At a time when the world is recovering from an economicupheaval and manufacturing, including the aluminium sector, has taken a hit,the need for strategic planning and sustained growth has never been as crucialas it is now.

Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) has realised this clearly and has beenproactive in fighting the effects of the recession by internal restructuringand cautious expansions taking into account market trends.

'Alba was quick to respond to the crisis by launching a detailedperformance review, the goal of which was to reduce costs, ensure operationalefficiency and continued profitability,' chairman Mahmood Al Kooheji said.'This will make Alba better able to meet the challenges presented by thecrisis.'

Kooheji says the company's skilled workforce is an important advantage.It must be recalled that Alba was the first aluminium smelter in the Gulfregion (commissioned in 1971) and therefore rich in experience and expertise.

The Bahraini workforce's contribution to Alba's achievements was laudedby the chairman. 'This expertise has been a matter of great pride for thecountry since the company's Bahraini employees have proved their skills andcapabilities in every position,' he said.

A high level of expertise, visionary leadership and outstandingefficiency is required in a smelter like Alba where 90 per cent of theworkforce is Bahraini and its output supports Bahrain's downstream industries,he added.

The smelter is not only one of the largest and most modern in theworld, it is also among the leaders in terms of safety and environmentalsafeguards.

Kooheji also highlights that in a region where oil was the main sourceof national income, Alba was the first major economic diversification project.

Alba has given the lead to a host of smelters in the Gulf, some alreadyin operation, and others due to come on stream shortly.

With such a background, one would expect a mature response from theBahrain smelter to the global recession and this was precisely what it hasdone.

Majorrestructuring
A major restructuring it has implemented will save it millions ofdollars annually while enhancing productivity, sales and profitability.

Under the restructuring which took effect in late September, thecompany dispensed with general managers, reduced executive staff and reassignedfewer managers giving them additional responsibilities. The company will alsogradually reduce reliance on contractors and use its own staff where possible.Training would be geared towards equipping Bahrainis with skills to perform taskscontractors' workforces used to undertake.

Twenty five per cent of workers at Alba were contractors' employees inlate September.

The smelter now has five executive officers against 11 previously and27 managers against 36. Overall the senior staff strength has dipped to 32 from47.

Side by side with the restructuring, Alba announced plans it wouldraise its production capacity from 870,000 tonnes per year to 1.2 milliontonnes, and as a first step in that direction there would be an inhouseexpansion of 10 to 15 per cent at a cost of $100 million.

The company is considering replacing Potlines 1 and 2, which are notefficient, with Potline 6 and studies are focusing on that aspect and onfactors that could make another expansion as cost-effective as possible.

For the new potline, Al Kooheji said Alba would have an open mind asregards fuel, even looking at the electricity option, as the GCC power grid hadthrown up 'big opportunities.'

Alba has not given up on taking stakes in companies operating in theraw materials field including mining and is examining opportunities as theycome.

The company plans to expand its market base and explore businessopportunities in emerging markets such as China and India.

'Our expansion plans involve increasing production to levels that takeinto consideration the maximum size for the Alba smelter, both logistically andenvironmentally and to ensure optimum productivity,' Kooheji said.

'Alba has remained pro-active and maintained a future-ready approach inensuring that efficiency remains a key priority at all times.'

The smelter produces a range of products including standard andT-ingots, extrusion billets, rolling slab, propertzi ingots and moltenaluminium. Around 45 per cent of the output is supplied to Bahrain's downstreamindustry.