What is Aluminum Talon scrap?
Talon is the ISRI designation for mixed clean aluminum castings — engine blocks, transmission housings, industrial pump bodies, machine-tool bases, pistons and miscellaneous foundry-cast aluminum parts from end-of-life industrial equipment. The alloy family is dominated by the A356/A319/A380 die-cast and sand-cast series, with silicon content typically 5–12% and small residual copper and iron. Talon is separated from Troma (automotive wheels only) because wheel chemistry is tighter and wheel-back-to-wheel buyers pay a premium for pure Troma. Talon buyers accept the wider chemistry variance in exchange for a lower LME discount.
ISRI Talon specification
Contract standard: 100% aluminum castings, free of steel bolts, iron inserts, brass fittings, plastic and rubber. Piece size 50–500 mm, individual pieces up to 30 kg. Chemistry envelope: Si 5–12%, Cu ≤ 4%, Fe ≤ 1.5%, Mg ≤ 0.6%, Zn ≤ 1.0%. Free of magnesium castings (fire risk), oil, coolant, machining fluid and organic contamination. Every container ships with an XRF composite chemistry from a representative sample and a photograph pack of each layer during loading.
How Talon is produced from European industrial sources
Our Talon originates from three streams. First, licensed end-of-life vehicle dismantlers strip engines, gearboxes and cylinder heads before hulks go to the shredder — this yields the highest-quality Talon. Second, industrial-equipment dismantlers salvage pump bodies, compressor housings and machine-tool castings from decommissioned factories. Third, foundry runners, sprues and rejected castings are bought back from European aluminum foundries as production scrap. All three streams pass through our Rotterdam-area yard for de-attachment (steel bolt removal, seal stripping, drain of residual oil) before being consolidated to buyer specification.
Applications: who buys Talon?
Secondary aluminum smelters producing ADC12, LM6 and LM24 die-casting ingots are the primary market — Talon's Al-Si chemistry sits close to ADC12 target composition, so alloying additions are minimal. Indian and Vietnamese secondary smelters producing sheet-ingot for utensil rolling take large volumes. Chinese die-casters supplying the domestic auto and electronics assembly industry buy Talon by the shipload. Foundries in Turkey and the UAE take smaller lots for master-alloy blending. Talon is not sold to wheel casters (they need pure Troma) or to extrusion mills (they need 6xxx-series wrought scrap).
Container loading and worldwide shipping
Talon loads loose into 20GP containers at 23–25 MT net (high bulk density from thick cast sections). Containers are wheel-loader filled, weighed, photographed and sealed. From Rotterdam we book direct weekly sailings on Maersk, MSC, CMA-CGM, Hapag-Lloyd and ONE. Typical transit: 14–18 days to Turkey, 18–22 days to West India, 24–28 days to Southeast Asia, 28–32 days to East Asia, 20–24 days to the UAE. Contract-to-loaded lead time is 7–14 days.
Quality control and inspection workflow
Inbound Talon is graded on the weighbridge (visual inspection for steel attachments, oil residue and non-cast material). Rejected loads are returned. Accepted lots are photographed, XRF-spot-checked for chemistry, and lot-numbered. Third-party inspection by SGS, BV, Intertek or CCIC is arranged at the loading yard on the buyer's request. Inspectors observe stuffing, verify chemistry, apply seals and issue the certificate before B/L release. Destination-country certificates (BIS for India, CCIC for China, TSE for Turkey) are arranged as needed.
LME-linked pricing for Talon
Talon quotes reference LME Aluminium High Grade (P1020A) cash settlement. A typical 2026 trading band is 75–82% of LME CIF Nhava Sheva — wider than Troma wheels (90–94%) because chemistry is less predictable, tighter than Twitch (70–78%) because the material is cleaner and denser. Written CIF/FOB quotes are issued within 24 hours of RFQ, valid 48 hours subject to LME.
Payment, KYC and documentation
Standard payment is 30% TT advance + 70% LC at sight against B/L, or 100% LC at sight for established accounts. KYC requires company registration, import licence (BIS/CCIC/TSE as applicable) and a recent utility bill. Documentation pack: commercial invoice, packing list, weighbridge tickets, container photos, B/L, EUR.1, Annex VII, and destination inspection certificate. We do not contract with unverified intermediaries.