Qatalum is taking part in the 8th World Chambers Congress, held at the Qatar National Convention Centre from 22-25 April 2013. Under the theme “Opportunities for All”, the Congress is addressing topics at the heart of a chamber’s local and international agenda, as well as the central services of a chamber’s daily operations including leadership, marketing and communications, trade documentation and advocacy.
HH the Deputy Emir and Heir Apparent of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani visited the Qatalum booth on the first day of the event and received a tour from Qatalum management who briefed him on Qatalum’s latest news, products, achievements and long-term vision as a main player in the Aluminium Industry. Qatalum is a strong supporter of downstream industry in Qatar, and its reach as the largest Greenfield aluminium project ever executed, in a time when manufacturing is shifting from the Old World to emerging markets, and aluminium is more important than ever before.
For Qatalum, involvement brings several benefits, including the ability to target millions of businesses worldwide via the international chambers network – chambers being synonymous with the voice of SMEs across the globe; the opportunity to explore new partnerships and network opportunities with business and chamber leaders; to introduce through exhibits and networking the Qatalum brand to more than 1,500 chamber leaders from over 100 countries; and present Qatalum products, the company’s latest initiatives, extend the company’s international network, and promote opportunities for trade and investment for the country, region and the business community at large.
As Qatalum is keen to emphasise to attendees, the company is continuing to lead at the cutting edge of industry innovation. With a production capacity of over 600,000 tonnes per annum of primary aluminium, Qatalum is providing significant support for GCC aluminium production. At full operation, the facility enhances the national GDP by approximately US$1.5 billion a year and leads to significant downstream diversification for the country.
Qatalum is also an aluminium smelter with a low environmental impact. As a result, Qatalum is using the WCC to highlight its environmental soundness, and marketing and other informative material was available for visitors to the stand interested in learning more.
The WCC is organized by the International Chamber of Commerce; the ICC World Chambers Federation; and the Qatar Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Past speakers at the WCC include US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, 2006 Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus and South African President Thabo Mbeki, and participants and visitors are able to gain insight from internationally renowned speakers from companies through plenary, workshop and panel sessions, while having numerous sessions for business networking.
Qatalum CEO Tom Petter Johansen says the WCC is a unique opportunity. “Chambers of Commerce are special places for the alignment of interests in the business and political communities – and provide unique platforms for supporting the SME sector in particular. For a company like Qatalum, it is not only a chance to show people from round the world what we are doing and our plans, and leverage great networking opportunities, but it is a way to support the downstream industries here in Qatar. We are excited to be involved at the WCC, and look forward to a fruitful few more days”.
