• Strategic entry into specialty alumina business enhances Aditya Birla Group’s $15 billion US portfolio
• Marks Group’s foray into ultra-low soda Tabular Alumina manufacturing critical for high-performance industrial applications

Cincinnati / Mumbai June 24, 2025: Aditya Birla Group, a leading Indian multinational conglomerate and the largest Indian investor in the United States, today announced that its flagship metals company, Hindalco Industries Limited, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% equity in AluChem Companies, Inc., a U.S.-based producer of premium quality, high value-added specialty alumina products, for $125 million.

Read the full Hindalco press-release here.

On Saturday, September 24^th, we held our annual company picnic at Sharon Woods in Sharonville, OH.  The weather could not have been better if we had scripted it in advance.  The event was kicked off with a meet and greet of fellow employees and their families.  Lunch was catered by a local vendor and all seemed to enjoy the plentiful spread of barbecued chicken, pork and various sides.  After lunch festivities included a cornhole tournament, which highlighted a particular skill that I need to hone, as I was coaxed into a pairing for this event.  The skill I am speaking of involves the tossing of a small beanbag in an underhand motion from a distance onto a slanted box with a hole.  If one doubts this takes skill, then you have likely never played cornhole.  Clearly many of our employees have not only played cornhole, but have indeed honed their skills beyond that of a novice.  The victors of this first-annual event were the team of Erik Wattenhofer, our very own production manager and Dustin Smith (DJ), senior lab technician who edged out the team of John Davis and Bernard Johnson.  I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate them and all of the participants.

The kids delighted in the arrival of an ice cream truck, offering up an endless supply of frozen treats to add to their fun.  Prize drawings rounded out the day, which saw many winners including:  Maurice Gibbs, Jim Quigley, Paul Kramer-Arndts and John Davis to name a few.  Congratulations to all who came away with a prize.

“Thank You”

This annual event is more than a fun social event; it’s an opportunity for AluChem to say, “thank you” to its many hard-working and dedicated employees.  As such, we took the opportunity this year to recognize a beloved employee who was lost last year to illness, Anthony “AJ” Johnson.  His family, including his wife, sister in-law and daughter were in attendance for the announcement of a future dedication in his honor and memory.  Our Powders Blending Department will be formally dedicated to AJ in the coming weeks for his many contributions to our company and his tireless spirit that continues to inspire all of us who had the privilege of knowing him.

Thank you to our picnic committee, comprised of Myra Glenkler-Daugherty, Shanna Wilkie, Mark Aragon and Erik Wattenhofer and all who attended.  I look forward to next year’s event.

Matthew E. Painter
Vice President & General Manager

Bauxite and alumina suppliers are gearing up for a better second quarter after a poor start to 2016, delegates heard at Metal Bulletin’s Bauxite & Alumina conference in Miami, USA, at the start of March. The conference started somewhat somberly following the recent news of two US alumina producers entering Chapter 11 restructuring – Sherwin Alumina in January and Noranda Aluminium in February 2016.

These announcements had followed the earlier news that Alcoa would curtail the remaining 810,000tpy of alumina refining capacity at its Point Comfort facility – bringing its global mothballed capacity to 3.3Mtpy.

In mid-December 2015, some of the lowest alumina prices experienced since June 2009 were observed, with shipments from Australia to China reaching a low of US$219/t CIF compared with US$370/t in December 2014.

Yet despite 2016 kicking off with low prices for smelter alumina and aluminium, the conference chair on day one, Ron Knapp of the International Aluminium Institute, suggested that the industry was faring better than some of its contemporaries – notably iron ore and steel.

Knapp pointed out that aluminium prices as of January 2016 were US$1,481/t – some 69% of the levels seen in 2012. This compared to 21% for iron ore, 27% for crude oil, and 56% for copper.

In addition, the aluminium industry has undergone a structural change in the last decade. Knapp commented that aluminium producers had previously been integrated upstream, but that it was now commonplace to see companies active in only one part of the supply chain – be it bauxite mining, alumina refining, or aluminium smelting.

Changing face of bauxite supply

Suggesting that the bauxite sector was part of this change, Knapp pointed out that seaborne trade in bauxite had moved to Indonesia in 2013 but then shifted again in 2014 in the wake of the country’s ban on the export of unprocessed mineral ores, including bauxite. This led to the emergence of a number of new exporters in 2014 and 2015, including Malaysia, Dominican Republic, Ghana and Fiji.

