2024 Guangdong (Nanhai) Aluminum Processing Industry Technology Conference Was Held

2024 Guangdong (Nanhai) Aluminum Processing Industry Technology Conference

On November 16, 2024, Nanhai, Guangdong became the focus of the global aluminum processing industry. The "2024 Guangdong (Nanhai) Aluminum Processing Industry Technology Conference" co-organized by the Guangdong (Nanhai) Aluminum Processing Industry Alliance and the Foshan Nanhai District Aluminum Profile Industry Association opened grandly here. With the theme of "Gathering Momentum and Accumulating Energy, Green Transformation, and New Quality Development", this conference brought together outstanding representatives and industry elites in the global aluminum processing field to jointly explore and discuss the future development direction and strategy of the aluminum processing industry.

2024 Guangdong (Nanhai) Aluminum Processing Industry Technology Conference 2

Mr. Fan Shunke, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association and Chairman of China Nonferrous Metals Processing Industry Association, was invited to attend the conference and delivered an important keynote report entitled "Overcoming Difficulties, Adhering to Integrity and Innovation, and Striving to Promote the High-Quality Development of the Aluminum Processing Industry"; at the opening ceremony, Mr. Lin Yujin, Deputy General Manager of Guangdong Fenglu Aluminum Co., Ltd., the title sponsor of the conference, Mr. Lao Jianfeng, Deputy Mayor of Nanhai District, Foshan City, Mr. Jin Haiming, Secretary-General of China Nonferrous Metals Processing Industry Association, and Mr. Zhang Kangning, member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director of Shaanxi Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, delivered speeches respectively.

Fan Shunke, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association and Chairman of China Nonferrous Metals Processing Industry Association, delivered a keynote speech

In his report, Fan Shunke first outlined the operating situation of China's aluminum processing industry in 2023. The total output of aluminum materials showed a continuous upward trend. In 2023, China's total output of aluminum processing materials reached 46.95 million tons, an increase of 3.9% over 2022. Despite the overall growth, the market segments showed different development patterns: the output of aluminum extrusion materials was 23.4 million tons, an increase of 8.8%; the output of aluminum sheet and strip was 13.5 million tons, a decrease of 2.2%; and the output of aluminum foil was 5.1 million tons, an increase of 1.6%.

In terms of aluminum consumption, the market performance was mixed. Related products represented by the "new three" maintained a rapid growth momentum, while traditional consumption areas such as architectural aluminum profiles and architectural formwork profiles faced continuous downward pressure. In terms of exports, although the export volume in 2023 fell by 14.5% to 5.28 million tons due to the inventory adjustment of overseas users, the export volume still ranked third in history. Among them, 1.13 million tons of aluminum extrusions were exported, accounting for 21.4% of the total export volume; 2.77 million tons of aluminum sheets and strips were exported, accounting for 52.5%; and 1.31 million tons of aluminum foil were exported, accounting for 24.8%.

In terms of profitability, the total profit of 22 listed companies fell by 20% compared with 2022, reflecting a significant contraction in the profitability of the entire industry. In terms of scientific and technological innovation, the entire industry has made significant progress in alloy grade development, patent application, standard setting, scientific and technological achievement transformation, and intelligent manufacturing. In terms of green and low-carbon development, the application of green electric aluminum has continued to expand, and the products are widely popular in the international market. The proportion of recycled aluminum in the total caliber aluminum consumption is close to 20%, showing that the integration and development of recycled aluminum and aluminum processing has become a trend. In addition, the popularization of distributed photovoltaic power stations and the emergence of green factories have also become highlights.

In terms of industrial chain competitiveness, China's leading enterprises have ranked among the world's first-class camps, with strong guarantee capabilities for equipment and raw and auxiliary materials. However, in terms of production scale, innovation capability, profitability and global layout, there is still a large gap compared with international giants such as Arconic, Novelis, and Hydro. Fan Shunke further analyzed the six major problems and challenges facing the aluminum processing industry, including the saturation of aluminum consumption, increasing market pressure on building profiles, intensified competition within the industry, rising pressure on carbon constraints, continued trade frictions, and increased default risks of real estate and photovoltaic companies.

Despite the challenges, Fan Shunke firmly believes that China's aluminum processing industry still has broad development prospects. He proposed eight paths to promote high-quality development of the industry: first, to align with international first-class companies and comprehensively enhance comprehensive strength; second, to expand the application field of aluminum and consolidate the basis of aluminum consumption; third, to enhance independent innovation and achieve scientific and technological self-reliance; fourth, to upgrade equipment and improve the level of intelligence; fifth, to adhere to the direction of green and low-carbon development, and expand the application of low-carbon aluminum such as green power aluminum and recycled aluminum; sixth, to promote high-level exports of aluminum materials and products, and build a high-quality "external circulation" development pattern; seventh, to strengthen risk prevention and control; eighth, to establish a sense of community of shared destiny and strengthen industry self-discipline.

