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THE FUTURE WAS OUR STARTING POINT
Emirates Global Aluminium, born from a union between DUBAL and EMAL, is the combined
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Global Excellence in Aluminium

 MAADEN-ALCOA
INTRODUCTION
06 A complete cycle
In tough global markets, the Arab aluminium industry is leveraging its
capabilities in low-cost, high-quality, production and building capacity to serve
the full aluminium cycle
GLOBAL MARKET ANALYSIS
08 Finding advantage
Global market dynamics and low aluminium prices are impacting all producers
to a degree. Achieving competitive advantage is key in such times
SMELTER FACT-FILES
10 The key smelter data
Fact-files for each of the regions established smelters illustrate the main
investments in the expansion of primary production. Capacities, products
and markets show the industrys local and international importance
PROJECT FOCUS
SOHAR ALUMINIUM EGA 19 MaadenAlcoa jvs full integration
The MaadenAlcoa aluminium complex has now become fully integrated
from mining bauxite, refining, smelting, casting and rolling to recycling
TECHNOLOGY
20 Technology showcase
The Arab aluminium industry has long been a showcase for state-of-the-art
technology investment. Here we give several recent examples
DOWNSTREAM
22 Downstream developments
Rolling and extrusion capacities continue to climb in the Arab aluminium
AL TAISEER region, reflecting local and international demand and market opportunities

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November 2015 | Arab aluminium | 3

Arab aluminium 2015
Introduction

A complete cycle
As in years past, Metal Bulletins annual Arab Aluminium
Supplement covers the past 12 months of developments for the
regions industry from upstream raw material supply to
downstream extrusion and rolled products. Beyond the regions
well established primary supply, our 2015 edition also touches on
nascent growth in recycling aluminium. Against a background of
tough global markets, the areas supply chain is advancing to
complete the full aluminium cycle
Ask any metal analyst about the current state
of the world primary aluminium market and
they will point to a disappointingly low base
price for the metal and the dramatic fall in
regional premiums over the past year. In a
word, there is overcapacity in production at a
global level and it is weighing heavily on
prices.
A glance at WBMS statistics illustrates the
extent to which production is growing: up by
7.2% year-on-year during the first eight
months of 2015. Production growth in Asia
climbed by 12.7% over the same period,
much of which came from increased
production in China.
While consensus is universal that the
prospects for continued long-term growth in
demand for aluminium remain good given
further opportunities for the light metal in
aerospace, automotive and rail
transportation there is similar unanimity
that production is running ahead of
demand.
When Metal Bulletin Magazine consulted
half-a-dozen leading analysts about factors
impinging on aluminium markets and prices
for its September 2015 issue special feature
on aluminium, a variety of market drivers
came to the fore.
Chief amongst them was the influence of
China, as it now accounts for over half the
worlds primary aluminium production.
Further, by some estimates the nation is on
track to have added an additional 5 million
tpy of capacity by the end of 2015. Exports of
aluminium from China during the first seven
months of this year were up by 28% year-on-
year, at 2.87 million tonnes, according to
SOHAR ALUMINIUM

China Customs data.

While curtailment of some high-cost
production at smelters outside China has
helped to offset such burgeoning growth and

6 | Arab aluminium | November 2015

partly reduce the imbalance in the supply-
demand scales, some believe that only
sustained low local prices for aluminium in
China are likely to encourage production cuts
there. Devaluation of the yuan in China has
actually helped to make the countrys
aluminium exports even more competitive.
As one analyst observed, Pretty much
every primary aluminium producer outside
the USA has seen its costs falling, which
makes the likelihood of further production
cuts outside China low. Another, however,
pointed to the widespread fall in regional
premiums, down by about three-quarters
since a year ago, putting sufficient extra
pressure on some smelters ex-China to
actually make some further curtailments
outside the country more likely.
As Metal Bulletin reported from MBs 30th
International Aluminium Conference in
September, the 25% drop in LME aluminium
base prices over the past year means that a
large portion of producers are under water.
Although that does not apply to Arab
aluminium smelters, some conference
participants also pointed out that low
aluminium prices do not encourage further
new investment in growth even for low-cost
producers in the Middle East.
Arab aluminium
More detailed analysis of global dynamics in
aluminium markets is given in the article
which follows this introduction. Arab
aluminium primary metal producers are not
immune from such global headwinds, but
their advantage in occupying places at the
bottom end of the global cost curve remains
a key one. And while the LME aluminium
price remains a benchmark of interest to
everyone in the international supply chain
from bauxite miners to aluminium
end-users and scrap merchants significant
regional and even national variations in
market fortunes cannot be ignored.
As the Fact-file section and Downstream
article in this supplement illustrate, growth
in the regions production has increased in
the past year, albeit it at a more modest rate
than the boom period of a few years ago.
Upstream
Securing commensurate growth in bauxite
and alumina supplies has been part of the
recent Arab aluminium industry story. Most
recently, the start-up of the 4 million tpy
bauxite mine in Saudi Arabia, operational
since the second quarter of 2014, has been an
important step for the Maaden-Alcoa joint
venture in Saudi Arabia. The first alumina
from the integrated projects refinery was
produced in the final quarter of last year and
it is due to produce over 1 million tonnes
during 2015.
For its part, Emirates Global Aluminium
owns Guinea Alumina Corporation a
strategic bauxite mining and alumina
refinery development project in Guinea,
West Africa, and it is developing the UAEs
first alumina refinery in Al Taweelah, Abu
Dhabi.
Smelting
In June this year, Aluminium Bahrain (Alba)
announced approvals for its US$3.5 billion
Line 6 Expansion project, which is due to
boost the companys production capacity by
514,000 tpy to about 1.45 million tpy.
Production is expected to begin in early 2019.
In November last year, Sohar Aluminium in
Oman completed its first pot change-out
programme by relining all of the 360 pots in
its 375,000 tpy, 1.2 km long, single-potline
primary smelter.
Maaden-Alcoas smelter is on track to
produce its full nameplate capacity of
740,000 tonnes of aluminium in 2015.
Downstream
While the proportion of primary
aluminium output delivered from each of
the Middle Easts smelters to downstream
local industries varies, the principle of
providing support to local industries is a
common one.
The integrated Maaden-Alcoa joint
venture has its own rolling mills to feed. It is
increasing its production of value-added
products, and its large used beverage can
(UBC) recycling facility is an example of the
importance that the region is now attaching
to supplies of secondary aluminium as well
as primary.
Established flat product rolling mill
Garmco, in Bahrain, is proceeding with a
new remelt casthouse to make use of both
internally generated and externally sourced
scrap. A contract to build the new casthouse
was signed with Fives in September this year
(see the technology article in this
supplement).
Meanwhile, the Arab aluminium regions
existing extensive capabilities for extrusion
production continue to grow (see
downstream article in this supplement). For
example, new projects and plant expansions
can be found in Jordan, Oman and the UAE.
Outlook
In summary, the usual interplay between
global macroeconomic, geopolitical and
local factors will determine the pace at which
the aluminium industry develops in the Arab
world.
While in simple terms of primary
aluminium production figures the Arab
aluminium regions output will continue to
be dwarfed by Chinas, its low cost base,
PRIMARY ALUMINIUM
PRODUCTION*
2014 2014 2015
Jan-Aug Jan-Aug
Europe 7,684.4 5,095.2 5,039.4
Africa 1,749.0 1,182.0 1,112.0
Egypt 304.8 207.4 218.0
Asia 35,591.9 23,673.6 26,684.2
Bahrain 931.4 624.5 636.9
Oman 363.5 240.2 249.6
Qatar 640.2 408.6 405.4
Saudi Arabia 665.0 443.3 444.0
UAE 2,296.0 1,511.3 1,662.1
Americas 6,111.0 4,139.9 3,870.4
Oceania 2,031.0 1,371.1 1,312.2
Total 53,167.4 35,461.8 38,018.3
PRIMARY ALUMINIUM
CONSUMPTION*
2014 2014 2015
Jan-Aug Jan-Aug
Europe 8,037.7 5,367.8 5,136.2
Africa 817.7 545.6 584.0
Egypt 233.0 156.5 192.1
Asia 36,700.0 24,598.3 27,058.2
Bahrain 450.0 300.0 300.0
Saudi Arabia 150.0 100.0 100.0
UAE 835.0 556.6 556.6
Americas 7,353.8 4,859.5 4,938.9
Oceania 379.4 253.0 175.3
Total 53,821.5 35,980.3 38,271.6
*000 tonnes. adjusted total includes estimated unrecorded demand.
Source: WBMS
strategic geographical location and
expanding capability to supply high-quality
value-added aluminium alloys, semis and
products, will ensure its continued
international influence.
As Alba ceo Tim Murray told Metal Bulletin
in May this year: Were a low-cost producer.
So we have large gains in profitability when
prices are high and survive when the price is
low. He added that if costs were to rise and
put the company in the second quartile,
then perhaps some level of hedging might
be considered from a risk-management
perspective. Alba is expanding in both its
international and domestic markets. It
produced more than 930,000 tonnes of
aluminium in 2014 and sells about half of its
production into the Bahraini market.
And as Metal Bulletin also reported, in the
context of low-cost primary aluminium
production, Alcoa ceo Klaus Kleinfeld has
said that if he had a portfolio of Saudi
smelters (like Maaden) he would sleep
extremely well. Kleinfeld has an
international perspective. Alcoa has
reshaped its global business, leading
to the recently announced upstream and
downstream split of the company into two.
It has closed, sold or curtailed 1.4 million tpy
of higher-cost capacity while reshaping
since 2007.
November 2015 | Arab aluminium | 7
Arab aluminium 2015
Global market analysis