Yet further changes are afoot in the bauxite export market. In January 2016, Malaysia implemented a three-month ban on bauxite exports. Azemi Haji Eki, senior principal assistant director at Malaysia’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, told delegates that exports from the country were on track to resume in April.

However, there is some doubt over the future viability of Malaysian supplies, namely whether the country has the scale of reserves necessary to become a long-term solution for the market. This led Knapp to question whether Malaysia’s new export position was up for grabs in 2016.

The market may see a swing back to Indonesia this year, after Henry Lumbantouan of Indonesia’s Asahan Authority told delegates that the country would relax its mining laws in 2016 – enabling companies to export a portion of their mining capacity via six-month permits.

The emergence of countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia on the bauxite export market has essentially led to bauxite being priced as a separate commodity. This has led to greater discussion of whether bauxite indices could be established to give more transparency to prices, particularly to aid companies bringing online new bauxite mines. The conference consensus was that third-party bauxite volumes are likely to increase in the coming years, aiding the case for indices to be established.

New normal for China?

However, Chinese merchant alumina producers that use imported bauxite remain some of the highest cost producers in the country, Alan Clark of CM Group told delegates. Some 16.4Mtpy of China’s 73.3Mtpy alumina refining capacity is currenty idled, according to Clark, and additional refinery closures may be on the cards if alumina prices remain depressed into Q2 2016.

A key question for delegates at the conference was whether Chinese alumina and aluminium production could continue to expand at the same rate as it had in the last decade. Cindy Wei, analyst with Chinese consultancy BGRIMM Lilan, suggested that the country may be subject to an alumina deficit of 0.6-1.3Mt in 2016, based on production forecasts and historical import levels.

Much of the shift in bauxite trade patterns has been driven by China and its substantial bauxite requirements. In 2015, China was responsible for just under half of the world’s alumina production of 112.7Mt and a little over half of global aluminium output, according to Roskill’s latest analysis.

Market bright spots – non-metallurgical focus

One option for metallurgical bauxite and alumina producers aiming to diversify their sales is to expand into non-metallurgical markets. Such a move was recently announced by Noranda, which intends to double its non-metallurgical alumina capacity at the Gramercy refinery to 400,000tpy by March 2016. A number of papers at the conference highlighted bright spots within the non-metallurgical sectors.

Jessica Roberts, senior analyst at Roskill Information Services, pointed out that ceramic proppants for hydraulic fracturing continued to be a promising market for non-metallurgical bauxite, despite the collapse in crude oil prices in late 2014. The use of bauxite in ceramic proppants grew by nearly 40%py between 2011 and 2015, and is expected to pick up further from 2018 onwards in tandem with a forecast recovery in oil prices.

Matt Painter, of US speciality alumina producer AluChem, explained that the use of low-soda calcined aluminas in investment casting had grown substantially since 2011. Painter revealed that this was partly due to alumina being used as a substitute for zircon in this application, which resulted from zircon prices more than doubling between 2010 and 2012.

Meanwhile Iggy Tan, managing director of Australian high-purity alumina developer Altech Chemicals, took delegates through the expanding market for high-purity alumina in synthetic sapphire production. The largest market for synthetic sapphires is as a substrate for high-brightness light emitting diode (HB-LED) lighting. This is a niche but fast-growing market, and Roskill expects demand for alumina in synthetic sapphires to grow by 15%py out to 2021.

published by: ROSKILL

For that accomplishment, AluChem, located on Beaver Pike just west of Jackson, is the 2015 Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year.

AluChem will be one of many to be honored during the chamber’s Annual Appreciation Banquet on Thursday, October 22. The event will be held at the Family Life Center of the Christ United Methodist Church with the program beginning at 6:30, which follows a social hour beginning at 5:30 p.m.

“It is an honor and privilege to receive such an award and it is with great pride to accept the award of 2015 Business/Industry of the Year!” said an AluChem spokesperson.

Times-Journal

The US-based company is hoping to hit the ground running next month, as it launches its new line of low and ultra-low soda aluminas focused towards investment casting, ceramics and refractories applications.

US specialty chemicals producer AluChem will launch a new line of low and ultra-low soda aluminas for the ceramics, refractories and investment casting markets, at its plant in Little Rock, Arkansas, in order to broaden its portfolio and production capacities.

