When the late Amir, His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, poured the first ingot of aluminium to emerge from Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) in May 1971, it marked the start of a new era for non-oil industries on the island. Several expansions later and with the smelter's production exceeding the magic figure of half a million tonnes of primary aluminium per year, Alba is about to add another feather to its cap, the commissioning of the $400 million coke calcining plant which will make the giant smelter self-sufficient in its coke requirements. The new plant, also the first of its kind in the Middle East, bids fair to raise Alba's and Bahrain's revenues and make the smelter a symbol of industrial sophistication in the region.

Another project underway is the conversion of kiln 2 in the carbon department for improved environmental performance. The conversion will also bring about substantial savings through lower energy, carbon and packing coke consumption. Kiln 1 was converted from the old closed-type system in 1997.

Alba's current production, which amounts to some 2.5 per cent of the world's total output, is set to climb substantially, approval having been granted to increase capacity to 750,000 tonnes. The expansion will entail the building of a new reduction line at the plant's west end as well as a new carbon department, cast house and power station.

The company now comprises the smelter, a 1,504MW power complex, two casthouses, a carbon department for meeting its own anode requirements and a marine terminal with a jetty. Its shareholders are the Government of Bahrain (77 per cent), the Saudi Public Investment Fund (20 per cent) and Breton Investments (3 per cent).

The coke calcining plant comes along with a seawater desalination unit and a jetty facility upgrade at Alba's marine terminal. The plant will not only meet Alba's requirements for calcined petroleum coke of around 250,000 tonnes it will also enable a further 200,000 tonnes to be exported around the world.

Alba general manager for carbon and metal services Jaffar Ameeri said the desalination plant would augment the country's potable water network by 41,000 cu m per day. And thanks to the jetty upgrade and raw materials handling facilities, vessels laden with 60,000 tonnes of alumina would now be able to unload their cargo against a maximum of 40,000 tonnes in the past. The upgrade includes the construction of alumina silos, an alumina ship unloader and transport system, a calcined coke ship loader, an additional jetty and utility supplies.

According to Ameeri, the coke-calcining project will, in addition to contributing more than $50 million annually to the economy, create 80 extra jobs and enable Alba to better control the quality of its coke.

The coke-calcining project involved the reclamation of 141,000 sq m of land, increasing five times the size of the existing marine terminal. Some 1,800 piles and 3,700 stone columns were installed to provide a strong foundation. By November 1999, pile capping work for the calcined coke silos, rotary kilns, incinerators and blending silos had been completed. By February 2000, work on the new jetty, including installing 180 offshore steel pipes, was completed. During 2000, foundations were completed for the calcined coke silos, waste heat boilers dust filtration units, the coke cooler area, main stacks and the retaining walls for the green coke storage area. The welding together of some of the important installations was also done. Earlier this year, refractory work on both kilns and incinerators was completed.

The plant's two 50,000-tonne alumina silos were ready in May 2000. The alumina transport system was also made operational and by May 2001, three 60,000 tonne alumina ships had been unloaded effortlessly. Also commissioned were the 66kV substations and cabling while the 11.5KV substation was energised. A 20,000 cu m water storage tank has been completed and the desalination modules have been connected to the seawater intake manifold. Waste-heat boilers have been erected and in early May the insulation process was going on. The calcined coke silos and the blending silos were in place along with the mechanical loading and reclaiming equipment. Also in May, the project was awaiting the commissioning of the seawater intake pumps for the desalination plant.

Back at the smelter, Alba reported a record level of 509,038 tonnes of hot metal reached in 2000, exceeding the target by 10,020 tonnes and improving by 6,375 tonnes the 1999 level. The reduction lines also recorded an excellent metal purity of 99.9 per cent.

"This performance is attributed not only to the stability of operations - with an improved average pot life - but also to the increased involvement and participation of non-supervisory employees in target setting and decision making," the company said. Net finished product from the casthouse at the end of 2000 stood at 509,690 tonnes, exceeding the planned level by 14,708 tonnes and registering an increase of 8,769 tonnes over 1999.

Billet production was a record 197,019 tonnes higher than in 1999. The company said it was a result of maximising use of the new continuous homogenising unit and sawing complex. The rolling slab stood at 103,765 tonnes, higher by 6,265 tonnes than planned, matching increased orders from Gulf Aluminium Rolling Mill Company (Garmco).

