Sapa Builds Aluminum Tube Plant in India

Sapa AS (Oslo, Norway) is investing in an aluminium extrusion production plant in Kuppam that will manufacture multi-port extrusions and drawn tubes for automotive and HVACR heat transfer applications. The company will become the first local manufacturer of such products in India.The plant will be located on the same site as Sapa Extrusion India Private Ltd.

The company is experiencing high growth in India, both in automotive and in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) industry.

In automotive, with more than 3.6 million vehicles produced annually and forecasts calling for 6 million vehicles by 2020, India is one of the areas with major growth. Sapa is aiming to take the lead in India’s automotive market for aluminium-based heat transfer solutions and fluid lines, following the strong leadership position that it has achieved worldwide.

In HVACR, the substitution of copper by aluminium is occurring at a fast pace. More customers are choosing aluminium over high-priced copper in their heat transfer applications.

Sapa currently serves multi-port extrusion (MPE) and tubing customers in India from the company’s plant in Suzhou, China. The new capacity will be directed specifically toward these customers.

“Having a local presence in India is in line with our business area strategy. We are following our customers,” says Salvador Biosca, the executive vice president responsible for Sapa’s Precision Tubing business area.

LOCAL CAPACITY
The new operation will begin with one 2,000 ton extrusion press that will have an annual capacity of 6,000 metric tons and will offer value-adding services such as drawing, level winding, and cut-to-length capabilities. Production will begin in late 2014.

Sapa is already established in India with activities for aluminium building systems, general extrusions and welded tubes. The new press for aluminium tubing is being installed on the same site as the extrusion plant, in Kuppam, about 100 km from Bangalore in India’s southeastern region.

“Not only will the new unit benefit from our global expertise in applications development, we expect the solutions we develop with our partners in India to ultimately benefit customers all over the world,” says Biosca.

Sapa is the global leader in developing and marketing aluminium tubing solutions for heat exchangers, with production in Europe, North America, China and Brazil.

www.sapagroup.com/precision-tubing