Finding advantage
producers. Taking all this into account the
all-in-price in the US, for example, is down
by 33% in the past year.
While prices are much lower, however you
look at it, production continues to expand
both globally and in the Middle East. There
are two key reasons for this counterintuitive
behaviour. First, aluminium continues to

Ali stock
operate in its own universe on the demand
front, with rapid gains in market share
helping to fuel consumption growth. This is
not a short-term price-driven effect, but a

image to come
Aluminium producers are having to respond
to a competitive landscape that is as tough for
smelters as ever. Dan Smith reviews the global
market dynamics of the past year, the present
position and outlook, together with implications
for the Middle East aluminium industry
The world of aluminium has seen a dramatic
shift in the past year and while we flagged
up many of these building pressures last
year, few really believed that change would
come through so quickly and decisively. Here
we discuss the drivers of the collapse in
aluminium premiums and the reshaping of
the producer landscape. Progress is coming
through thick and fast and producers in the
Middle East need to stay nimble to keep up
long-term structural change and sets it
apart from markets like copper, steel and
other base metals.
For example, in the automotive sector
aluminium continues to gain market share
at the expense of heavier materials such as
iron and steel and there is significant
upside potential for automotive body sheet
in particular. Also aluminium is more
focused on consumer-driven sectors such as
aerospace, where growth remains strong
both globally and in China. Finally,
aluminium has been making inroads in the
wire and cable market. The Middle East has
helped lead the way on this and Saudi
Arabia has made significant progress in
replacing copper with aluminium in some
areas of power transmission.
The second reason for this expansion in
smelter production is that foreign exchange
trends have meant that producers in many
key producing regions have been insulated
from lower LME prices. Brazil and Russia
have seen their currencies tumble by over
high premiums as a cushion against weak 30% from a year ago (as of mid-October), as
fundamentals and low LME prices. traders continue to worry about weak
All-in aluminium prices (LME price plus growth and the state of many emerging
premium) give a much better guide to markets. Canada has also seen the Canadian
underlying industry pressures. With LME dollar drop by 13% from a year ago. These
prices also down by 25% in the past year big currency moves have helped these
this has added to the pain for high-cost major producing countries.
Aluminium price v. LME stocks
3,500 6,000

with these ever evolving market dynamics. 3,000

5,000
At the time of the previous Arabal conference,
in late November 2014, aluminium 2,500
Thousands of tonnes

4,000
premiums had gone through the roof, with 2,000
quotes in the US above US$500/t, Japan at 3,000
US$420/t and Singapore at US$325/t. By 1,500

mid-October 2015 these had all collapsed, 1,000

2,000

having fallen by 70%, 77% and 75%

1,000
respectively, as the LME changed its rules on 500

warehouse queues in response to pressure 0 0

/14

/14
9

/10

/10

/13

/13
/12

/12
11

/11
8

/15

/15
7

from consumers and regulators. Long gone

6

/0

/0

/0

/0
/0

/0
/0

/0

/
1/1

1/7

1/1

1/7
1/1

1/7
1/1

1/7
1/1

1/7

1/1

1/5
1/1

1/7

1/1

1/7
1/1

1/7
1/1

1/7

are the days when the industry could rely on Cash price, (US$/tonne, LHS) Stocks, (Tonnes, RHS) Source: Bloomberg

8 | Arab aluminium | November 2015

 So where are the main areas of growth for
aluminium producers and are further
cutbacks looming? Globally, growth in
smelter production is still very fast and has
accelerated in the past year. The latest data
from the International Aluminium Institute
(IAI) show that growth was running at a
red-hot 10% year-on-year in the first nine
months of 2015, compared with growth of
4% in 2014 and 5% in 2013. China is still
booming as part of its Go-West strategy
and output has risen 18% year-on-year so
far this year. India is also a part of the
growth story and the IAI data show that Asia
(ex-China) recorded an expansion of 23%
year-on-year in the year to September,
admittedly from a much lower base.
By contrast, cutbacks in smelter
production are coming through only slowly,
which is helping to slow the global growth
rate, although not in a meaningful way.
Producers like Alcoa and Century have been
responding to lower prices and closing
high-cost capacity. Partly as a result of these
closures, output in both North and South
America is trending down. In the nine
months to September 2015 these two
regions saw smelter production fall by 2%
and 16% year-on-year, respectively. Africa
has also seen modest falls in production
recently. Producers in North America have
benefitted from much lower energy prices,
but with a strong US dollar encouraging
imports, the competitive environment is
still a tough one and many producers
are struggling.
So what about the GCC region and the
Middle East itself? Here it appears that the
boom that developed after the 2008/2009
recession is over for now. While production
almost doubled between 2010 and 2014
(with the GCC rising from 2.7 million to 4.8
million tonnes), growth this year has
slowed to a modest 7%.
Looking ahead, producers in the Middle
East will probably have to be more strategic
about growth and will need to carefully
consider their own competitiveness, as well
as the global supply-demand balance. The
crackdown on LME warehouse queues
mentioned above has certainly been severe
and rules are getting stricter. One
side-effect of this though is that it makes it
very difficult for producers to assess the
underlying supply-demand balance in the
aluminium market and to determine
whether the market is in surplus or deficit.
What is clear is that LME stocks have
tumbled in the past year. Stocks have fallen
from 4.3 million tonnes at the time of the
2014 Arabal event in November 2014 to 3.1
million tonnes in mid-October 2015. As we
warned last year, the LME market has turned
from a net buyer to a net seller and these
Trend in LME contango
14% 250
LME Cash - 15 month contango Contango as a percentage of LME price
12%
200
10%
8%
150
US$/t
6% 100
4%
50
2%
0%
0
-2% -50
08
09
10
/1 0
/1 0
11
/1 1
/1 2
12
/1 3
13
14
/1 4
15
/1 5
/1
/0
/0
/0
11/
/
/
/
05
10
03
08
01
06
02
07
/
11/
04
09
02
07
12
04
09
01
06
Source : Bloomberg, Dan Smith Commodities Research
outflows look set to continue for the time In terms of competitiveness, producers in
being. The general consensus amongst the the Middle East still have significant cost
industry is that some of these outflows have advantages over large swathes of the
been diverted into the physical market for industry, even though a strong US dollar has
consumption, although probably a large mitigated the inherent advantage of
chunk has been shifted into warehouses low-cost local energy supplies. High-cost
outside the LME reporting system. smelters can still be found in Australia,
Brazil, India, Russia and Venezuela, and
Financing deals Europe has a number of countries which
Anecdotally, the appetite for financing have some that are struggling (including
aluminium inventory by banks appears to Germany, Norway, Netherlands and Spain).
have diminished, after the scandal at China is also relatively high cost, although
Qingdao saw several high-profile banks this means little when smelters do not
exposed to warehouse collateral fraud by respond to price incentives and can carry on
other parties, which was uncovered in May producing for years to support employment
2014. Needless to say banking regulators are levels and local government revenues.
also pursuing potential conflicts of interests The local energy mix also favours smelters
aggressively, which has encouraged banks in the Middle East as a source of clean
like Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan to sell smelter production, and this is a potential
warehousing operations. Financing of source of competitive advantage, as
inventory has been around for many years environmental controls get stricter and
and will always be part of the commodities climate change rises up the political
industry, but with reputations potentially at agenda. In the GCC region, gas accounts for
risk, many banks are exiting that business. virtually all of the energy used by smelters,
While banks have been selling operations, whereas producers in Australia and China
other firms such as traders have stepped in rely heavily on higher-emission energy
to plug some of the gaps. sources such as coal. Producers in Europe
Tracking the shape of the LME forward and North America, by contrast, heavily
curve tells us whether the incentive is still favour hydro-electric power, which may be
there for others to pursue the cash-and- clean operationally, but can be vulnerable
carry trade. While interest rates remain so to abnormal weather patterns.
low, steep contango markets can still look In the past year the aluminium market
appealing to any trader who can secure has continued to evolve in response to
cheap storage space. We can see from the regulation, market pressures and strong
chart though that the contango in demand. The steps taken by the LME have
aluminium from cash to 15-months has helped to bring down warehouse queues
fallen from a peak of US$228/t (11% yield) in and premiums back to more normal levels.
October 2008 into backwardation in While demand has expanded rapidly, prices
November 2014, before the contango have remained depressed as the industry
widened to US$73/t (5% yield) in September. remains plagued by overcapacity and excess
This shows that many financing deals have inventory partly due to the financial crisis of
become marginal from an economic 2008/2009. Reforms have removed some
perspective, as yields have been compressed. distortions from the market, but the
Once financing activity has been removed, competitive landscape for aluminium
it seems that the aluminium market is smelters remains as tough as ever.
still oversupplied and Western producers will
still probably need to remove more capacity The author is a Chartered Financial Analyst
to cope with rampant supply growth in China and ceo of Dan Smith Commodities
and to help reduce bloated inventory levels. Research Ltd
November 2015 | Arab aluminium | 9
Arab aluminium 2015
Smelter fact-files

