"Up until 2005 there will be no plans to introduce new products apart from promoting the sales of value-added products such as billets and the foundry alloy A356.2," said Alba marketing manager Khalid Mohamed Noor.

A356.2, designed for the automotive market and specifically for the manufacture of aluminium wheels, was launched in 2002 and promoted in the second half of the year.

Noor described its launch as a significant aspect of 2002. Production of the alloy was 16,548 tonnes during the year but, as a consequence, fewer ingots were made, their figure dropping from 125,173 tonnes in 2001 to 99,047 tonnes. The ingot output was decreased to promote the new alloy, the official said.

The year also saw an increase in the billet quantity by about 24,000 tonnes to meet the requirements of the Gulf's downstream industry.

Total production at Alba in 2002 was 515,810 tonnes against 500,479 tonnes in the previous year.

According to the company the production breakdown (with 2001 figures within brackets) was: billets 189,746 tonnes (165,476 tonnes); ingots 99,047 tonnes (125,173 tonnes); liquid metal 92,483 tonnes (96,489 tones); rolling slab 117,986 tonnes (113,341 tonnes) and A356.2 alloy 16,548 tonnes (none in 2001).

Exports improved from 190,206 tonnes in 2001 to 197,744 tonnes. The company reported that more consignments went to the US while some 2,000 tonnes was shipped to Africa. The company did not state just how much was exported to the US. The figures also revealed a drop in exports to Europe, from 134,726 tonnes in 2001 to 127,923 tonnes. South-east Asia imported more from Alba, 69,821 tonnes against 55,480 tonnes.

Supplies of Alba products in the Gulf including Bahrain expanded from 310,273 tonnes to 318,066 tonnes. Alba's management said recently that Bahrain's downstream sector utilised more than half of Alba's metal.

"Alba is looking at new markets. Up to the first half of 2003 there is not much change. However, we're doing our best to enter into new markets during the second half of 2003, especially for the foundry alloy A356.2," said Noor.

Noor estimates 10 per cent as the annual growth in demand for aluminium products in the Gulf and three per cent worldwide. Alba accounted for 49 per cent of the total Gulf production in 2002.

In addition to Potline 5, which will raise total capacity to 827,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) by mid-2005 from the current level of 520,000 tonnes, the company plans to have a separate relatively small increase in production capacity of 23,000 tonnes through a $56.3 million upgrade to its existing Line 4 plant.

The expansion will involve building 24 new pots and generating additional power. The company also approved plans to spend $65 million to help protect the environment.

The plans involve retrofitting all six gas turbines in Alba's Power Station 3 and replacing existing control systems to reduce waste emissions and help control environmental pollution.

Of the total expansion investment outlay of $1.7 billion, the aluminium smelter itself will cost $1 billion with the remainder being allocated to meet construction costs for a 650MW power plant and owners' costs. Bechtel has been awarded the engineering, procurement construction and management contract. Mott MacDonald holds the engineering and construction management contract for the power station development.

When the new capacity is created, Alba will be the largest smelter facility outside Eastern Europe, said Alba chief executive Bruce Hall.

The expansion will be a boost to Bahrain businesses. "The overall amount to be spent on the smelter in the Bahrain market is $520 million of which $360 million will go for bulk material, local contracts and services and $160 million for labour," Hall said.

According to Alba's management, Potline 5 was originally set for 260,000tpa but the capacity was raised to 307,000tpa without exceeding the original budget. Potline 5 will now have 336 pots, 48 more than in Potline 4, and will be the longest potline in the world, spanning more than 1km in length. The technology will be an improved version of the AP30 technology utilised in Potline 4.

As well as the power station, other aspects of the expansion are a carbon plant with a capacity to produce 190,000 anodes per annum, casthouse facilities to produce ingots and billets, a road network, raw material handling facilities and fume treatment plants to control fluoride emissions.

The earthworks, which commenced in February, will be completed in August. The concrete phase, which began in May, will last until October 2004 and potlining will go on from April 2004 to January 2005. The first hot metal stage will begin in February 2005, while the entire project will be completed in June 2005.

The expansion project will generate 4,000 new jobs. Alba has launched a $3 million "training for Bahrain" initiative to help up to 3,000 Bahrainis to qualify for various duties in the kingdom's construction industry, beyond the Potline 5 project. The initiative is being undertaken in association with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

Potline 5 is expected to boost the company's contribution to Bahrain's income from $200 million per year now to more than $300 million.

Discussing efforts to raise safety and quality levels, Noor said: "In line with the Alba vision and its strategic plan, the Casthouse is using a number of KPI (key performance indicators) to monitor performance in different areas.

"The reporting is done in a graphical manner and on a regular basis, normally at the end of the AP, when safety performance, productivity (quality) and environment, among many other things, are reported.

"The key performance indicators will show actual performance in relation to targets and the reasons for deviations in different fields enabling corrective action to be taken."

Noor said Alba had maintained a good safety record even by international standards and was now committed to reducing the number of lost time accidents at the plant by 20 per cent each year. Alba was also firmly committed to protecting the environment and had spent hundreds of millions of dollars over the past decade on environmental protection projects, he said.

"Alba operates to the Environmental Management System standard ISAO 141001 and has earned international praise and recognition for its continuing efforts to protect the environment," he went on to say.