Skyrocketing Demand For CuproBraze: One Million in Service by 2007

DETROIT--April 13, 2005--The CuproBraze Alliance forecasts one million brazed copper-brass heat exchangers in service by 2007.

Staffan Anger, president of Outokumpu Copper Strip Oy, briefed the press on behalf of the CuproBraze Alliance, Wednesday morning at the SAE 2005 World Congress (the annual meeting of the Society of Automotive Engineers held at the COBO Center in Detroit).

Anger estimated recent production of CuproBraze heat exchangers worldwide, indicating production milestones. Also, he forecast continued rapid growth of CuproBraze production in the next few years. "My message is simple," said Anger. "The CuproBraze Alliance expects to have one million CuproBraze heat exchangers in service by 2007. The growth in CuproBraze production in the past three years has been spectacular."

Worldwide Growth

CuproBraze technology was conceived in the 1990s as a means of competing with aluminum brazing for a wide range of mobile heat-exchanger applications. A milestone was reached in February 2003 when SHAAZ opened a high-volume production facility in Shadrinsk, Russia. That year, the number of CuproBraze heat exchangers in service tripled compared to all of the previous years combined. In November 2004, the Nanning Baling Technology (NBT) company opened a new plant in Nanning, China, using the latest technologies from CuproBraze Alliance members. Both SHAAZ and NBT are members of the CuproBraze Alliance.

According to Anger, SHAAZ radiators and charge air coolers are now being installed in many well-known truck brands in Russia, including URAL, KAMAZ and IVECO. "The CuproBraze Alliance has proven that it can ramp up manufacturing capacity to any level required, including high-volume production for OEM manufacturers," said Anger. "With the radiators and charge air coolers being produced by these new facilities as well as others around the globe, it is estimated that 200,000 CuproBraze heat exchangers were in service at the close of 2004 and 500,000 will be in service by the close of 2005."

There are nine companies in production and thirteen more decisions to start production around the globe. "With about 80 more companies currently evaluating the technology, these numbers are skyrocketing," said Anger. "As a result, the CuproBraze Alliance predicts more than a million in service by the close of 2006."

For more information about the CuproBraze Alliance, visit www.cuprobraze.com. The CuproBraze Alliance includes the following heat-exchanger manufacturers:

        
         JSC Shaaz -- Shadrinsk Auto Aggregate Plant
         Najico -- Nakamura Jico Co., Ltd. 
         Nanning Baling Technology Company
         Radicon Co., Ltd. 
         SJT -- Suomen Jaahdytintehdas Oy
         HW Labs
         Dae Heung
     
    Additionally, the Alliance consists of the following equipment
makers and materials suppliers:
        
         BrazeTec GmbH; 
         Hydro Ellay Enfield Limited 
         International Copper Association, Ltd. 
         Lucas-Milhaupt, Inc. 
         Mill Masters, Inc 
         Outokumpu Copper Strip AB
         Outokumpu Livernois Engineering
         Scholer Spezialmaschinenbau GmbH 
         SECO/WARWICK Corporation 
         Tianjin Tool Research Institute 
         Tokyo Braze Co Ltd 
         Vacuumschmelze GmbH & Co. 
         Yamazaki Kinzoku Sangyo Co Ltd 
         Kangjie Machinery Manufacture
        
    Representatives from many of these companies are exhibiting with
the Copper Development Association and the International Copper
Association at SAE 2005.