Page 4 - ATZ11 November 2019 Professional
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ADVANCED ALUMINIUM TECHNOLOGY












































                                                                                                    © Haruya KATADA
          Bringing out Aluminium’s




          Functionality in Vehicle Manufacture






          I NEVER EXPECTED TO SEE THIS       The news of its arrival stunned the
          RICH WORLD.                       world. And in 1978, the company was the
                                            domestic pioneer in the development of
                                            aluminium alloy for automobile body pan-
          I VISITED THE ‘U-AI LAB’          els. UACJ was created following a merger
          INNOVATION AREA AT THE UACJ       of the two companies in 2013, and the
          R&D CENTER WHICH WAS WHOLLY       technological expertise fostered in their
                                                                                                 Kazuhisa SHIBUE
          REDESIGNED IN FEBRUARY 2019.      long histories has been firmly inherited.         UACJ Director and Senior
                                             The UACJ R&D Center has three bases            Managing Executive Officer
           UACJ Corporation is one of the world’s   today, in Japan, North America and Thai-  Chief Executive, R&D Division.
          leading rolled aluminium manufactur-  land, with 300 top researchers from the
          ers. The R&D Center actually goes back   world’s aluminium rolling industry. In the
          to the former Furukawa-Sky Aluminum   production of cars, aluminium has gradu-
          Corporation and the light metal research   ally taken over from steel.
          team of Sumitomo Metal Industries Co.   The use of aluminium sheets began
          Ltd.                              with bonnets, and was then expanded to
            In 1936, Dr. Isamu Igarashi invented   body panels, including fenders, trunk         Yasuhiro HOSOMI
                                                                                              UACJ Executive Officer
          ESD (Extra Super Duralumin), the world’s   lids and doors.
                                                                                        Vice Chief Executive Research &
          strongest aluminium alloy as a material for   When making large parts out of alu-
                                                                                               Development Division
          the production of aircraft.       minium, the springback issue created hur-  Head of the North America R&D Center
          2
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