Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), one of the largest aluminium smelters in the world, honoured the participants and delegates of an ongoing international aluminium conference in Oslo.

CRU’s 15th World Aluminium Conference, an authoritative event for senior level decision makers in the aluminium industry, opened yesterday (June 21) at the Radisson Blu Plaza.

At the welcome reception held for delegates, Alba’s chief financial officer Tim Murray expressed confidence in the strength and resilience of the aluminium industry in meeting the growing demand for the metal in a variety of industrial sectors.

“There remains a huge demand for aluminium all over the world, and though supply hasn’t necessarily matched demand,” Murray added.

“It only means there is room for growth. There is room for more players to satisfy a growing appetite for using aluminium as the preferred metal of choice in the automotive sector, construction, real estate, packaging, and others.”

“Experts estimate this demand to grow at a rate of nearly 4 to 5 per cent per year. It is said that the average growth in the global aluminium market in the next three years will probably be about 2.6 per cent  annually, resulting in a total demand of about 58 million tonnes,” he said.

“And with tighter environmental controls in much of the world and especially in the European Union, aluminium presents the ideal choice in meeting stricter carbon dioxide emission requirements for various industries in general and automotive industries in particular,” Murray continued.

“Aluminium is lighter than steel, so its wider use in the car industry will enhance the efficiency levels of cars, reduce gas consumption and increase fuel consumption efficiency.”

“Bahrain’s leadership recognised aluminium’s potential as an income generator, and for being the ‘metal of the future’.  It is this vision that has contributed to Alba’s success story as the producer of high-grade aluminium products that satisfy the most stringent requirements of quality conscious customers from all over the world, including Europe,” Murray explained.

CRU is an independent business analysis and consultancy group focused on the mining, metals, power, cables, fertiliser and chemical sectors. – TradeArabia News Service