Key smelter data

Arab aluminium smelters are expanding operations and investments both
upstream and down. The latest data for capacities, products and markets
listed here show their growing importance regionally and internationally
MAADEN-ALCOA JV, KSA
Locations
> Bauxite mine at Al Baitha, near Quiba,
Saudi Arabia
> Alumina refinery, aluminium smelter and
hot rolling mill at Ras Al Khair on the Gulf
Coast of Saudi Arabia, 90 km north of Jubail.
Ras Al Khair is the location for Maadens 77
sq km minerals industry complex

Initial capacities
> 4 million tpy bauxite mine, in operation
since the second quarter of 2014
> 1.8 million tpy alumina refinery. The first
alumina was produced in Q4 2014. 1 million
tonnes is to be produced in 2015
> 740,000 tpy aluminium smelter. First hot
metal was produced in December 2012.
Now fully operational. It is expected to
produce the full 740,000 tonnes of
aluminium in 2015.
> 380,000 tpy rolling mill. First hot coil was
produced in June 2014. A 100,000 tpy
expansion including a cold mill, heat
treating line and finishing line produced its
first auto coil in Q4 2014. Construction of the
rolling mill is complete and its production is
currently ramping up. The mill complex also
has a large UBC recycling facility
ALCOA

Ownership
> Maaden, the Saudi Arabian Mining Co
(74.9%)
> Alcoa (25.1%, with a right to increase its
share to 40%)
Investment
> Total of $10.8 billion, including:
> $202 million engineering, procurement
and construction management (EPCM)
contract for the mine and refinery with
Worley Parsons and Fluor Enterprises
> $73 million contract for engineering
and oversight services with Fluor
Enterprises
> $590 million EPC-LSTK contract for the
execution of the rolling mill
> $74 million contract with Fluor Arabia for
overall project management services and
engineering/procurement services for the
infrastructure at Ras Al Khair
Finance
> The joint venture partners signed $4 billion
of the financing for the smelter and rolling
mill project with 17 financial institutions,
including Public Investment Fund in 2010.
> On October 16 2011, Maaden and Alcoa
signed a financing agreement for $1 billion,
in addition to $1 billion loan approval from
Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund.
> Further funding of around $160 million by
the Saudi Industrial Development Fund
was to be evaluated
>The remaining $1.4 billion will be financed
by the jv project partners on a pro rata basis
Major equipment
> Ingot and billet casting systems from
Wagstaff and Alcoa. Hot and cold rolling
mills from SMS Siemag
> Coating line from Germanys BWG
Bergwerkund Walzwerk-Maschinenbau
> Preheat furnaces from Ebner
Raw materials
> Bauxite feedstock for the alumina refinery
is transported by rail from the new mine at
Al Baitha. Alcoa has been supplying
alumina to the smelter from its Bunbury
port facility in Western Australia during the
refinerys start up phase
Products and markets
> While packaging, including body-, end-
and tab-stock for aluminium beverage
cans, will be the major end-use market
sector, it will also serve the foil stock,
building and construction and automotive
industries for the Middle East and beyond.

10 | Arab aluminium | November 2015

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Arab aluminium 2015
Smelter fact-files

EMIRATES GLOBAL ALUMINIUM (EGA), UAE

Introduction
> Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has two
primary aluminium smelter assets: Dubai
Aluminium (Dubal, also known as Jebel Ali
Operations) and Emirates Aluminium
(Emal, also known as Al Taweelah
Operations). The UAE-based business also
owns Guinea Alumina Corporation (GAC), a
strategic bauxite mining and alumina
refinery development project in Guinea,
West Africa; and is developing the UAEs
first alumina refinery in Al Taweelah, Abu
Dhabi

Products and markets

EGA

> EGA supplies more than 350 customers in

almost 70 countries. The product mix in
2015 comprised billet for construction,
industrial, transportation and automotive
industries (46%); re-melt products,
comprising foundry alloys for automotive
applications (27%) and high-purity
aluminium for electronics and aerospace
purposes (15%); and sheet ingot for
packaging, lithographic sheets and the
automotive industry (12%). The companys
major markets (2014 figures) are Asia (44%);
countries in the Middle East and North
Africa region (21%); Europe (23%); and the
Americas (12%)
EGA

Owners
> EGA is jointly held in equal ownership by Dubal Emal
Mubadala Development Company and (Jebel Ali Operations) (Al Taweelah Operations)
Investment Corporation of Dubai Location & development
Site area 4.8 sq km 6 sq km
Staff Construction schedule Built in multiple sequential phases Built in two phases
> About 6,886 (as of September 2015), of First cell energized October 1979 December 2009
Last cell energized February 2008 June 2014
whom 17% are UAE Nationals.
Reduction
No. of cells 1,573 1,200
No. of potlines 7 3
Hot metal production capacity 1,035,000 metric tpy 1,320,000 metric tpy
Technologies D18; D18+; CD20; D20; DX; DX+ Ultra DX; DX+
Casting
Total casting capacity > 1,200,000 tpy > 1,600,000 tpy
Sow 52,500 tpy 330,000 tpy
Standard ingots 245,000 tpy 570,000 tpy
Properzi ingots 98,500 tpy
Horizontal direct casting 86,000 tpy
Vertical direct casting 704,000 tpy 330,000 tpy
Sheet ingot 370,000 tpy
Power generation
Generation capacity 2,350 MW 3,100 MW
Gas turbines 23 9
Steam turbines 7 4
Seawater desalination
Technology Multi-stage evaporation Reverse osmosis
Capacity 30 million gallons/day 3.75 million gallons/day
Carbon
Greenmill capacity 72 tph 1.08 million tpy
Baked anodes 380,000/year 700,000/year
EGA

