Gulf News reported that with global aluminium prices expected to hold at the USD 2,000 per tonne plus level through the year, Qatar's newly commissioned giant smelter is aiming to make a perfect pitch.
It was last month that the USD 5.7 billion Qatalum plant was formally commissioned with an annual installed capacity of 585,000 tonnes of premium quality aluminium ingots. Since then, shipments have already been made to clients in Europe, Southern Asia and the Far East as well as to Saudi Arabia.
In fact, Qatalum which expects to touch peak production before the year is out sees a significant buildup in its prospects among a regional clientele over the medium term.
Mr Jan Arve Haughan CEO of Qatalum said that "Certainly, the growth of regional markets especially in the construction industry is fuelling and increasing the appetite for aluminium. If the demand exists in Qatar, Qatalum with the strategic help of our partners Qatar Petroleum and Hydro could meet that demand as we are ideally located to do so."
Mr Haughan said that if all goes according to the script, it will not be long before Qatalum takes its place alongside regional entities Dubal and Bahrain's Alba as a global player in value added aluminium products.
Given the capacity of 585,000 tonnes a year, the plant already has the scale to make it happen. To get its output to a widest possible audience, Qatalum can call on help from Norsk Hydro, the Norwegian supplier of aluminium and aluminium products and a shareholder in the Qatari smelter. It was in 2006 that Qatalum was established as a JV between Qatar Petroleum and Hydro.
Mr Haughan said that while Asia and the greater Middle East, together with Europe and North America form our main target markets for the near future, Hydro is in the process of setting up a regional sales office in Doha to cover the Middle East, Gulf states and southern Africa. This could serve as an indication of the future reach of our metal though unwilling to be drawn into any calculations on potential future percentages coming from each export territory.
He said that the long term forecast for the industry is positive. Qatalum's products will be used by the manufacturing and construction industries and historically we have seen aluminium consumption has developed somewhat better than the GDP and more precisely, better than the average industrial production.
Mr Haughan said that this is probably the best indicator for understanding and predicting the market. Most of the output will take the form of value added products, extrusion ingots and foundry alloys. The manufacturer has a long term marketing and sales agreement with Hydro, which allows it to go straight into the products market.
He said that the primary aluminium from Qatalum will be taken to market by an experienced sales force; ensuring high quality aluminium will end up in lightweight transportation, consumer goods and construction and consumer industries among others. And at the end of a product's lifecycle, it can be recycled indefinitely.
Mr Haughan said that the potential is always there, and we have noticed interest from many parties to set up downstream plants here in Qatar. However, as CEO, my mandate is to attain full operation of the smelter, its organization and its efficiency. Nevertheless, Qatalum remains a good motivator for others to establish industries in the area.
(Sourced from Gulf News)