In a statement, AluChem said that this new high-purity alumina product will utilise proprietary purification technology in the production of low and ultra-low soda calcined, reactive and tabular aluminas, which will complement AluChem’s established low-soda AC99 tabular alumina products.
The new low-soda operation will further enhance the company’s soda reduction capability by allowing soda removal on a large production-scale basis to levels below 0.05%. AluChem’s national sales manager, Jake Wieland, told IM that a “normal soda alumina product is typically in the range of 0.25% to 0.5%.”

Wieland said: “There are suppliers of low-soda aluminas globally. AluChem’s proprietary process, which is about to be commissioned in Little Rock, does not introduce any other impurity in the stream. It is true purification on a large-scale production basis of the aluminas.

“It will provide the technical ceramics, investment casting and refractories markets a more pure alumina for their applications. There are no other impurities introduced. So, there is no collateral effect of having another element introduced into the matrix,” he added.

Commercial Production

“Currently, the firm produces all its low-soda output in Jackson, Ohio, where its AC99 tabular alumina shaft kilns are located. However, the system employed at the Ohio facility has some limitation, as far as volume, product and level of reduction is concerned,” Wieland said.

He added: “The Soda Reduction system we are commissioning in Little Rock will be high volume, commercial production. It will reduce soda and purify the alumina prior to any calcining so that we can then produce a wide range of calcined, reactive and tabular aluminas. This will help broaden our portfolio and production capabilities, while serving the needs of all the industries that we supply.

“Our company’s focus will be continue to be on North America. However, we believe the unique nature of the product will create demand globally. We do not want to bite off more than we can chew at the beginning, so, we are going to develop slowly,” Wieland explained.

AluChem already has an alumina calcining plant in Little Rock, which is producing intermediate and hard burned grades for the refractory, ceramic and polishing markets.

Wieland expects the new facility to be producing “large volumes” of ultra-low soda aluminas. “Our kiln in Little Rock is 80,000 tpa and until the system starts up we will not know the actual output capability of the low-soda
system.”

By Liz Gyekye
Published: Monday, 31 August 2015

Source: indmin.com

Since inception in 1978, AluChem has established itself as a leading supplier of specialty aluminas to the ceramics industry. AluChem’s dedication to the supply fundamentals of quality and service, coupled with the company’s innovative new products and processes, has positioned it as a mainstay for the future.

In 2015, AluChem will launch a new line of low and ultra-low-soda aluminas focused toward ceramics and investment casting applications. This new high-purity alumina product portfolio will utilize proprietary purification technology in the production of low and ultra-low-soda calcined, reactive and tabular aluminas, which will complement AluChem’s already-established low-soda AC99 tabular alumina products.

AluChem’s new low-soda operation will further enhance the company’s soda reduction capability by allowing soda removal on a large production-scale basis to levels below 0.05%. This feedstock will be used to produce low-soda calcined, reactive and tabular aluminas, which will expand AluChem’s product portfolio for the technical ceramics and investment casting industries.
AluChem’s low-soda alumina plant is an integral part of the company’s long-term strategy of investment in infrastructure, expansion and growth. Major projects in this plan include:

1. 2009 – AluChem commissioned an alumina calcining plant in Little Rock, AR.
2. 2011-2012 – AluChem built and commenced production of its second AC99 tabular alumina shaft kiln in Jackson, OH.
3. 2015 – AluChem will start up a new high-tech screening operation at its Cincinnati, OH location, focusing primarily on the precision screening of low-soda/low-iron, de-dusted products with tightly controlled particle size distributions.
4. 2015 – AluChem will begin operation of a world-class proprietary-technology low-soda alumina plant in Little Rock, AR.

Manufacturing of High-Purity Specialty Alumina

AluChem operates three plants in the USA for the manufacture and supply of high-purity specialty alumina products into the ceramic, investment casting, refractory and polishing industries. Each plant location is equipped with on-site laboratory capabilities to accommodate the analytical testing needs of production, industry and customers, including ICP and XRF chemistry analysis, crystal morphology and physical property analysis.

Additionally, at the end of 2014, AluChem rolled out its new logo and will continue re-branding under the new logo throughout 2015. This new logo exemplifies the AluChem brand and honors the three original owners in its distinctive mark.

AluChem will be exhibiting at booth 419 at the Ceramics Expo April 26-28, 2016.

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Investment Casting Institute