Gulf Aluminium Rolling Mill Company (Garmco) expects to boost its already considerable exports when production capacity is expanded to 145,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) in March 2004 at an investment of $10 million.

"That's enough aluminium coil to wrap around the world four times," exclaimed general manager Tony Lewis. Garmco's current production and sales is 125,000tpa, which Lewis estimates is two per cent of the world market.

Garmco's two main products are feedstock for foil manufacturers and feedstock for automated paint lines, each accounting for 30 per cent of the total turnover. All of the primary aluminium it uses is sourced from Aluminium Bahrain (Alba).

A significant measure of Garmco's success is that it exports 90 per cent of its production outside the GCC region, reaching such major markets as Australia, Korea, China, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia as well as Europe and the US.

Agents supported by a Bahrain-based sales team initially handled overseas sales. An office opened in Hong Kong in 1990 now allows contacts to be made by local employees operating in the most efficient time zone to communicate with the company's Far Eastern customers in their own language. The company also opened a sales office in the US in 1997.

Further downstream development commenced in 1993 when two service centres were opened, one each in Singapore and Australia, adding to the company's profile overseas.

Garmco currently employs 150 people outside Bahrain to sell mill product and carry out downstream manufacturing operations.

"This sales structure has been a key part of the ability of the company to handle its three-fold increase in sales. Garmco's subsidiary service centres have a very important role to play in providing a just-in-time delivery of specialised products, exactly meeting the customer's needs," said Lewis.

"Garmco keeps a fairly low profile, but as a major employer and user of local sub-contractors its significance to the national economy is very high. The company generates $250 million of foreign currency into Bahrain and is a major exporter with more than 500 twenty-foot equivalent unit containers leaving the port of Mina Salman in Bahrain each month. In addition more than $50 million of the sales is transacted using Letters of Credit, which provides a high demand for trade finance facilities from local banks."

The total market for aluminium rolled product is in excess of 11 million tonnes. Garmco competes in only approximately half of the product range for aluminium rolled products but has a surprising two per cent of the world market, says Lewis. In addition, in both Singapore and Australia, the company service centres hold more than 30 per cent of the marketing in its product range. This, the company says, has been achieved by producing a good quality product on time and at the right price and by utilising group sales staff in strategically located centres around the world.

The company has 10 operating subsidiaries, nine of which are outside Bahrain, and two manufacturing operations in North America. The Hong Kong company has two branches, one in Shanghai, China, and the other in the Philippines.

Garmco has taken pains to maintain its reputation as a good quality supplier. As well as keeping up with the latest research and technology, it provides regular training to its employees. The company has its own training centre to cover disciplines such as mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, safety, quality operations and management. In addition to in-house training, the company utilises local and overseas training programmes to ensure that the total output is "quality from the product to the people."

Garmco has developed as truly one of the giants of the Gulf's industry. But none would have imagined it could reach that stature when in 1981 it was envisaged that a rolling mill creating downstream products and capitalising on the aluminium production in Bahrain could be created from a joint venture of the Gulf states.

Originally a six-state investment was thought of and when the UAE declined Iraq became part of the joint venture. Each country had an option to place its shares through an industrial holding company owned by its government. Today Bahrain is the largest shareholder followed by Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, Industrial Bank of Kuwait, Gulf Investment Corporation, Iraq, Oman and Qatar.

The company began operations with 200 employees and now has more than 700, more than 80 per cent of whom are Bahrainis. Lewis has been with the company since its inception and has been responsible for the direction it has taken.

Observes Lewis: "Aluminium is a multi-billion dollar industry and Garmco is doing well to compete in this ever-expanding and developing market place. As a lightweight metal with considerable strength, aluminium has a very important future and is used in an increasing number of applications. There is no doubt that Garmco will continue to develop its marketing and technical expertise as well as build relationships with its existing export markets and continue to look for new ones."