Qatalum continues to fulfil its commitments of sustainability, efficiency and safety

Target oriented

What started as a singular goal at inception, seeing the successful execution of this project and establishing Qatalum as an excellent operator and supplier of value-added Casthouse products, has now turned into reality. Qatalum is meeting overall expectations; that of its owners and other key stakeholders. All is on track for the project completion, still a number of internal milestones have to be met in order to reach full capacity later this year.

At the last Qatalum Board meeting the Chairman, Mr. Abdulla Al Salatt expressed his view by stating that “When operations are in full swing, Qatalum is expected to raise the national GDP by approximately $1.5 billion. That number will potentially double as the plant is set to stimulate the development of other related industries in Qatar, thus quickening the pace of the downstream diversification of the country’s economy.”

The Chairman’s statement followed on from Project Manager Erik Smith’s report summary that, “While building the plant, we have focused on operational excellence. We have already met many of our goals and targets and have every intention of delivering a complete smelter capable of full production later this year.” 

By capitalizing on the country’s natural gas reserves to create new industries within Qatar, Qatalum will have a significant impact on the country’s continued economic development.

Efficiency

As a testament to the company’s efficiency, Qatalum made its first shipment of aluminium foundry alloys on Qatar’s National Day, December 18th, 2009. The project’s first extrusion ingot line has been in operation since January this year, and the remaining production lines will be completed and ramped up in the coming months. As such, Qatalum is on course to deliver close to 600,000 tonnes of aluminium each year to its customers around the world.

The focus, since the launch has however shifted to developing production systems in order to fine-tune functional working processes. Emphasis is on business support functions in order to ensure that the ramp-up maintains the best possible pace and keep a close focus on operational cost as well as the project completion.

In addition, the ongoing training of staff is of vital importance, with employees being trained in their new roles and related practices according to the Qatalum Way.

Corporate citizenship

Qatalum has committed to meeting the highest standards of corporate citizenship by protecting the health and safety of its employees, delivering on its economic obligations, and contributing to the building of the nation via our compliant Qatarisation program.

Furthermore, at the 10th Anniversary Qatarisation review meeting, held in Doha last week, the Deputy CEO of Qatalum, Hassan Al Rashid commented, “We are a part of the community and are committed to social involvement through various initiatives, which is proudly supported in every aspect of Qatalum’s business.”

As the CEO of Qatalum, it makes me proud to lead such a highly capable operational team and have a professional project team deliver to us on its commitments. Although there have been several challenges, not unexpected in a US$ 5.7 billion project, and no doubt will be many challenges to come, it’s with a brave perspective that we at Qatalum will establish ourselves as the benchmark in sustainable aluminium smelters, globally.