A Bahrain business group has formed a joint venture with an Indian industrial house to set up a $100 million company for the manufacture of aluminium fluoride.
The Pearl Industrial Chemicals Company (PIC) has been established by Bahrain’s EBH Holding and India’s Archean Group of Companies.
The group has a 76 per cent share in the venture through one of its companies. Archean will manage the establishment of the project and business operations including training of personnel.
The new company will be chaired by Shaikh Ebrahim bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
The plant, when fully operational, is expected to produce 60,000 tonnes of aluminium fluoride, which is a critical chemical ingredient in the aluminium smelting process.
This chemical is currently being imported by Alba and other smelters in the region including Sohar Aluminium, Oman, which commenced production last year.
Out of 30,000 tonnes to be produced by the Bahrain plant in the first phase, 18,000 tonnes will be bought by Alba. The GCC countries’ total requirement for aluminium fluoride is 140,000 tonnes annually.
PIC will be located at South Alba Industrial Estate and start production in two years. The company will create about 150 jobs, of which 100 will go to Bahrainis, said chief executive officer C George John.
“Bahrainis will be trained on site and at suitable locations enabling them to absorb the most modern technology,” said John.
The Industry and Commerce Ministry has allocated about 100,000 sq m of land for the project with amenities like power, gas and water as well as clearances.
Financial consultant Jassim Abdulaal of Grant Thornton said PIC had been looking worldwide for a technology company suitable to the region.
“The efforts met with success when we located an organisation from India with whom a joint venture has been finalised,” he said.
“The Archean Group has multi-national operations in the field of salt, mining, shipping, construction materials and industrial chemicals covering three continents.”
One of the key raw materials, sulphur, is locally available and the company has been assured of uninterrupted supply of this material from Bapco, said Chennai-based Archean Group executive director C G Sethuram.
Other raw materials will be imported.
As well as aluminium fluoride the plant will manufacture products such as gypsum which will be supplied to the cement industry in GCC countries, said Sethuram.
“Satellite manufacturing units like gypsum board for the construction industry can be set up in the neighbourhood using this material, thereby generating ancillary employment opportunities in the future,” he said.
“PIC will help smelters like Alba to replace imports totally in the coming years.”
Aluminium fluoride when produced in Bahrain will give much needed support to the aluminium smelting industry which is flourishing in the GCC countries, said Archean chief financial officer S M Sundaram.