Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) sad it will play a major role as a strategic partner representing the aluminium sector at the Gulf Industry Fair 2012, the region’s most high-profile industrial exhibition, being held in the Kingdom.

Organised under the patronage of His Royal Highness the Prime Minister of Bahrain, Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Gulf Industry Fair 2012 will run till February 9 at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre.

This underscores Alba's commitment to support initiatives that showcase Bahrain’s aluminium sector as well as highlight the country’s attractiveness as an investor-friendly destination, said a company statement.

The aluminium sector not only includes aluminium production as represented by Alba but also provides opportunities for the downstream companies to promote their products and services such as, accessories & fittings, bars, billets, cables, ceiling and wall panels, coated coils, automobile parts, etc.  extrusion profiles, foils, grills, pastes, posers, rods, slugs, tubes, wheels, windows, floors and kitchens).

Present at the opening was the chairman of Alba’s board of directors, Mahmood Hashim Al Kooheji, along with chief executive Laurent Schmitt, chief supply chain officer and acting chief operating officer, Isa Al Ansari, chief marketing officer, Jean Baptiste Lucas, manager for Mena region, Aziz Al Daylami, investor and public relations manager, Eline Hilal.

Commenting on Alba’s participation as a strategic partner of GIF 2012, Schmitt said: “Alba’s pioneering role as the first aluminium smelter in the Middle East and its status as one of the largest smelters in the world provided the right platform for the company to be the strategic partner representing the aluminium sector at the Gulf Industry Fair 2012."

"In the forty-years since the company commenced operations in 1971, Alba has been instrumental in transforming the local aluminium industry into a global powerhouse," he noted.

"We are proud to be associated with the Gulf Industry Fair 2012 and recognise its importance in showcasing Bahrain’s attractiveness to international investors. We look forward to meeting with peers in the industry, network with associates, pursue business leads and learn of new technologies and innovations,” he added.

GIF 2012, being hosted by Hilal Conferences and Exhibition, will cover the key industrial segments like aluminium, machine tools, industrial equipment, automation, steel, energy, logistics and manufacturing.

It will also provide a unique opportunity for the operators of industrial areas, ports and free zones to meet an interested market of decision makers in the manufacturing and distribution sectors.-TradeArabia News Service