Alba has spawned an important downstream aluminium industry in Bahrain. The first company to emerge as a consequence of Alba's presence was Bahrain Atomisers, formed in 1972. It was followed by Balexco (Bahrain Aluminium Extrusion Company) and Midal Cables.

The following decade saw the establishment of Garmco, and in the 1990s Aluwheel and Bamco (Bahrain Alloys Manufacturing Company) were launched.

"Today, these downstream industries are consuming around 46 per cent of Alba's aluminium, a figure which has been growing constantly in line with Alba's expansion and the addition of further downstream operations. These diverse industries demonstrate not only the thriving nature of the downstream industry in Bahrain but also the almost limitless uses for aluminium," says Alba chief executive A. Karim Salimi.

Alba, which produces four primary products, namely ingots and T-ingots for remelting, rolling slab for Garmco and billets for extrusion companies, has operated to the international Quality Management System standard ISO 9002 since 1994.

"Alba's impact in the world of aluminium goes beyond meeting Bahrain's needs. A further 14 per cent of its metal is sold to the GCC countries, 21 per cent is exported to the Far East, eight per cent goes to South East Asia and the remainder is exported to countries as far afield as America," reveals Salimi. More than 25 countries are said to be purchasing Alba's metal.

Salimi stresses that Alba's investment has not been restricted to metal but covers the people of Bahrain through human resources development.

"Training and development was very much a deliberate strategy from the outset," he says. "Pioneering training in the Gulf, together with setting up a purpose-built Training Centre equipped with extensive technical and craft workshops, enabled Alba to establish a highly-developed career plan for its workforce. As part of this, Alba has implemented a fully fledged competency-based training and assessment programme - a first for Bahrain."

Adds the official: "As a result of this long-standing HR strategy, Alba has achieved a Bahrainisation level of close to 90 per cent for its 2,500-strong workforce. This commitment to human resources development has also enabled Alba to consistently meet the challenges of introducing new technologies and high-tech equipment throughout its diverse plant." One of the highlights of 2000 was the official opening of the Technical Services Centre, a purpose-built facility that houses the environment, metallurgy and laboratory departments as well as research & development.

"This is in line with Alba's plans to increase its scope of research and development on the plant to further increase the quality and quantity of its product through the optimum use and application of scientific and technical methods," said the company.

Equipment and facilities designed for the centre include the first scanning electron microscope in Bahrain for examining failures and fractures in metals and refractories, the ICP (inductively coupled plasma) testing of solutions to provide accuracy to parts per billion of impurities and trace elements in raw materials, wastes and effluents, and refractory equipment to test the physical properties and performance of kilns, pots, furnaces and launder linings.

The maintenance of all ISO9002 and ISO 14001 activities is also carried out from this centre.

Salimi recalls that the implementation of a plantwide solutions software system, which integrated all aspects of the company's operations, was also a first for any major company in Bahrain.

Alba's efforts in human resources have brought it local awards and a Gulf-wide award in 2000, conferred by GCC Ministers of Labour for being a top performer in HRD and nationalisation.

"Part of caring for its employees is a commitment to ensure a safe working environment," observes Karimi.

Alba has achieved a record 3.7 million hours worked without a Lost Time Accident and continues to promote safety as a top priority at all levels on the plant.

Alba has also earned a reputation of being one of the world's most environmentally friendly smelters.

By 1997, it had invested more than $300 million on green projects including upgrading its older Reduction Lines with clean technology and commissioning seven high-performance fume-treatment plants. Alba has been recognised for its endeavours with the presentation this year of an award by the United Nations Environment Programme in conjunction with the Bahrain Ministry of Municipalities, Housing & Environment.

Last year, the company achieved plantwide accreditation to the Environmental Management System standard ISO 14001 and was one of only 12 companies in the world to win the Millennium Business Award for Environmental Achievement.

Also in 2001, it won a Gulf-wide award for the best environmental activities by an industrial establishment, awarded by the GCC Environment Ministers.

"The future looks good with the ever-increasing worldwide demand for aluminium from such key industries as transportation, construction, packaging and machinery," says Karimi.

"It is clear that with such a history of growth and a commitment to excel, Alba will remain the backbone of the country's non-oil industry and continue to make a substantial contribution to the national economy.

To this day, it holds a special place in the history of Bahrain and with its people whilst also continuing to be a major global supplier of aluminium.