ALUMINIUM exports from the UAE have shown a year-on-year increase of 102 per cent in the first half of 2012, a report says.

Exports are expected to be robust in the future as well, making alumunium one of the key non-oil industry sectors in the UAE, according to the Frost & Sullivan Perspective on UAE Aluminium Exports in 2012.

The Emirates Aluminium (Emal) smelter with annual capacity of 750,000 tonnes was commissioned in 2011 and its output is marketed by Dubai Aluminium (Dubal). This new facility has been a key contributor to the exports of aluminium, the report said.

According to Frost & Sullivan, the GCC region has become a hub of the aluminium industry and is well established in the global aluminium map as a source of quality metal and as a reliable supplier. The UAE smelters have leveraged this advantage for penetrating into the global aluminium market.

The UAE aluminium industry is largely dependent on exports as the country has an underdeveloped downstream industry. Hence, the bulk of the production is being exported as primary metal.

The North American and European regions are cutting down their aluminium smelter capacity due to high energy costs that raise the cost of production. European customers are increasingly sourcing aluminium from GCC smelters, giving GCC aluminium exports a boost, the report said.

The UAE aluminium capacity is expanding further with Emal’s second phase expansion set to take its total annual output to 1.3 million tonnes. The new output will only drive exports further in the near future, Frost & Sullivan said.

Meanwhile, Emal recently won a Health and Safety award from the Gulf Aluminium Council (GAC) for its industry-leading record of 10 million work hours without a lost time incident (LTI).

Emal’s environmental, health and safety (EHS) leaders programme involves embedding EHS into the everyday work ethic at the Al Taweelah smelter, a statement from the company said. The company has an EHS representative in every department on every work shift.

For the year 2010 to 2011, as many as 41 employees were selected and assigned to the role. They received coaching and development, had their performance assessed and met regularly to share ideas and recommend improvements to the work environment.

In 2011, the scheme was expanded with an additional 59 EHS representatives. So far 110 employees (4.6 per cent of the total workforce) have served as representatives, the statement said.

Commented Saeed Fadhel Al Mazrooei, president and CEO of Emal: “Emal has put the health and safety of its workforce at the heart of all it does. Initiatives such as EHS Leaders are helping Emal to set standards for safety in the industry.”