Aluminium industry needs to expand its horizons, say experts

Nagpur: “It is high time that the aluminium producers move out of their traditional strength in electrical and construction industry and shift its gears to emerging applications in aerospace, automobile, defence and other strategic domains,” said Anupam Agnihotri, the director of the Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Development and Design Centre (JNARDDC).
He was speaking at the inaugural session of the two-day conference on ‘development of aluminium alloys and downstream products for defence, aerospace and other strategic applications’ organized by JNARDDC. Agnihotri said that there was a visible gap between the primary and the downstream industry which has limited the use of aluminium to just 2.2kg per capita. This gap needs to be filled urgently.

Lokesh Srivastava, COO of TAL Manufacturing Solutions Limited stressed on the aerospace industry. He said that both globally and at country level there was a huge backlog of 6-9 years in manufacturing of passenger carrier planes. Hence the aluminium industry can take this opportunity head on. He said that even reducing the weight of the carrier by one kilogram can save several gallons of fuel.

T K Chand, the CMD of the National Aluminium Company (Nalco) stressed on the need of diversifying the aluminium products and switching to value added products. He said aluminium was a strategic metal and had as many as 300 applications. He said developing aluminium based alloys was also the need of hour as many industries require composite materials.

The 2-day conference aims to provide a common platform to the primary and secondary producers of Aluminium and its alloys, the casters & the extruders, plant level technologists, researchers, technology & equipment providers, the Defence and Aerospace equipment research and manufacturing establishments to deliberate on the scope for indigenously manufacturing and marketing high strength aluminium alloys, castings and semi-fabricated products for strategic and futuristic applications.