Alcom’s aluminium sheets power RM1.2bn global art market
Alcom Group Bhd said demand for its rolled aluminium sheet and coil is rising as artists and museums shift to lighter, corrosion-proof metal for large-scale sculptures and mixed-media installations.
Source: Alcom Group Berhad · July 30, 2026 at 11:05 PM · AI-assisted report
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KUALA LUMPUR, 31 JULY 2026 —
Alcom Group Bhd said demand for its rolled aluminium sheet and coil is rising as artists and museums shift to lighter, corrosion-proof metal for large-scale sculptures and mixed-media installations.
Market Impact
The Petaling Jaya-based producer, Malaysia’s largest rolled aluminium supplier, said commissions for outdoor artworks now routinely exceed 10 metres in height and 400 kg in weight, using aerospace-grade 5000 and 6000 series alloys that resist weathering without clear-coat protection. Aluminium’s high reflectivity and white undertone—more pronounced when brushed or hammered—makes it the preferred substrate for public art in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, according to the company.
Artist-grade aluminium sheet typically trades at a 15-20% premium to standard architectural stock because of tighter thickness tolerances and surface finish, Alcom said. The global aluminium sculpture market reached RM1.2 billion in 2023, up from RM950 million in 2020, driven by museum expansions in the Gulf and Southeast Asia, according to Arts Economics, a London-based art-market research firm cited by Alcom.
Examples include a RM20 million aluminium Play-Doh by Jeff Koons, assembled from 27 interlocking painted panels; a RM10 million bronze-and-aluminium KAWS figure by Brian Donnelly; and a RM8 million sand-cast aluminium hand weighing 400 kg, part of Lorenzo Quinn’s global spirituality series. Each piece uses 6061 or 5083 alloy sheet rolled to 2-6 mm gauge and precision-cut before welding or bolting.
In Malaysia, Alcom supplies both the Malaysian Islamic Arts Museum and upcoming public art schemes in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, where aluminium now accounts for 40% of outdoor sculpture contracts, up from 25% in 2020. “Architects and curators are choosing aluminium because it keeps its finish in tropical humidity,” said Alcom chief executive officer Datuk Nik Kamaruddin Nik Mohd.
The company’s RM1.8 billion rolling mill in Selangor ran at 92% utilisation in the first half of 2024, compared with 84% a year earlier, as art-related orders offset a slowdown in packaging foil. Alcom does not break out sculpture-grade volumes but said revenue from the segment grew 18% year-on-year in the second quarter.
Alcom plans to launch a premium brushed finish line next year to capture higher-margin art orders, Nik Kamaruddin said. The move follows a 12% rise in average sculpture selling prices since 2021, driven by supply-chain bottlenecks in Europe and North America.