KUCHING, May 7 – Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd’s extrusion plant in China has commenced the supply of aluminium battery casings and car bumpers to vehicle manufacturers in the mainland, says group chief executive officer Tan Sri Koon Poh Keong.
Meanwhile, its Nilai extrusion plant in Negri Sembilan had completed the construction of a 30,000-tonne photovoltaic components extrusion line, which is dedicated exclusively to manufacturing solar panel frames and mounting extrusions to support the solar power sector, according to The Star.
The new photovoltaic components production line is currently undergoing testing with potential customers, Koon said in the company’s 2023 annual report.
“To drive further growth in the sales of our extrusion products, we are actively on the lookout for opportunities in the renewable energy and electric vehicle (EV) markets while seeking to establish opportunities with manufacturers relocating their operations to the Asean region.
“The strategic moves into energy transition-related sectors mirror our group-wide focus on sustainability, which has accelerated over the past years.”
In the downstream segment, Koon said the group’s focus is on developing product-based extrusion solutions that address specific industry needs.
He said the group has continued to invest in the growth of its value-added products (VAPs) segment by introducing new casing lines for A356 ingots and wire rods. As a result, the segment had increased its share of the group’s total sales to 41% in 2023 from 36% in 2022.
The increasing demand for aluminium from green industries offers a more positive outlook for the industry, with the EV, solar and energy transmission sectors showing considerable growth potential.
The positive trend is further accelerated by the ongoing shift of manufacturing operations to the Asean region, which should drive demand for local and regional sources of aluminium and other inputs.
Press Metal group’s downstream extrusion plants in Malaysia and Foshan, China, have a combined annual capacity of 230,000 tonnes per annum, enabling the group to manufacture a variety of products tailored to specific usage across various industries.
They include construction, automotive, consumer-related products as well as electronics and electrical applications.
The group’s midstream smelting plants in Samalaju Industrial Park, Bintulu and Mukah, central Sarawak, have a total capacity of 1.08 million tonnes per annum, making Press Metal the largest integrated aluminium producer in South-East Asia.
