UAE-developed world-leading aluminium technologies promoted at 18th World Aluminium Conference

Widely acknowledged as 'the world's authoritative aluminium events for senior executives', the annual series of CRU World Aluminium Conferences regularly attract senior executives from the aluminium industry across the world, ensuring a superb platform for Dubal and Emal to promote both their respective companies and Dubal's proprietary world-leading DX and DX+ Reduction Technologies implemented respectively on industrial scale at Emal Phase I and Emal Phase II (currently under construction).

Acknowledging the inherent industry value of the forum, Dubal and Emal are the joint Platinum Sponsors of CRU 2013; and are also sponsoring both the CRU 2013 Registration Desk, and the Auditorium. The two companies will have a combined stand in the exhibition component alongside the conference; Emal's Vice President Projects, Yousuf Bastaki, will deliver a presentation on "Aluminium Growth in the GCC Region" in the keynote session on Wednesday 15 May 2013; and Dubal's Senior Manager: Billet Operations, Fadi Al Awadhalla, will deliver a presentation entitled "Aluminium: The transportation material of the future" on Thursday 16 May 2013, during a session dedicated to trends in aluminium demand.

An entirely state-owned enterprise, Dubal owns and operates a one million metric tonne per annum primary aluminium smelter at Jebel Ali, Dubai — making it the largest single-site smelter using pre-bake anode technology in the world — and in 2012 produced 1,025,266 tonnes of hot metal. Dubal is renowned internationally for its premium purity, high quality products and services; as well as its commitment to sustainable development through conscious efforts to maximise the health and safety people, reduce the impact of its operations on the environment, and invest in the social and economic development of the community. Dedicated programmes support the Emiratization goals of the UAE, including targeted recruitment, skills development, management training and strategic career planning. Approximately 88% of Dubal's annual production is exported globally, the company's key markets being Asia, Europe, the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region and the Americas.

Owned jointly by Dubal and Mubadala Development Company (in equal shareholding), Emal is a relatively new smelter development that is being built in two phases at Al Taweelah, Abu Dhabi. Emal Phase I (756 cells in two potlines) was fully commissioned by the end of 2010, and the smelter currently has a capacity of 800,000 tonnes per annum. The company already enjoys a strong reputation for sound safety management, wellbeing programmes for its employees and adopting global best practices to minimize its environmental footprint — the latter entrenched through the implementation of Dubal's in-house developed DX Reduction Technology, which offers enhanced energy efficiency and productivity levels yet lower environmental emissions than comparative technologies. These attributes are complemented by initiatives to harness Emirati talent through job-creation, engaging the community in corporate activities and celebrating the national and cultural heritage of the UAE. Emal Phase II was announced in July 2011. A new 444-cell potline is being built which, together with a technology upgrade of the existing cells (completed in 2012), will increase Emal's annual production capacity to around 1.3 million tonnes by the end of 2014. The new generation, enhanced Dubal DX+ Technology has been licensed for and will be installed in Emal Phase II.

With regard to the European market, Dubal made its first forays into the region in 1996. Since then, long-term partnership relationships with customers have driven consistent growth in the company's sales volumes into Europe, despite the 6% duty payable on alloyed aluminium, reaching approximately 30% of total production in 2007 (equating to more than 273,000 tonnes of aluminium products). Having experienced a reduction in the volumes shipped to Europe in 2009 (approximately 160,000 tonnes) as a result of the global economic recession, the level of metal Dubal has historically sold into the region has since being restored. In 2012, almost 212,000 tonnes of Dubal metal reached Europe's shores. A further 224,000 tonnes of metal produced by Emal was also sold in Europe during 2012 (i.e. 436,000 tonnes in total from Dubal and Emal).

Going forward, the Dubal-Emal Marketing and Sales team anticipates selling about 490,000 tonnes of primary aluminium into Europe during 2013. Reflecting the flexibility of both companies' casting operations to produce a variety of value-adding world-class products, the Emal product mix — comprising remelt aluminium and standard commodity ingot and sow, as well as sheet ingot and billets — complements Dubal's product portfolio of high purity sow and ingot, extrusion billet, foundry alloy, busbars and anode bars.

Confirming the strategic importance of the European market for both Dubal and Emal, Walid Al Attar (Executive Vice President Marketing & Sales: Dubal and Emal), says, "In terms of geographic, economic and freight perspectives, the Middle East is ideally located to serve Europe. We have already demonstrated Dubal's commitment to the region by building and maintaining a comprehensive infrastructure of discharge port facilities and warehouses that, together, enable timely deliveries to aluminium end-users across Europe. Also, Dubal has opened offices in Zurich, Switzerland, and Milan, Italy and this infrastructure now benefits both companies."

Citing widely published statistics, Al Attar states that the European Union as a whole needs to import approximately 70% of its primary aluminium requirements, and that this figure is increasing. "We foresee excellent opportunities to grow the individual and combined market share of Dubal and Emal in the region; and are confident that demand for our products will continue to increase. We also believe that our years of experience in the market, together with our well-established presence, will serve us well for many years to come," he says. "By promoting the two companies' facilities and our joint product portfolio to delegates, participants and other visitors to CRU 2013, we will effectively demonstrate the capacity of the combined production volumes of Dubal and Emal to meet demand for aluminium in Europe."