DUBAL to Keep Full Capacity Operation in 2010

United Arab Emirates’ major aluminium smelter, Dubai Aluminium (DUBAL) recorded 1 million tonnes of annual sales in 2009 for the first time in the history. The firm plans to keep full capacity operation in 2010 with same level of sales volume as 2009. The firm and the group try to develop growing Asian market with the advantage of cost competitiveness and the quality.

The output increased by 5.3% to 1 million tonnes in 2009 from 2008, said an official of DUBAL to a reporter of Japan Metal Bulletin on Monday. DUBAL shipped 560,000 tonnes of billet for extrusion of construction materials and transport applications, 320,000 tonnes of alloy for castings of automobile industry and 70,000 tonnes of high purity ingot for airplane and capacitor. The firm expects the high purity ingot sales increase to 80,000 tonnes and the total sales increase by 10,000-20,000 tonnes in 2010.

The sales to Asia represented around 38% of the total sales in 2009. The sales to Asia increase mainly to Southeast Asia. The firm plans to increase the sales to Japan from 100,000 tonnes in 2009 to 130,000-160,000 tonnes in 2010.

Emirates Aluminium (EMAL), which is joint venture of DUBAL and Abu Dhabi investment company, MUBADALA, started commercial production in the beginning of the year shipping the first products to South Korea. EMAL plans to produce 280,000 tonnes of ingot in 2010 and full capacity of 750,000 tonnes in 2011.

EMAL is under feasibility study for the second phase eyeing start of construction as early as mid-2011. DUBAL plans to expand the group’s output capacity to 2.5 million tonnes including EMAL by 2015.