Senior representatives from Emirates Global Aluminium ("EGA") were among the international speakers at the annual Arab International Aluminium Conference ("ARABAL"), which took location from 15 to 17 November in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The ARABAL 2015 event, comprising a strategic conference and industry exhibition, concentrated on the combination of the aluminium upstream and downstream sectors in the GCC.
On the very first day of the conference Abdulla Jassem bin Kalban (MD & CEO at EGA) got involved in a keynote panel discussion on 'The potential customers for the GCC aluminium sector'. In his presentation he concentrated on the downstream industry in particular, highlighting the development of downstream storage capacity in the UAE in parallel with the midstream smelting industry.

Today, the UAE's downstream sector has a production capacity of around 380,000 tonnes per year, which more than 63.5 % of annual production is exported globally. The predominant aluminium product type consumed by the downstream sector in the UAE is billets, which are utilized to make building, kitchen area, industrial and vehicle profiles along with scaffolding tubing, HVAC and car applications; and heat exchangers. Enhanced need is gotten out of the regional end-user market, driven by new regional infrastructure development tasks; in addition to in international markets.

"As one of the biggest industrial developments in the UAE outside the oil and gas sector, EGA supplies a substantial chance for downstream aluminium markets in the region, with the development of these industries having favorable implications for the aluminium sector as a whole, as well as the economy-- such as through task development," said Kalban. "EGA does not have possessions in the downstream industry, so as not to take on its local consumers. Instead we support the sector by supplying practically all the primary aluminium required by the UAE's downstream aluminium businesses and nurturing mutually useful, effective collaborations.".

At the end of his presentation, Kalban announced that EGA will host ARABAL 2016 in Dubai. Next year's occasion will be the 20th edition and will mark the sixth time that EGA has hosted ARABAL. A crucial member of the ARABAL Forum since its inception, EGA is committed to making ARABAL 2016 one of the very best ever.

EGA's second speaker at ARABAL, Dr Ali Mohamed Al Zarouni (SVP Jebel Ali Operations, Technology Development and Transfer) spoke throughout a session committed to development and innovation in the aluminium industry - areas in which EGA has committed substantial resources and knowledge since its inception. Dr Al Zarouni presented a study on EGA's high amperage DX and DX+ Technologies throughout which he highlighted the benchmark performances attained by these developments to date - including enhanced productivity and ecological impact together with lower CAPEX. He likewise shared the performance results of EGA's DX+ Ultra Technology presentation cells, emphasising the tremendous pledge intrinsic in the technology's achievements to this day; and discussed EGA's new pot control innovation.

"The proprietary reduction innovations established internal by EGA throughout the years have made the business a reputable competitor in this sector of the global aluminium industry," said Dr Al Zarouni. "EGA will remain to develop energy-efficient, ecologically accountable, low CAPEX and high performance reduction cells for its own facilities and future licensing.".

The region's largest main aluminium manufacturer and amongst the top five in the world, EGA is renowned for setting industry standards through a commitment to quality and development-- the combination helping to form the future of the aluminium sector at both local and international level. "The aluminium industry in the Middle East is amongst the fastest-growing in the global sector, regularly drawing interest from businesses and analysts throughout the world," stated Kalban.