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Advertisers Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait B.S.C.
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ALBA - Bahrain's Aluminum Industry: Keeping Ahead of the Pack
Bahrain's two major industries, oil and aluminum, are situated in the same area on the main island of Manama. Driving up the Sitra causeway, one sees a curious blend of roadside oil pipelines and overhead aluminum cable cars.
These massive industrial projects, the oil refinery and the aluminum smelter, were each the first of the their kind to be established in the Gulf.
In the late 1960s, during a period of underemployment in Bahrain, an aluminum smelter, Aluminum Bahrain (Alba), was created to absorb some of the excess labor. The smelter made economic sense too, since it was between Australia, the source of bauxite from which aluminum is made, and the markets of the West and Asia. Furthermore, it could make use of Bahrain's gas supplies.
Alba began operating in 1971. Over the years the Bahrain Government increased its share in the smelter to a majority holding, now 77 percent, and the Saudi Government also took a share. The capacity of the smelter was expanded over four phases and is now one of the largest in the world.
Alba is also self-sufficient. As well as operating its own power statoins, Alba has its own shipping terminal to ensure an uninterrupted supply of raw material including aluminum, petroleum coke and liquid pitch.
"It is because of its purity and consistency of quality that Alba Aluminum carries a premium in certain parts of the world," said Karim Salimi, Alba's Chief Executive, who in 1997 became the first Bahraini to head Alba.
As might be expected of one of Bahrain's largest industries, Alba has quickly come to play a vital role in the economy of the country and in 1999 was awarded the inaugural Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa (Prime Minister) Award for Excellence in Industry.
Ninety seven percent of the smelter's production - or over 480,000 tons of metal is sold on the open market by Alba, mainly to the Middle East, Far East and South East Asia.
According to Salimi, production and environment go hand-in-hand. "It is important to produce good aluminum, but it is equally important that we do it in a clean environment. Salimi is optimistic about the future of his country and his company: "Bahrain offers a lot of incentives for people who wish to do business with us. Alba has been in business for 30 years, and proved our capabilities. We are one of the lowest-cost producers in the world and we produce top quality products. We can meet the needs of investors, the opportunities here are great. Please come and help us build Bahrain."
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Table of Contents The Al Khalifa Dynasty - Ruling Bahrain Since 1783 |
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The oil refinery was opened in 1936. Almost from its inception, the refinery served Saudi Arabia's eastern oilfields as well as those of Bahrain. The refinery was owned and operated by Bapco, a joint venture company between the Government of Bahrain and Caltex until 1997. The Government of Bahrain now owns all of it.
Quality, and not just quantity, is synonymous with Alba. One may remember the four sonar panels attached to the Sojourner buggy, which landed on Mars as part of the Pathfinder spacecraft's vital communications with scientists at California's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. These sonar panels were made from aluminum produced by Alba.