12 | Arab aluminium | November 2015

ALUMINIUM BAHRAIN BSC (Alba)
Capacity/production
> Over 931,000 metric tonnes per year of
primary aluminium production
Location
> Kingdom of Bahrain 10 km from the
smelters own marine terminal for imports
of alumina, petroleum coke and pitch
Raw materials
> Purchased on long-term contracts from
several international suppliers. Alba
imports over 1.6 million tpy of alumina in
shipments of up to 60,000 tonnes from
suppliers in Australia and Asia
Owners
> Alba launched an Initial Public Offering
ALBA
(IPO) in November 2010. The IPO raised $338
million for Bahraini sovereign wealth fund
Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company
> Current shareholders: Bahrain Mumtalakat
Holding Company (69.38%); Sabic
Investment Company (20.62%); General
Public (10%)
Staff
> About 3,000, of whom 87% are Bahraini
nationals
Finance
> Alba shares have been listed on the
Bahrain Bourse as well as the London Stock
Exchange since December 2010
Schedule
> First metal produced in 1971 from a 120,000
tpy smelter. Capacity was steadily raised,
reaching 450,000 tpy in 1992. Potline 5
started in 2005
EGYPTIAN ALUMINIUM (Egyptalum)
Capacity/production
> 320,000 tpy
Location
> Nag Hammady HQ. Smelter 100 km north of
Luxor
Finance
> Listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange
Schedule
> Initiated in 1972 with an inaugural capacity
of 100,000 tpy
> First two potlines constructed in 1975 and
expanded to five in 1983. New prebaked
potline no. 6 started in October 1997. In 2010
completely changed to prebaked technology
Proposed site for Line 6 Expansion Project, which is expected to boost Albas annual
production by 514,000 tonnes
> In July 2014, Alba received approvals for the
natural gas allocation for its Line 6
expansion project
> In June 2015, Alba announced approvals for
the Line 6 Expansion Project. Expected to
begin production in early 2019, this Project
will boost Albas per-annum production by
514,000 metric tonnes upon full ramp-up
bringing the total production capacity to
approximately 1,450,000 metric tonnes per
year
> The Capex associated with this Project will
be approximately US$3.5 billion versus the
prior estimate of US$2.5 billion. Included in
it is the construction of a fifth power
station with a capacity of 1,350 MW
> The Line 6 potline will utilize Dubals DX+
Technology
with 320,000 tpy capacity. Plans to expand
capacity to 400,000 tpy
Major equipment
> Operates 12 potrooms
Products and markets
> Smelter produces slab, ingot, T-bar, billet
and wire rod. Associated rolling mill
produces hot and cold rolled sheet, coil and
plate for Egyptian Aluminium. Extruded
products are also added
> Fabricators and international markets.
Exports from the port in Alexandria.
Markets include Europe, the USA, the
Arab Gulf, Turkey, North Africa, Africa and
Asia.
> J.P. Morgan, Gulf International Bank (GIB)
and National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) were
announced as Financial Advisors for the
Line 6 Expansion Project on June 10, 2015
> In August 2015, Alba received the
environmental permission for its Line 6
Expansion Project from the Supreme
Council for Environment, Kingdom of
Bahrain
Major equipment
> Own power plants with a capacity of
2,217 MW
> Dedicated carbon plant
> 550,000 tpy coke calcining plant
> Five reduction lines with a total of 1,384
cells
> Pechiney and Hydro technology for
potlines running at 129, 153, 358 and 372 kA
> Three casthouses
Products and markets
> Alba produces extrusion ingot as cut-to-
length billet or log, foundry alloys, liquid
metal, sheet ingot (slab) for rolling, and
standard ingot. Slabs for rolling were
introduced in 2010 and the company plans
to keep value-added product sales above
two-thirds of its revenue
> Sales in 2014: extrusion billet (40%); liquid
metal (30%); rolling slab (13%); foundry
alloys (14%); ingot (3%). Bahrain has the
biggest downstream sector amongst the
GCC countries. Almost half of Albas output
is supplied to downstream industries in
Bahrain, as liquid metal, billet and slab
> Sales in 2014: Bahrain (49%); Other MENA
(18%); Asia (13%); Europe (15%); America
(5%).
November 2015 | Arab aluminium | 13
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14 | Arab aluminium | November 2015

