Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) has for the fourth consecutive year signed up as major sponsor for Gulf Industry Fair (GIF) 2013, the premier business-to-business industrial show in the Northern Gulf, which runs from January 15 to 17.

Alba and the show organisers Al Hilal Group subsidiary Hilal Conferences and Exhibitions (HCE) signed the key sponsorship agreement at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Alba's outstanding support for the Aluminium Village at the exhibition comes at a time of exciting new developments at the company and its world-class aluminium smelter, which contributes some 65 per cent of Bahrain's non-oil exports and employs around 10,000 people.

The company is looking to launch the Bankable Feasibility Study by year-end 2012 in regard to the Line 6 Expansion Project which is expected to add an additional capacity of 400,000 tonnes, bringing Alba's total capacity to almost 1.3 million tonnes per annum.

"The strategic support for Gulf Industry Fair of a global industrial heavyweight like Alba is integral to the promotion of our Aluminium Village concept, since it is encouraging other related local and GCC downstream companies to benefit from participation, which in turn underlines the importance of the sector to the national economy," said Al Hilal Group managing director Ronnie Middleton.

"Gulf Industry Fair serves two key purposes for our company," remarked Alba chairman Mahmood Al Kooheji.

"First, it provides an excellent platform to promote the diversity not only of the kingdom's indigenous aluminium industry and its significant national economic contribution but also the growing diversity of the industrial sector, in line with Economic Vision 2030.

"Second, the show is a vehicle to market Alba's expanding footprint in the region and internationally at what is a very exciting time in the company's history," he added.-TradeArabia News Service