Alba showcased its production quality at the China Aluminium expo in Shanghai in the first half of June as part of its drive to expand its reach into new markets and boost its links with industry leaders.

In another outreach, the smelter held an extrusion workshop in Cairo for its billets customers in Egypt, sharing its expertise built over 40 years.

The China fair brought together more than 10,000 decision makers, buyers and influencers from 30 regions across China and 90 countries around the world.

“China is regarded as one of the largest consumers and producers of aluminium in the world, and occupies a central role in the growth of the aluminium industry worldwide,” Alba chief executive Laurent Schmitt said.

“It is our privilege to be part of this event that offers tremendous opportunities for companies like Alba to pursue business leads with potential customers in China, Far East Asia, South Asia and other parts of the world.”

Al-Qassab: new manager for safety, environment and security

Schmitt highlighted that Alba’s commitment to expand its presence in Asia’s emerging markets was an integral part of its growth plans.

“One of the clearest evidence of this commitment is that today sales to the Asian region occupy nearly 25 per cent of our high-quality aluminium products, and we are keen on developing this market further and capitalising on the tremendous opportunities available.”

Workshop team

The Cairo workshop was conducted by a team from Alba’s marketing department comprising Aziz Daylami, Mohammed Haddad and Garry Martin.

Alba said the first part of the exercise covered topics to assist customers in their understanding of the company’s processes for the production of high-quality extrusion ingots, alloys used for producing ingots and the characteristics of extrusion ingots required for optimum extrusion performance.

Hadi: heading IT operations

The second half dealt with the actual extrusion process and the practical aspects involved in obtaining productive and high-quality extruded products as well as the standards that apply to extruded products for end use in a variety of applications ranging from building and construction to transport.

Commented Schmitt: “The extrusion workshop that Alba organised for its billet customers in Egypt proved to be a huge success as it enabled Alba to share some of the technological expertise the company has gained in its 40-year operations in the Middle East. The customers, too, appreciated the efforts the company took in organising such a workshop that will, no doubt, add value to the billet supply relationship.”

Alba has held similar workshops in Bahrain, Jordan and Saudi Arabia and plans to hold several more in other countries. Schmitt said the exercise was an integral component of Alba’s efforts to broaden and enrich its customer service efforts and empower its customers with information they can use in developing high-quality products.

Alba said in a statement that feedback from customers participating in the workshop was positive. “They expressed their thanks for the information that Alba shared during the workshop sessions and agreed that it will enhance their own extrusion operations. They also added that this type of service from one of the world’s foremost billet suppliers is one that they truly value and appreciate.”

In other Alba-related news, the company discussed expanding its Japan business during talks its senior officials held with the Japanese ambassador to Bahrain, Hideo Sato. The envoy was taken on a tour of the plant.

New managers

The company recently appointed two new managers. Esam Hadi will manage the information technology department and Hussain Ali Al-Qassab the safety, environment and security department.