Arab aluminium 2015
Smelter fact-files
QATAR ALUMINIUM (Qatalum)
Capacity/production
> Design capacity of 585,000 tpy of primary
aluminium
> Current production level of 612,000 tpy of
primary aluminium (2014)
Location
> Mesaieed Industrial City outside Doha
Raw materials
> Alumina imported from Brazil and Australia
Owners
> Joint venture between Norsk Hydro (50%)
and Qatar Petroleum (50%)
Staff
> 1,200
Finance
> Initial estimated capital investment in the
Qatalum project: $5.7 billion
Schedule
> Commissioned in December 2009
SOHAR ALUMINIUM, OMAN
Capacity / production
> A 375,000 capacity primary aluminium smelter
with a 1.2 km long single potline comprising
360 pots
Location
> Sohar, Oman
Staff
> 73% of Sohar Aluminiums workforce of 1,000
individuals are Omani nationals
Raw materials
> Alumina for the plant is imported from Rio
Tinto Alcans refineries
Owners
> Joint venture of Oman Oil (40%), Abu Dhabi
National Energy Company PJSC-TAQA (a
subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity
Authority) (40%) and Rio Tinto Alcan (20%).
Finance
> Total project cost for phase 1: $2.5 billion.
Schedule
> Sohar Aluminium Company was formed in
September 2004
> The first pot started operating in June 2008
and phase one reached full capacity in
February 2009. Operation at 375 kA was
achieved in December 2010 and 1 millionth
> Full production capacity of 585,000 tpy of
primary aluminium was reached in
September 2011
> The smelter has the potential to double its
production capacity to 1.2-1.5 million tpy, but
no decision to expand has been made
Major equipment
> Twin 1.2 kilometre-long potlines, a carbon
plant, port and storage facilities, and a
captive power plant
> The smelter uses Hydros enhanced HAL300
technology, running at above 300 kA, and
the dedicated 1,350 MW power plant, built for
HYDRO
Qatalum by General Electric and Doosan
Heavy Industries & Construction, includes
four gas turbines and two steam turbines
operating in a combined cycle
> Qatalums casthouse has a capacity of around
640,000 tpy to accommodate alloying and
scrap recycling
Products and markets
> Main products are extrusion ingots and
foundry alloys for a global customer base in
tonne of aluminium was produced in August
2011. Cumulative 2 million tonnes of
aluminium was produced in June 2014
> In November 2014 Sohar Aluminium
completed its first Pot Change-out
programme by relining all its 360 pots
Major equipment
> Bechtel (for the EPCM contract) and Alstom
were major contractors for the construction of
SOHAR ALUMINIUM
the global transport, building and consumer
goods industries. Metal is mainly being
shipped to the Asian and North American
markets. Hydro will also retain the option of
selling more metal into Qatalums domestic
market longer term. The Qatar Investment
Authority is encouraging private investment
in downstream industries that will take
metal from the smelter.
the smelter, which has its own 1,000 MW
dedicated power plant. The smelter uses AP39
technology running at more than 380 kA
Products and markets
> The Casthouse produces ingots, sows and
liquid metal. The ingots and sows are sold to
Rio Tinto Alcan for delivery to markets
including China, Malaysia and Indonesia
> Additionally Sohar Aluminium also exports
small volumes to UAE downstream projects
> Sohar Aluminiums long-term plan is to use
around 60% of the smelters aluminium
production for local companies and to export
the balance. Oman Aluminium Processing
Industries Ltd (OAPIL) is one of the smelters
downstream customers
> A second downstream customer, Oman
Aluminium Rolling Company (OARC) has started
up and will supply to the food container and
food-preservation foil markets, as well as
automotive and air conditioner markets. The
first production from OARC commenced in 2013
> Omans downstream aluminium sector
continues development and space has been
set aside at Sohar for more industries to take
liquid metal from the smelter. Development of
the Sohar Free Zone is expected to attract
further partners to Oman. Sohar Aluminium
has its own dedicated port facility in the Sohar
Industrial Port Complex (a joint venture
between Oman and the Port of Rotterdam).
November 2015 | Arab aluminium | 15
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Arab aluminium 2015
Project focus
Maaden Alcoa
jvs full integration
With construction now complete, the
Maaden-Alcoa integrated aluminium joint
venture complex in Saudi Arabia is operating
as a fully integrated aluminium facility,
reports Myra Pinkham
Having completed construction, the Maaden-
Alcoa integrated aluminium joint venture
complex in Saudi Arabia is now operating as a
fully integrated aluminium facility from mine
to rolling mill and all points in between,
supplying high-quality primary and rolled-
product solutions to customers in both
domestic and international markets.
It has achieved several milestones in the past
year or so, says a spokeswoman for Alcoa Inc.,
the minority partner in the facility. Perhaps
most notably it produced its first alumina from
Saudi bauxite in December 2014 and is
expected to produce a total of 1.1 million tonnes
of alumina from its refinery this year.
Now fully in ramp up mode, this project, a
joint venture of the Saudi Arabian Mining Co.
(Maaden) and Alcoa is expected to not only
become the worlds largest integrated
aluminium facility, but the lowest cost
aluminium producer in the Middle East.
Our mission is to build a minerals and
metals industry in Saudi Arabia that contributes
to sustainable economic diversification and
shareholder value while providing high-value
job opportunities for Saudis and a reliable
supply of quality products for our global
customers, Maadens president and chief
executive officer, Khalid Mudaifer, said in a
press release.
Maaden has the majority ownership in the
$10.8 billion joint venture, which includes a 4
million tpy bauxite mine, a 1.8 million tpy
alumina refinery, a 740,000 tpy primary
aluminium smelter, a 380,000 tpy rolling mill
and a large used beverage can (UBC) recycling
facility.
A spokeswoman for Alcoa, which currently
has a 25.1% share of the project, but has an
option to eventually increase that holding to
40%, says it is a good platform for growth for
the US-based aluminium producer, which is
committed to align its capabilities with those
of Maaden to meet the Saudi Kingdoms
MAADEN-ALCOA
The refinery is set to produce over 1 million
tonnes of alumina this year
development goal of adding minerals and
metals as the third pillar of its economy,
alongside hydrocarbons and petrochemicals.
To support the development of this third pillar
presents opportunities for Alcoa to participate
in future growth initiatives within the
Kingdom, she says, adding: Our focus
continues to be on health and safety,
operational excellence and the sustainable
transfer of knowledge and expertise from Alcoa
to Maaden to ensure its long-term success.
Alcoa recently announced its intention to
divide itself into two separate public
companies one centred on the upstream and
the other targeting downstream metal
applications. In this regard, Alcoa would only
say: For now, its business as usual and well
continue to operate as one integrated company
until the separation is complete.
Maadens aluminium smelter, which
produced its first hot metal in December 2012
and began commercial production at the
beginning of September 2014, is now fully
operational. It is on track to produce its full
nameplate capacity of 740,000 tonnes in 2015.
The ramp up of its bauxite mine, its alumina
refinery and its rolling mill is reportedly
progressing on schedule.
In a move that Maaden describes as the
commencement of the final link in the supply
chain of this fully integrated aluminium
facility, on 21 December 2014 the joint
ventures refinery in Ras Al Khair produced its
first alumina using bauxite from the projects
bauxite mine 600 km away in Al Baitha the
first of its kind in the Middle East.
The refinery is expected to produce 1.1 million
tonnes of alumina in 2015 and 1.8 million
tonnes once fully ramped up. During the
refinerys startup phase Alcoa had been
supplying alumina to the projects smelter,
which is also in Ras Al Khair, from its Bunbury
port facility in Western Australia.
The Maaden rolling mill produced its first
production grade hot rolled can sheet coil in
June 2014 and its first automotive grade coil in
the fourth quarter of last year and continues to
ramp up to its full rated capacity. Mudaifer called
this feat a big step forward as the Maaden
rolling mill is the first aluminium rolling facility
in the Middle East capable of producing
food-grade can sheet, as well as sheet for
automotive and construction applications.
Its 100,000 tpy expansion, which included a
cold mill, a heat treating line and a finishing
line, has enabled the mill to produce
auto-grade sheet as it incorporates the latest
in rolling mill technology, including fully
automated coil and scrap transport and storage
facilities. From the start, it was the intention of
Maadens partners to have the rolling mill
serve the foil stock, construction and
automotive industries in addition to producing
body-, end- and tab-stock for cans. Much of
the auto sheet produced there is expected to
be exported to the US, Europe and China.
The Maaden complex also includes a UBC
recycling facility capable of processing billions
of cans per year. Maadens partners say that
they are hopeful that this facility will be the
first step in developing a new recycling
industry in Saudi Arabia.
Alcoa says that it sees its participation in the
Maaden project as an integral part of its
strategy to lower its overall production cost
base and to capitalize on growth opportunities
in the Middle East. By establishing a strong
footprint in the growing Middle East region, it
positions Alcoa to capture new market
opportunities, the spokeswoman explains.
In addition the Maaden-Alcoa joint venture
will help to further lower Alcoas overall cost
base as it takes its highest cost smelting
capacity offline and shifts production to lower
cost facilities, she says, adding, The complex
will utilize critical infrastructure, including
low-cost and clean power generation, as well
as port and rail facilities developed by the
Saudi Kingdoms government.
November 2015 | Arab aluminium | 19
Arab aluminium 2015
Technology
Technology showcase
Some recent examples of state-of-the-art technology deployment
From mining, refining, smelting and casting,
to rolling, extruding and processing, the
Middle Easts aluminium industry has
deployed a wide range of state-of-the-art
technology during its decades of growth.
While smelting companies themselves have
done much to develop and enhance their
own electrolytic cell technology,
international plantmakers such as SMS
Group, Danieli and Primetals have
contributed through their supply of a range
of technologies, including rolling, extruding
and processing lines. Other specialist
equipment makers and engineering
companies have provided a wealth of the
latest hardware and software to support Arab
aluminium producers low-cost, but
high-quality, production.
RELIABLE ABB POWER SUPPLIES FOR INCREASED PRODUCTION
Dependable and efficient power supplies are
key to increasing aluminium production.
Alba (Bahrain Aluminium) and Dubal
Aluminium in Dubai (part of Emirates Global
Aluminium) have both turned to ABB to
provide key electrical installations to support
their projects to expand capacity at their
smelters.
Busbar upgrades were provided for potlines
5, 6, 7 and 9 for Dubal as part of a contract
completed in May this year, 16 months after it
was awarded in January 2014. The current is
275 kA for potlines 5&6, and 280 kA for 7&9.
Dubai Aluminium, UAE (left), and Bahrain Aluminium (right) have installed new electrical equipment
20 | Arab aluminium | November 2015
The trend continues today. Here we outline
several examples of recent technology
investments by Arab aluminium companies:
power supply upgrades by ABB for Alba and
Dubal, and an order from Garmco for a new
re-melt and casting facility from Fives.
Garmco and Fives to launch re-melt
expansion project
As part of Garmcos expansion, Fives has
been awarded an EPC contract for
construction of a new re-melt & casting
facility in Bahrain.
Garmcos Bahrain-based international
aluminium rolling mill is one of the largest
downstream aluminium facilities in the
Middle East. This project includes the
building of a new cast house to enable the
Potline 5 received a rectifier cooling
upgrade and, together with potline 6, saw
transformer replacement. A cooling upgrade
study was completed for potline 9.
ABB fibre-optic current sensors were
installed for all four potlines and an Eagle
booster rectiformer (RT 3) was replaced and
upgraded to 40 kA.
The overall scope of supply included the
design, manufacture, delivery to site,
erection, testing, commissioning and
completion of all the equipment and
technologies required.
ABB
company to develop its metal recycling
capability and lower the cost of producing
cast aluminium slabs for rolling.
As the Engineering, Procurement &
Construction (EPC) contractor, Fives will be
fully responsible for the timely and successful
execution of the contract. The company says
that it will use its experience in process
integration, project management and execution,
combined with its in-house multi-discipline
engineering expertise. Over the past 15 years,
the company has completed several lump-sum
turnkey contracts in the Middle East, while
supplying more than 50 furnaces since 2003,
including integrated cast house solutions.
The re-melt facility capacity will be 120,000
metric tpy of cast slab product to stringent
requirements for metal and casting quality,
In August this year, Alba awarded ABB an
engineering, procurement and construction
(EPC) contract for the turnkey supply of an
additional (R37) rectiformer for potline 3. The
work also includes the supply and construction
of an additional rectiformer bay and
associated metering and control equipment
for operation at 1,530 VDC at 30 kA.
Other elements include extension of the
existing low-voltage distribution system and
the supply of 11 kV feeder cables. The new
equipment is scheduled to start operating in
February 2017.
ABB
for a varied production campaign of alloys
and slab sizes.
Fives says that it will use the latest 3D
engineering tools and project management
techniques to ensure the smooth execution of
the project.
The plant will be located on Garmcos
existing land, but is a complete new build
incorporating utility and power
infrastructures, a purpose-built cast house
building and all civil works. Challenging
ground conditions at the job site, with a very
high water table, will need special measures
in the civil engineering designs to ensure that
the completed civil works remains impervious
to water.
Sustainable production
One of the aims of the project is to produce
cast slabs in a sustainable way. This will be
achieved by incorporating a twin-chamber
melting furnace capable of melting
contaminated scrap from external sources.
The ability to recycle scrap metal into useful
liquid metal will optimise the operating costs
for Garmco.
About half of the plant metal throughput
could be provided by recycling aluminium
this way. Associated with the twin-chamber
furnace will be a chip feeding and
submerging system that will process
aluminium chips from the downstream
processes on the plant and distribute them
into the furnace. Automated circulation and
metal transfer systems will also be provided.
The twin-chamber furnace will also have
an air pollution control system to manage the
furnace emissions to the project
requirements.
Liquid metal from the twin-chamber
furnace will feed two tilting melter/holder
furnaces where the metal will be further
refined and mixed to create the necessary
alloy mix ahead of casting.
The tilting furnaces will be capable of
delivering the metal flow at the required
tolerances of the casting machine. Two
purpose-designed charging machines will
tend to all the charging requirements of the
furnaces.
The project will have a zero chlorine policy
in the new plant and so the relevant
technologies for metal treatment, including
fluxing, degassing and filtering equipment
have been incorporated. The configuration of
this equipment will be organised to achieve
the specific metal qualities necessary for
ensuring good cast products and eventually
high-quality aluminium coils. One slab
casting machine capable of casting metal to
the required finished quality and tolerances
will be supplied.
Eventually the project will be a standalone
facility and will be capable of maintaining
operations independently. All the associated
equipment to do this will be supplied, such
as a casting water cooling system with
evaporative cooling towers and a specific
water treatment system, a casting machine
mould maintenance shop, process cranes and
material handling systems, operational tools,
all process and motor controls employing a
unique configuration devised for this cast
house, one fire protection system, one plant
CCTV system, plant offices and access roads.
One overall control, communication and
data capturing system will be supplied to
enable the operators to monitor equipment
operation remotely and transfer production
data to Garmcos existing plant-wide data
handling system. Fives will also assist Garmco
with the on-site management of a new band
saw installation which is also incorporated
into the overall design of the casthouse.

