, the consumption of aluminum has exceeded 5,000 tons. The second-generation aluminum furniture has quietly appeared; the aluminum alloy overpass has built 50 over the country and 20 under construction, and many are still under planning.

The alternative space is especially broad

In fact, due to the particularity of aluminum metal, industrial aluminum profile has a huge replacement space in many fields.

In recent years, with the popularization of environmental awareness and the advancement of science and technology, many industries have gradually shifted to “green”, and the furniture industry is no exception. “Aluminum furniture is more environmentally friendly than particleboard and fiberboard, and it also eliminates the formaldehyde produced by the adhesive used in the production and installation process, and the aluminum can be recycled and reused, which is an example of circular economy.”Chi Min, Deputy Secretary General of China Furniture Association Hua said that in 2017, aluminum furniture showed rapid development with its own advantages.

Lightweight vehicles can not only reduce energy consumption, save limited energy, but also reduce environmental pollution and improve driving performance. It has become one of the main direct

ions of the global automotive industry and enterprises. Expert Zhao Yuzhi revealed that the prelude to the lightweighting of Chinese automobiles has been opened. New energy vehicles are accelerating the application of aluminum alloy sheets. The market for aluminum alloy sheet coverings will reach 100,000 tons in 2017 and 300,000 tons in 2020. The amount will also exceed 1 million tons in 2020.

With the rapid advancement of technology, the promotion and application of aluminum alloy on ships has also been solved. With all-aluminum structure, the weight can be reduced by nearly 40%, improving stability and speed, saving fuel, increasing load capacity, extending service life and greatly increasing operating profit.

Yan Qingtao, assistant general manager of Shandong Kailway Aluminum Alloy Ship Co., Ltd., believes that the market demand for aluminum alloy business boats and workboats in the future is conservatively estimated at 5,000, with a market size of 40 billion yuan; various aluminum alloy leisure boats in the next five years, The yacht market demand is about 10,000, and the market size is 7 billion yuan. In addition, China is the country with the largest number of fishing vessels in the world, with nearly 100,000 renewable spaces. If the state issues policy support or subsidies, the market prospects are very broad.

Improve quality and efficiency

Although expanding aluminum applications is an old problem and a new thing, due to lack of understanding, aluminum products with better comprehensive cost performance are often not easily accepted when entering many traditional fields. “The practice of expanding aluminum applications in these years has promoted the industry's transition from material suppliers to total solution providers, but overall it is based on material supply, and the degree of recognition and acceptance of downstream users is the entry of aluminum materials. The key.”Chen Quanxun said that the next step is to strengthen the positive publicity outside the industry, let downstream users, intermediate purchasers, product designers, understand relevant industries, enterprises and products, and gradually establish a close contact mechanism and trust mechanism.

Expanding aluminum applications, in many cases, adopting new products to replace original products in new fields. Quality is the fundamental guarantee for expanding applications, and it is necessary to establish a good quality image and market reputation among users. "If we don't make our work solid, the quality of the products is not good, the quality of the batch is unstable, and the sense of service is not in place. If there is a quality problem, it may lead to abandonment of the past, seriously hurt the market confidence, and even lose the market." Chen Quanxun said frankly .

At the China International Aluminum Industry and Shanghai International Industrial Materials Exhibition held in July this year, many aluminum companies exhibited lightweight products for automobiles. However, high-strength ultra-thin steel sheets, various carbon fiber materials, new composite materials, new plastics, and new magnesium alloy products are also beginning to compete in the field of automotive lightweighting. Expanding the application of aluminum requires both a large weight and a differentiated development. Progress has been made in a wide range of applications, and the use of extended applications will be large. At the same time, enterprises must also combine their own characteristics, do not ignore the needs of personalized, high-end, small batch, multi-batch. In this respect, the requirements for technological innovation are higher, and the added value of products is also greater. "Whether it is a large-scale field, or a differentiated and individualized field, we must persist in continuous innovation, strive for continuous consolidation in the traditional field, and continue to break through in emerging fields." Chen Quanxun said...