Aluminium casting industry planned

Press, 25 November 1981, Page 3

Aluminium casting industry planned

PA Dunedin A consortium of Otagoowned companies plans to establish a high-precision aluminium-casting industry in the Dunedin region, using metal from either the Tiwai Point smelter or the proposed Aramoana smelter. Mr G. W. T. Christie, the managing director of G. and T. Christie, Ltd, said that several prominent Dunedin companies planned to form a public company to develop the region's resources further. It a feasibility study to be made next year confirmed marketing, product range, and technology requirements, public subscriptions would be sought for equity capital of $lO million to $l5 million. The industry would use an estimated 20,000 tonnes of primary aluminium a year, which was equivalent to 10 per cent of the output of the proposed Aramoana smelter or 15 per cent of the output from Tiwai Point. More than 1000 people would be involved in the venture. Mr Christie said, “during

the last year a pre-feasibility study has been undertaken to identify downstream possibilities. This study indicated quite clearly that the greatest potential for added value (to aluminium ingots) is in the production of high-qual-ity machined sand and pressure die castings. “Depending on the product mix, this activity would add between three and five times the value of the primary metal.” j, Mr Christie said that a typical metal-casting industry employed about 100 people to produce and process 100 tonnes of castings annually. The companies involved in the preliminary investigations were J. and T. Christie, Ltd; J. and A. P. Scott, Ltd; Farra Bros, Ltd; Wilson Neill and Company Ltd; and Forsyth Barr and Company. These firms represented foundries, engineers, metal fabricators, exporters, and sharebrokers. The preliminary investigations had identified a wide range of potential castings, including components for ir-

rigation and for agricultural, horticultural, and transport equipment; railway rolling stock; power tools; household domestic products: outdoor r urniture and garden equipment; engineering products; and domestic appliances. The proposed project would take full advantage of new economic arrangements with Australia and markets had been identified in the South Pacific and North America. • . The consortium's company would be most unlikely to enter the automotive castings field. Important contacts in North America. Canada, Japan, and Europe had already been established and considerable interest had been evoked in preliminary discussions with large companies in those places. The feasibility study would continue even if the proposed Aramoana smelter did not. Although the availability of hot metal was a prime requirement for castings in Canada, for example, molten aluminium was transported up to 600 km from smelter to foundry.