Bahrain Aluminium Extrusion Company (Balexco) and its French partner Technal International are setting up a joint venture to market aluminium products throughout the Middle East.

Technal designs and markets aluminium products for the building and construction industry.

The new firm, Technal Middle East, will come into operation during the third quarter of this year, said Balexco general manager Mahmood Al Soufi.

Balexco is also aggressively seeking new markets in Europe and is targeting a production increase of over 10 per cent this year compared to 1999.

The company is also actively exploring the possibility of a merger with a GCC firm and negotiations are currently under way with a company in Saudi Arabia, Al Soufi said.