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November 2015 | Arab aluminium | 21
Arab aluminium 2015
Downstream
Downstream
developments
Projects to expand the Arab aluminium regions
capacity to produce rolled products and extrusions
continue to progress. Andrew Hall reviews recent
advances in the regions downstream aluminium
industry and notes a growing interest in recycling
The Arabal Conferences were inaugurated in
Kuwait in 1983 by Kuwait Industries and
Mohammed Al-Naki, focusing on aluminium
smelters in the Middle East, with a passing
nod towards downstream developments in
the region.
From this time onwards, the event was
organised bi-annually in Bahrain, Dubai,
Egypt or Kuwait, with a couple of events
stretching into the following year due to
regional wars. At the 14th Arabal event in 2010,
held in Luxor, Egypt, it was announced that
due to the increase in the number of smelters
in the participating region the event would
be held annually.
This years Arabal Conference takes place in December 2008, in the wake of the global
Saudi Arabia, the first time the event has
A section of the finishing line at the Maaden Alcoa joint venture in Saudia Arabia
22 | Arab aluminium | November 2015
been held in the country, which is home to
the Maaden-Alcoa integrated aluminium
joint venture, in which Alcoa currently has a
25.1% share and Maaden, the Saudi Arabian
Mining Company, holds the balance.
While smelting remains centre stage, over
the years the regions downstream sector has
steadily grown in importance.
MaadenAlcoa jv progresses
The project initially began as a joint venture
agreement between Maaden and Rio Tinto
Alcan for a world class fully-integrated
aluminium complex, signed by the two
companies in April 2007. However, by
financial crisis, Rio Tinto Alcan pulled out of
the project. A year later, Alcoa agreed to
become a joint venture partner with Maaden.
The Maaden-Alcoa project began with the
construction of an aluminium smelter and
rolling mill at Ras Al Khair, on the eastern
coast of Saudi Arabia, with production at the
smelter starting on schedule on 12/12/2012. It
comprised two potlines, each of 360 pots,
using AP37 technology, with a combined
capacity of 740,000 tpy.
After the successful initial start-up, Potline
1 closed temporarily in October 2013 due to
instability problems, reopening a few
months later. The upstream facilities were
integrated by completing a rail link from the
bauxite mine to the alumina refinery, a
distance of some 600 km, and the
commissioning of the refinery in Q4 2014.
Bauxite mine capacity is 4 million tpy and
alumina refinery capacity is 1.8 million tpy.
Maadens casthouse contains 15 furnaces,
producing standard ingot, T-bar, sheet ingot
and billet, with a total production capacity of
740,000 tpy.
The hot rolling line has a 1+4 configuration,
with a reversing roughing mill and 4-stand
tandem finishing mill, each of 2,300 mm
barrel width. The line had an initial capacity
of 380,000 tpy.
The cold rolling line comprises a 4-stand
tandem cold mill, with a single-stand cold
mill on the automotive line, both with barrel
width of 2,300 mm and coil width of 2,100
mm max. Initial capacity of the line was
390,000 tpy. All rolling mills were
manufactured by SMS Siemag.
The rolling plant is one of the most
technologically advanced in the world, with
ALCOA

