Dubai Aluminium Company Limited (Dubal) – the world's seventh largest producer of premium quality aluminum, and Emirates Aluminium – the green-field aluminium smelter currently under construction in Abu Dhabi, will present a united front to the global aluminum industry at the 7th World Trade Fair and Conference (Aluminum 2008), which takes place in Messe Essen, Germany, on Sept. 23-25. The combined exhibit will showcase the world-class stature and standards upheld by the two operations in the United Arab Emirates, while providing the opportunity to demonstrate the capacity of the companies' total production volumes to meet the growing demand for the metal in Europe. Dubal's Sultan Al Sabri, senior marketing manager for Europe and US, said the demand for aluminum in Europe, estimated at about 6 million mtpa, far exceeds the region's own production capacity of 3 million mtpa, resulting in a net shortage of metal units that is currently satisfied through metal imports. He added that the import volumes are likely to grow in the foreseeable future, reflecting a combination of ever-increasing consumption levels and the probable shut-down of smelters in Europe due to higher energy prices and environmental concerns. He added that in terms of geographic and economic perspectives, Dubal is ideally located to serve Europe. “We have been active there since 1996 and have enjoyed excellent growth ever since, despite the 6 percent duty payable,” he said. “The signature of the EU-GCC Free Trade Agreement will no doubt pave the way to even greater growth in the future.” Already, Dubal has an established infrastructure of port facilities and warehouses that enables just-in-time deliveries direct to end-users across Europe. It sold 916,000 metric tons of high quality finished aluminum products worldwide in 2007, of which some 214,000 metric tons (about 23 percent) was shipped to Europe. Extrusion billets, used primarily in the construction, automotive and industrial sectors, accounted for 50 percent of the tonge bought by customers in Europe.
