Aluminium Bahrain, Bahrain

It supports numerous community oriented programmes and social activities that have underlined its status as one of Bahrain’s leading industrial organisations that remains committed towards upholding its corporate social responsibilities.

Alba’s inception marks the beginning of Bahrain’s strategy to diversify its economic base and reduce its dependence on oil. The aim was to establish an industry that would provide valuable export earnings, develop the country’s resources and create training and employment opportunities for a large number of Bahrainis. Alba was therefore incorporated by Charter in 1968 and officially commenced operations in 1971 as a 120,000 tonnes per annum smelter.

Alba intends to grow regionally and globally to the benefit of its shareholders by exploiting the regional energy advantage, its operational excellence, the regional talent and the local customer base. The company will continue to expand its position as the leading smelter in the Gulf region as well as raising and strengthening its profile on a global platform.

In doing so, Alba out performs international environmental standards and always meets local, regional and global regulations. The company has been at the vanguard of ecological concerns and its investment in protecting and preserving environment exceeds $ 600 million in the past 17 years.

Alba’s material management, casthouse maintenance & instrumentation and marketing were recently certified to the ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System standard. It has also won the prestigious Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) and the British Safety Council Award for three consecutive years.

Customer focus is at the heart of Alba’s operations, and provides the key incentive for developing new and innovative products and services, expanding into new marketing territories, and making operational efficiency a key priority for everyone at the company.

Alba today produces more than 870,000 metric tonnes per annum of the highest grade aluminium, with products including standard and T-ingots, extrusion billets, rolling slab, propertzi ingots, and molten aluminium. Around 45 per cent of output is supplied to Bahrain’s downstream aluminium industry, with the rest exported to regional and international customers in the Middle East, Europe, Far East, South East Asia, Africa, and North America.

The Alba plant comprises five reduction lines, three cast houses, a dedicated carbon plant, a 600,000 mtpa coke calcining plant, a water desalination plant, 11 fume treatment plants, a marine terminal, and a 2,200 MW power plant, consisting of 4 power stations. The plant also features a 10 hectare ‘green’ oasis, with more than 4,000 trees and shrubs, a fruit and vegetable garden, and an artificial lake.

Alba’s early success established a blueprint for other non-oil industries to follow, including a thriving downstream aluminium industry. Today, Alba is a major contributor to the social, industrial and economic development of the Kingdom of Bahrain, employing over 3,000 people, of whom around 90 per cent are Bahrainis.

The shareholders of Alba are Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, SABIC Investment Company and Breton Investments.