Maaden-Alcoas integrated complex: refinery alumina conveyor connecting to the alumina
silo, with the smelter in the foreground, and the cast house and rolling mill in the background
production focused on can stock, automotive
body sheet and products for the building
and construction industry. First production-
grade coil was produced on 24 June, 2014,
and qualification for can stock was achieved
with various customers by December last year.
The line producing automotive body sheet
(ABS) is one of the smaller facilities by world
rankings, comprising a CHT furnace and
finishing equipment mainly supplied by the
SMS group. Initial line capacity is 50,000 tpy,
and it is presently in its final commissioning
phase.
The complex also has a recycling plant,
mainly focused on UBC scrap, and equipped
with shredders, delacquering, a sidewell
furnace and a rotary furnace. Production
capacity is 120,000 tpy more than sufficient
to recycle every UBC supplied in the Gulf
region.
Production of can stock is ramping up,
based upon the development of demand.
Supply of can stock was initially targeted at
the local markets - the Gulf region of the GCC
countries - but it is Maadens clear intention
to develop export markets in order to take
full advantage of their very low cost base.
For Alcoa, this projects focus is to take
advantage of the fully-integrated supply
chain, the bauxite mine through to the
rolling mill and its finishing lines. Within this
aim is a need to ensure a sustainable transfer
of aluminium-manufacturing knowledge
from Alcoa to Maaden to ensure the
long-term success of the project. This has
happened successfully so far, and Alcoa sees
the joint venture as a key part of their
low-cost strategy in the upstream business,
September 2015 the Financial Times reported
that JLR had dropped its plan. In response to
the FTs request for comment, JLR said that
the Saudi project was now on hold, but
the newspaper added that several people
familiar with the matter said the plans had
been called off.
However, JLR has shown interest in the
supply of ABS from Maaden to its other
manufacturing plants, and there have been
past reports elsewhere that major American
car manufacturers could be interested in
building their own manufacturing plants in
Saudi Arabia.
Garmco invests
The major established rolling mill within the
region is Garmco in Bahrain. Since its start up
in 1986, the company has developed
operations in Bahrain to reach a capacity of
165,000 tpy, and has established a network
of sales and service centres around the
ALCOA
world.
Production on a hot mill, two cold mills
and three foil mills has a market focus
on flat rolled products, such as foil stock,
which is one of their lowest within their circles, sheet and paint stock. About 90% of
global operations. coil and sheet production is exported. Foil
As the project to manufacture ABS unfurled, production is primarily for sale within the
Jaguar Land Rover entered the discussions, GCC region, although exports to Europe,
with JLR mooting ideas for a manufacturing USA, Australia and Africa have been
plant in Saudi Arabia, possibly on a site developed. The remelt facility has a capacity
adjacent to Maadens ABS line. JLR signed a of 80,000 tpy, for Garmcos own internal
letter of intent in December 2012 to build a clean scrap from their rolling and foil mills,
factory expected to produce about 50,000 as well as for the processing of customer-
cars a year. returned scrap.
Later plans for the plant saw it sited at King With a view to securing its supply of metal,
Abdullah Economic City, on Saudi Arabias Garmco mooted a project in 2009 for a new
western coastline, instead. However, on 3 remelt casthouse. The project was on hold,
TOP GCC DOWNSTREAM EXTRUSION COMPANIES WITH CAPACITIES*
Country Companies Total no. of companies in country Capacity (metric tpy)
Bahrain Bahrain Aluminium Extrusion Co. 1 36,500
Jordan Arab Aluminium Industry Co. 6 20,000
National Aluminium Industrial Co. 12,000
Al-Bayan Aluminium Company 11,500
Arabella Aluminium Extrusion Company 9,500
Others 7,600
Kuwait Arabian Light Metals 4 15,000
Al Misbah Al Kuwaitia for Aluminium Extrusion 11,000
Gulf Aluminium Extrusions Company 10,000
Kuwait Aluminium Extrusion Co. 7,000
Oman National Aluminium Products Co. (Napco) 1 26,000
Qatar Qatar Aluminium Extrusion Co. 2 9,000
Abdulnoor Aluminium Extrusion Factory 4,000
Saudi Arabia Aluminium Products C. (Alupco) 16 77,500
Al Taiseer Aluminium Company 58,000
Al Twaijiri Aluminium Extrusion Co. 24,500
Aluminium International Co. (Alinco) 18,000
Others 94,500
UAE Elite Extrusion Company 15 57,500
Gulf Extrusions (GulfEx) 55,000
Al Jaber Aluminium Extrusions 35,500
Arabian Extrusion Factory 31,000
Others 133,000
*Lists largest four companies in each country by name Source: Alken
November 2015 | Arab aluminium | 23
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Arab aluminium 2015
Downstream
A GIA 28 MN direct extrusion press at Balexco in Bahrain
pending approval for the necessary supply of
gas, until early in 2014 when a project was
announced for an investment of $50 million
in a new greenfield casthouse to add a
capacity of 120,000 tpy.
The development will be in two phases.
Phase 1 started in early July 2015 with the
objective to increase capabilities with regard
to recycling and opportunities to source scrap
or cheaper materials on a global basis. This
centred on the construction of a scrap storage
area and segregation unit, which is being
managed internally by Garmco, with the
support of a local supplier.
For Phase 2, the contract for the
construction of the new casthouse was
signed with the French industrial
engineering group Fives on 29 September
2015, with the objective to increase slab
casting capability, which has long been one
of Garmcos bottlenecks. Work on Phase 2 is
scheduled to begin in January 2016. The
whole project is set to run for about 21
months, starting in September 2015.
Garmcos intention is to develop a raw
material flow for the casthouse comprising
three streams of roughly equal proportions:
primary metal, their own internal scrap, and
third-party external scrap the last stream
comprising class I or class III materials from
canmakers, UBC scrap and closed-loop scrap
generated by Garmcos own customers.
Jean-Baptiste Lucas, ceo of Garmco,
explained: We are not aggressively pursuing
closed-loop scrap buyback contracts with
our customers just now due to our present
BALEXCO
lack of capacity. But there are good
opportunities here. Also, we have some large
trading houses in the Gulf, who are keen on
increasing their value-added scrap trading
and in offering pre-segregated scrap, so we
work with traders as well as our customers.
Over 2015-16, Garmco is also investing in
upgrading the automation and the
programmable logic controllers (PLCs) of their
two cold mills. Work on cold mill 2 was
completed earlier in 2015. Cold mill 1 will be
upgraded next year, with the work being
undertaken by Primetals.
Over the years Garmco has established
manufacturing subsidiaries, sales offices and
a network of service centres, adding value to
coil with slitting and cut-to-length facilities,
around the world. The company has reviewed
these operations, and a rationalisation of them
in line with the current international
situation is 70% completed.
We are still finishing some liquidation
processes and are phasing out of a few
markets, said Lucas. We have ceased
operations at our Shanghai service centre and
have liquidated the company there. Work on
closing our South Korean operation should be
completed by the end of the year. So basically
we intend to focus on a much leaner setup:
our Far East hub, centred in Singapore, with
Thailand and Suzhou; our Australian hub in
Melbourne; and our US hub in Louisville.
Like Graham Bruce, Garmcos former ceo,
Lucas is concerned about the level of Chinese
exports. This is still very much an issue, he
says. We are still suffering very much from a
lot of material which is basically being
dumped in our markets. The business
rationale behind these mills is not very clear
why they are adding capacity and what is
their ultimate target for these operations?
In discussing Maaden, Lucas says Garmco
is not really in competition with the Saudi
rolling mill because much of their output is
can stock. We wish them well and talk to
them from time to time on subjects of
common interest. They are producing
ingots and slabs, so even with our new
remelt, when our requirement for third-
party slab will drastically decrease, we will
still buy ingot, so they are a potential
supplier.
EXTRUSIONS
Bahrain
Bahrain Aluminium Extrusion Co. (Balexco)
was established in 1977 with a 100%
shareholding by the government. This
shareholding was reduced to 45% by 1995,
then to zero when the company went public
in 1996. A new site was acquired in 1995 that
doubled the original land area. The single
extrusion press and anodising line were
transferred from the old site, and two new
presses were installed.
By 2010 the company was equipped with a
remelt and billet casting facility, three
extrusion presses and powder coating
facilities, with a total capacity for extrusions
of around 24,000 tpy. A new automatic
anodising line was supplied by the Italian
company Monti in 2011. The remelt facility
was mothballed in 2012.
A major expansion was undertaken in 2011,
centring around the installation of a new 28
MN extrusion press line supplied by GIA. The
other three presses were revamped and the
project was completed in 2015. Capacity has
been boosted to about 33,000 tpy and
production is primarily for architectural and
industrial applications, in mill finish,
powder coated and anodised, marketed in
the GCC region, where Saudi Arabia and
Kuwait are major export regions.
Amongst the range of fabricated systems
are the Balexco 45, 60 and 100 architectural
systems, as well as the Balexco Luxury System
sliding systems designed for excellent
noise and heat insulation, as well as wind
and rain resistance.
For the future, Balexco is studying the
feasibility of refurbishing and restarting its
remelt and billet casting plant, as well as the
installation of new plant and equipment for
increasing powder coating capacity. Balexco
is also aware of increasing competition
within their markets, and has developed
strategies to effectively deal with these and
remain a market leader in the extrusion
industry in the Middle East.
November 2015 | Arab aluminium | 25
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 Arab aluminium 2015
Downstream
Jordan
Ongoing war in the Middle East has largely
centred around Syria and Iraq. Jordan has
been relatively stable over the last year, but
with its northern borders bounding both of
these countries it has been affected in other
ways. The war has caused a massive influx of
refugees, estimated at well over one million,
with many of them being accommodated in
the Zataari and similar camps. This has
generated a demand for building sections,
but only for simple white profiles of limited
length and very low price. Another effect of
the war has been to bring trade and
commerce with the north to a virtual
standstill, affecting exports and projects that
are reliant upon the import of equipment.
The four extrusion companies operating at
the beginning of the year Arab Aluminium
Industry in Amman, Geminal Extrusion in
Amman, National Aluminium Factory in Jizah
and Universal Metal Extrusion in Sahab
have continued production at a modest
level, focused upon the architectural
industry in general, and upon supply to the
Zataari camp in particular. One new company
started up last year, Al-Bayan Aluminium
company, on a site close to the Amman
International airport. It has installed two
extrusion presses and is supplying
architectural extrusions.
