Sharing the podium alongside Hydro (the Norwegian producer), Qatar University and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Qatalum participated in a full day seminar covering the advantages and modalities of the usage of aluminium as a structural and engineering material.
The seminar title was “Aluminium - The Sustainable Modern Metal for the Future of Qatar”, and the importance of the event and audience was clear in the presence of several in-house experts and senior management from the company, and from the other institutions taking part, to discuss the future of the industry and the challenge and opportunities that await.
Qatalum’s CEO Mr. Tom Petter Johansen took advantage of the senior audience to give a wide-ranging and provocative presentation, which outlined Qatalum's perspective on the trends in the global aluminium industry and forecasted usage growth in Qatar and the other GCC countries.
Mr. Johansen took the assembled experts through a tour of the history of growth in aluminium demand, the multitude of opportunities for aluminium brought about by global mega trends, primary production in the GCC (the fastest growth of primary aluminium production outside China), and the reasons underpinning growth in primary aluminium capacity in the Gulf region including the metal’s high versatility and the development of aluminium downstream industries.
He also outlined specifically Qatar’s great downstream aluminium opportunities, and presented an informative slideshow of images of aluminium in architecture, packaging and the automotive industry. “There has never been a more exciting time to be working in this industry, and there is nowhere more exciting to be than here in Qatar”, he said. “The opportunities for growth, diversification and innovation have barely scratched the surface, and Qatalum is proud to be at the forefront of the industry’s future – here and internationally”.
The Aluminium Symposium took place at the Qatar Science and Technology Park – the national agency charged with executing applied research and delivering commercialized technologies in four themed areas: Energy, Environment, Health Sciences, and ICT.
QSTP members include small companies, international corporations and research institutes that have together committed to fund ventures, create intellectual property, enhance technology management skills, and develop innovative products in line with the scientific and research components of Qatar National Vision 2030.