Jin Haiming, Secretary General of China Nonferrous Metals Processing Industry Association, delivered a speech

In his speech, Jin Haiming deeply analyzed the new situation, characteristics and development trend of the aluminum extrusion sub-industry, and highly praised the progress of Guangdong's aluminum processing industry. He emphasized that Guangdong has played a vital role in leading and promoting the development of China's aluminum processing, especially the aluminum extrusion industry, for many years, and has a significant influence nationwide. In order to further promote the steady progress of the aluminum processing industry, he proposed the following five strategies:

1. Strengthen independent innovation capabilities and accelerate the realization of self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology;

2. Actively promote the export of high-quality products, target the international market, and expand the business from the simple export of aluminum materials to the export of high-value-added aluminum products;

3. Improve green manufacturing standards, increase the proportion of green electric aluminum and recycled aluminum in the production process, and promote the coordinated development of recycled aluminum and aluminum processing industries;

4. Persistently expand the application field of aluminum, deepen cooperation with downstream industries, and focus on the development of deep processing and high-value-added products;

5. Establish a bottom-line thinking, closely monitor challenges such as aluminum price fluctuations, default risks of real estate and photovoltaic companies, and safety hazards in production, strengthen industry self-discipline, and jointly build a healthy industrial ecological environment.

Lu Jiyan, Executive Vice Chairman of Guangdong (Nanhai) Aluminum Processing Industry Alliance, delivered a report

Lu Jiyan, executive vice president of the Guangdong (Nanhai) Aluminum Processing Industry Alliance, delivered the "2024 Guangdong (Nanhai) Aluminum Processing Industry Alliance Work Report" at the meeting. In his report, he reviewed the remarkable achievements made by the industry alliance in promoting green innovation, serving enterprises and promoting high-quality development of the industry in the past year. Lu Jiyan emphasized that the alliance will continue to uphold the development goal of "gathering momentum and accumulating energy, green transformation, and new quality expansion", and is committed to promoting the industry to achieve energy conservation and carbon reduction, improve the recycling rate of recycled aluminum, strictly control quality, promote enterprise management upgrades, and inherit corporate values. Key tasks such as helping the aluminum processing industry achieve a higher level of development in the new era.

During the conference, a series of award ceremonies were also held. The ceremony announced the list of the second chairman and vice chairman units, supervisory units, director units and the second expert committee of the Guangdong (Nanhai) Aluminum Processing Industry Alliance, and held a plaque awarding ceremony for 37 newly joined member companies. At the same time, many individuals with outstanding performance in the industry were also commended, including "Top Ten Outstanding Newcomers, Top Ten Advanced Model Workers, Top Ten Management Model Workers in Aluminum Processing in 2024" and "Advanced Workers of the Industry Alliance in 2024". In addition, corporate awards such as "2024 Active Contribution Award", "2024 Outstanding Contribution Award", "2024 Excellent Brand Supplier of Aluminum Processing" and "2024 Excellent Enterprise of Aluminum Processing Specialization and Innovation" were selected to recognize their outstanding contributions to promoting the high-quality development of the aluminum processing industry.

Under the development requirements of new quality productivity, the trend of technological iteration and upgrading in China's aluminum processing industry is becoming increasingly obvious. The industry's demand for high-end equipment, high-tech and high-quality products is growing, and professional strength and international vision are urgently needed to lead the transformation and breakthrough of the industry. In the technical special report session, Lu Baokun, deputy general manager and chief engineer of Fujian Nanping Aluminum Co., Ltd., Wilhelm Reif, senior expert of Germany Greentown Group, and Olivier Rey, partner of Switzerland M-TD, respectively made special technical reports on topics such as lightweight, Industry 4.0 and large-scale extrusion process. By sharing hot industry technologies and internationally leading application cases, they provided domestic aluminum processing companies with a broader vision and development path.

The conference also held 7 technical sub-forums and salon activities with themes such as "melting, recycled aluminum technology, molds", "extrusion, automotive lightweight, photovoltaics", etc. 40 entrepreneurs and technical experts from various fields of the aluminum processing industry chain and supply chain conducted in-depth discussions and exchanges on new trends, new technologies, new products, new applications and new challenges in the industry.

As an important industry event during the exhibition, this conference has also become the preferred platform for many aluminum processing companies to showcase their new image, new technologies and new products. In addition to traditional aluminum profiles and chemical auxiliary materials companies, it also attracted a number of intelligent equipment and intelligent technology R&D and innovation companies to participate in the exhibition, which attracted widespread attention from domestic and foreign audiences. The participation of these companies not only improved the professional level of the conference, but also provided strong support for the intelligent and green development of the aluminum processing industry.

This conference received guidance and support from the China Nonferrous Metals Processing Industry Association, the Nanhai District Economic Promotion Bureau of Foshan City, and the People's Government of Dali Town, Nanhai District, Foshan City. Cen Zhuoxiong, member of the Standing Committee of the Nanhai District Committee of Foshan City and Secretary of the Party Committee of Dali Town, Pan Weishen, Chairman of the Aluminum Profile Industry Association of Nanhai District, Foshan City and Chairman of Guangdong Huachang Group Co., Ltd., Tan Yizhi, member of the Standing Committee of the Anyi County Committee of Jiangxi Province and Deputy County Magistrate of the County Government, Li Defeng, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, Mo Xinda, Director of the Light Metals Department, Su Tianjie, Secretary-General of the Aluminum Profile Industry Association of Nanhai District, Foshan City, as well as nearly 600 upstream and downstream enterprises of the aluminum processing industry chain and more than 2,600 aluminum processing practitioners from around the world attended the conference.

During the conference, Fan Shunke also had in-depth exchanges with the main leaders of key aluminum processing enterprises in Guangdong on hot topics such as the current operation of the industry and the cancellation of export tax rebates for aluminum processing materials. Lu Jian, Deputy Secretary-General and Director of the Aluminum Department of the China Nonferrous Metals Processing Industry Association, also participated in related activities.