The UAEs Elite Extrusions project Jordan
Aluminium Extrusion was scheduled to begin
AL TAISEER
Flash anodising & powder coating line at Al Taiseer in Saudi Arabia
operations this year. However, the problems
mentioned above have meant that little
progress has been made. They are now
planning to move an extrusion press from
their factory in Ras al Khaimah in October,
and production is now scheduled to begin
next year.
Arabella, a trading company in aluminium
semis, with powder coating facilities, took
advantage of the closure of Emirate
Extrusions factory in Ajman, purchased their
equipment and transferred it to their new
factory in Al Mafraq.
This project was also delayed, but the two
extrusion presses were finally commissioned
in September and the company is ramping
up production. It has previous experience
with the trading and powder coating of
industrial sections.
General manager Khaled Abudhaim
remarked: While there are opportunities of
supply to the refugee camps in the north,
this is not our target. We will supply the local
market for the first year, then direct our
marketing efforts towards the engineering
industry, where we can get a better margin.
Next year we will look towards exporting to
such areas as Palestine and Kurdistan, in the
north of Iraq. Of course, when there is a
solution to the Syrian crisis and peace comes,
Syria will be rich in opportunities for
rebuilding but who knows when that
will be?
Kuwait
Last year saw the start-up of a new extrusion
company, Al Misbah Al Kuwaitia for
Aluminium Extrusions & Industries the
fourth in the country. The Al Misbah Group
was established in 1980 and has developed
with companies in the construction, glass,
real estate, automotive and tourism
industries. Al Kuwaitia was established in
1997, trading in aluminium profiles.
Operations in powder coating and anodising
were developed, and in 2014 an extrusion
press was installed, equipped with Chinese
presses of 5in and 7in billet container
diameter, and two powder coating lines.
Oman
The only extrusion company operating in
Oman, the National Aluminium Products
Company (Napco), has been in operation
since 1984, and at present has two extrusion
presses with a total capacity of about 18,000 tpy.
An expansion project was mooted in 2013,
and was agreed in 2014. This ambitious
project involves the installation of two
further extrusion presses, each supplied by
the Spanish company Tecalex, of 1,800 MT
force, two more powder coating lines (one
horizontal and one vertical), one anodizing
line, and two wood finish lines, while the
fabricating section will be bolstered with
the addition of bending and thermal
crimping facilities.
November 2015 | Arab aluminium | 27
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Arab aluminium 2015
Downstream
Al Taiseer has invested in a major expansion programme
The civil phase of construction on a 15,000
sq metre plot adjacent to the existing site
was completed in June 2015, extending the
companys operating area to 65,000 sq
metres. Installation of the equipment is
expected by the end of 2015, with production
starting in Q1 2016. Production capacity will
be almost doubled.
Napcos present production, mainly of
architectural and industrial sections, is 65%
exported, principally to the UAE, Qatar and
Saudi Arabia, and the company is a licensee
of Hydro Aluminiums Wicona System for
Oman.
Marketing manager Danny Holtkamp
commented: Currently we are running at
full capacity and sometimes have to, albeit
regretfully, turn our customers away because
of it. More and more projects are coming up
in the region so, with our new expansion in
place, we will be well placed to meet the
demand.
Qatar
Operations continue at Qatar Aluminium
Extrusion (established in 2008), while the
Abdulnoor Aluminium Extrusion Factory,
established in 2012, continues to ramp up
production.
Saudi Arabia
Within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia the
major project over the past year has been at
Al Taiseer Company with the installation of
two new front-loading presses of 25/27 MN,
AL TAISEER
supplied by SMS Meer, with induction
furnaces for the 8in billets supplied by IAS
and feed line and handling system supplied
by Omav.
The first of these presses is under
commissioning and commissioning of the
second press will start in November, with
production from both presses expected at
the beginning of next year. This brings the
total number of presses at the companys
plant in Riyadh to six, all from SMS, boosting
their capacity to around 60,000 tpy.
The finishing section has been boosted
with the recent start-up of a new flash
anodising and powder coating line. The
vertical line anodises at 4 to 6 m and
powder coats in a range of colours. The
system has been performance tested for
5,096 hours of salt spray at the IFO in
Germany and Al Taiseer provide a 35 year
performance guarantee.
The system is supported by four vertical and
two horizontal powder coating lines, which
are designed and approved for Qualicoat
certification, and a German anodising line
for lengths up to 7.5 metres in silver, medium
to dark bronze, black, champagne and gold
finishes. All are approved by Qualanod.
UAE
The Al Ghurair groups Gulf Extrusions
(GulfEx) has two major projects in hand. The
first is a joint venture with Senaat: the
Taweelah Aluminium Extrusion Company
(Talex). The second is subsidiary company
Royal Engineering Fabrication Company
(REFCo).
Gulfex themselves are developing new
products, notably a fire-rated door, capable
of holding a fire for up to 90 minutes. Since
most 90 minute fire-rated doors used in the
building and construction industry are made
of steel, one made of aluminium is quite an
innovation, said Modar Mohamed Al
Mekdad, general manager of Gulf Extrusions.
Talex has started commissioning the
casthouse. The commissioning of the
extrusion presses is expected by the end of
October, and Modar expects to have the
casthouse and the two presses in operation
by the end of this year.
Previous delays of about six months were
due to the fact that this is the first
downstream project in Kizad (Khalifa
Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi) on the hot metal
road, and there were unanticipated waiting
periods for approvals and government
permits. The hot metal road itself is now in
operation, liquid metal transportation
should be ready early next year. The Talex
casthouse can take hot metal, ingot or
internal scrap streams as raw material.
Refco is continuing to grow and should
complete this year with around 21% sales
growth year-on-year, and Modar expects the
same growth rate next year. Production is
entirely for automotive and Refco is already
supplying OEMs in the UK, France, Germany,
Italy, China and Mexico.
A 50/50 jv between the Al Ghurair group
and a Qatar business group for a surface
treatment plant in Qatar will be operational
by the end of this year. The Al Ghurair group
have also completed technical and market
studies on a single-press extrusion plant in
Ethiopia, with a decision on its
implementation dependent upon the
financing options available to them.
Modars interest in the development of
centres of excellence in the region continues.
We had some interesting discussions this
year, which we are continuing, to set up such
a centre as a partnership between the
primary sector, government, universities and
the private sector. I believe many companies
are working in new areas of research and
development, so it will be a logical step for
them to become involved in such a project.
But I think it would be quite some time
before this is materialised, he said.
Royal United Metal and Glass, a metal
engineering firm in Dubai dealing in
aluminium, stainless steel and glass for the
fabrication of composite and steel cladding,
canopies, hand rails, decorated features,
furniture and frames, is installing a 2,500 MT
extrusion press from SMS Meer, extruding 229
mm billet. Production is due to start at the
end of 2016.
November 2015 | Arab aluminium | 29
Arab aluminium 2015
Downstream
Emirates Extrusion Factory have announced
plans to install their third extrusion press in
2016, together with a new powder coating
plant. The company is planning 10% growth
over the next three years with increased
exports into the MENA region, as well as
serving the ongoing strong demand in the
UAE.
RECYCLING
I think there is an excellent opportunity to
enhance this [recycling] business now that
aluminium premiums have dropped, said
Gulfexs Modar.
Last year and in the first half of this year
the premiums went sky high, so the demand
for extrusion scrap was high and most of our
scrap was exported outside of the region. So I
GULFEX/TALEX
believe the current premium level will not
encourage the dealers or traders, which will
make the scrap in the region quite
available, he noted.
We should take advantage of this
situation to develop further scrap recycling in
this region so that people can see the
benefits. So far the Gulf Aluminium Council
(GAC) have completed a study about scrap in
the GCC countries and the numbers were
really surprising: circa half a million tonnes
per year. I believe this will be the first step in
further actions to be considered by local
governments in the GCC countries to limit the
export of scrap to outside the region, which
will encourage the governments to make
directives that will stop such exports. Our
scrap recycling capacity is 35,000 tpy, so we
30 | Arab aluminium | November 2015
Taweelah Aluminium Extrusion Company (Talex) (images above and below) is a new
extrusion project in the UAE
need less than 10% of the available scrap, which
Im sure we will be able to fulfil, he said.
The percentage of internal scrap recycling
in the GCC is very high, and there is a very
high demand for scrap. Most of the scrap that
is recycled is done within the producing
companies. There are very few companies
tolling scrap. In terms of UBC recycling the
situation in the Gulf is not like that in
Germany, America or even Australia, where
there are very well established UBC collection
systems. Those collecting UBC in the GCC are
mainly the Indian expats, who will go along
GULFEX/TALEX
and dig them out of trash cans and refuse
dumps. It is actually quite efficient because
you dont really see many UBCs left, but its
not exactly a systematic approach, says
Balexcos executive plant manager Garry
Martin. The official figure for the recycling of
UBCs in the GCC is 6%, which is very low by
world standards.
Garmcos ceo Jean-Baptiste Lucas says that
he is a bit sceptical about these numbers
because they are based upon official
collection rates which he says are very
difficult to define in this part of the world
because there is a lot of very informal,
difficult-to-track collection.
If you walk the streets in Bahrain or
Riyadh you will find a lot of people collecting
cans and scrap and selling this to recycling
companies or trading houses. There is a lot of
this kind of informal collecting, which is by
design hard to track and hard to quantify.
There are a lot of cash transactions, which to
some extent exist in other parts of the world.
So my first comment is that the actual
recycling is much higher than the official
number. My second comment is that we will
witness a trend towards education and
awareness among the general population
which has not happened yet in this part of
the world as it has in Europe or the USA. In
the last 20 years the recycling rate has
significantly increased through awareness
campaigns, which have yet to be
implemented in this part of the world. But
once we get them the recycling rate will
increase because there is intrinsic value in
recycling material, even in rich economies.
The author is a specialist consultant on the
world aluminium downstream industry,
based in the UK.