Aluminum Foils

Everyone of us would recognize aluminum foils, with probably the image coming to our minds when hearing the word being the material used to pack food, especially chapatis. Commonly also known as tin foils, these are made from thin metal aluminum leaves having thicknesses less than 0.2 mm, with the foils used in households ranging from 0.016 to 0.024 mm in thickness. Apart from being used for food packaging, these foils are sometimes also laminated to various materials such as plastics, paper etc. for some specific purposes. It won't be an exaggeration to state that aluminum foils are one of the most widely used materials today with applications in various sectors.


KCO Aluminum LLP is a widely acclaimed importer and exporter of non ferrous metals. Established in the year 1999, its products such as aluminum foils, aluminum circles, roofing sheets and coils, aluminum foil stock etc. are the preferred choice for users across India and overseas. Owing to the firm's emphasis on R & D, its able to constantly improve upon its existing product range, fulfilling the expectations of its diverse clientele.


Evolution of Aluminum Foils :-

Foils have been a part of the day to day life of humans for many centuries, with foils made from a thin leaf of tin being very popular in the 19th century. In the year 1910, the first aluminum foil rolling plant became functional in Switzerland. Soon enough, the advantages accorded by aluminum foils started getting noticed by various industries. In the year 1911, these were used by an organization named tobler for the purpose of wrapping its chocolate bars. Similarly, next year in 1912, Maggi also began using these foils for the purpose of packing soups and stocking cubes. This trend continued to grow and over the next decade, tin foils were supplanted by aluminum foils in all major sectors in a majority of countries.


Attributes of Aluminum Foils :-

• These foils are impermeable to oxygen and water.
• A specific distinguishing feature of aluminum foils is that these have a shiny side and also a matte side.
• These are light in weight and yet have the requisite durability.
• These provide perfect protection and preservation of product characteristics.
• Aluminum foils are highly malleable, with their shape making them very space efficient in storage and display.

Application areas of Aluminum Foils :-

• These are used in cooking. To be more specific, the foils are perfect for barbecuing delicate food items like vegetables, mushrooms etc.
• Aluminum foils are used to provide electromagnetic shielding.
• Another area of use of these foils is geochemical sampling, i.e – for preserving rock samples taken from an excavation site.
• These are also used in ribbon microphones.
• One off the cuff usage of aluminum foils is as an accessory in hookah smoking.

Aluminum Rolled Products

Its common knowledge that aluminum is one of the most abundant metal on planet Earth. Moreover, due to various beneficial attributes such as being light in weight and an ability to resist corrosion, it is also one of the most widely used metals in industries such as aerospace, transportation etc. A large part of the use of aluminum comprises of aluminum rolled products such as coil, sheets and plates. Along with being used in the aforementioned industries, these are also used to make cookware and various other daily use items.

KCO Aluminum LLP is a West Bengal, India based organization that is engaged in manufacturing, supplying and Exporting of Aluminum Rolled Products such as utensils. Our aluminum utensils are extensively used for serving food and drinks in hotels, restaurants, canteens etc. Since incorporation in the year 1999, the company has continued to scale new heights, penetrating into major markets, with more than satisfactory increase in their annual sales on an year to year basis.


History of Aluminum Rolled Products :-

Aluminum is a relatively new entry into the metal world as compared to iron and steel. It was discovered in the year 1807, isolated in the year 1825 and commercialized after the invention of Hall-Heroult production process in the year 1886. So by the time aluminum was commercialized, people had several hundred years of experience in metal rolling. Through references, it has been ascertained that the first aluminum rolled product was manufactured in the year 1890, it was a stew pan. The use of aluminum rolled products kept on growing and by 1903, about one million kg of these products was used annually. Since then, the growth in the usage of aluminum rolled products has been consistent, with these being the most used today after iron and steel rolled products. This growth has also been fueled by technological advances that has resulted in the increase in quality and efficiency of the rolling process.


Manufacturing process of Aluminum Rolled Products :-

To manufacture aluminum rolled products, the aluminum metal stock is passed through one or more pairs of rolls. This is done to reduce the metal thickness and also to make the thickness uniform. One noteworthy thing here is that if during the rolling process, the temperature of aluminum is above it's recrystallization temperature, then it can be classified as hot rolling. Similarly, if the temperature is below the crystallization temperature, then it is termed as cold rolling.


As for rolling processes used to manufacture these products, they are of various types, some of which are :-

• Ring rolling process.
• Roll bending process.
• Roll forming process.
• Profile rolling process.
• Controlled rolling process.

Attributes of Aluminum Rolled Products :-

• Cryo-tolerant – Doesn't become brittle at very low (cryogenic) temperatures.
• Non toxic and non absorbent.
• Excellent heat conducting properties.
• Highly reflective.
• Optimum resistance to abrasion.