Emirates:
Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the United Arab
Emirates outside oil and gas, and ITOCHU Corporation of Japan, on Friday signed
an agreement to explore joint projects in the UAE which would advance the goals
of the nation’s Operation 300bn industrial growth strategy.
EGA’s relationship with ITOCHU stretches back to the 1980s, with the Japanese
company marketing EGA’s metal to customers in Japan and Japanese companies’
operations abroad.
The two companies have now agreed to explore expanding this cooperation to
leverage both companies’ industrial capabilities in opportunities that
complement EGA’s existing operations in the UAE.
Potential projects include some that would be new industrial activities in the
UAE, such as the further processing of EGA’s metal to produce super-high purity
aluminium for specialised applications, and the recycling of copper that is used
in EGA’s production process. The two companies will also explore cooperation in
Industry 4.0 projects, and the development of new aluminium alloys with third
parties for niche applications.
EGA and ITOCHU will also consider working together on EGA’s already-announced
projects to develop the UAE’s largest aluminium recycling facility and a plant
to produce silicon metal, which is a raw material for ‘premium aluminium’.
Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium,
said: “EGA and ITOCHU have worked together for decades, and we are pleased to
now explore how we can expand this relationship to new industrial activities and
opportunities here in the UAE that would add value to our businesses. To more
than double the size of the UAE’s industrial sector by 2031, our nation needs to
develop new industrial capabilities. Working in partnership with other global
companies like ITOCHU will help EGA accelerate our contribution to Operation
300bn.”
Kenji Seto, Executive Officer and President, Metals & Minerals of ITOCHU, said:
“ITOCHU and EGA have a strong partnership and we are pleased to now be exploring
joint projects in the UAE with the largest ‘premium aluminium’ producer in the
world. Our aim is to leverage the strengths of each company to progress these
projects and create value for us both as well as for the UAE as a nation.”
Since 1975, when it was founded as Dubai Aluminium by Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al
Maktoum, Emirates Global Aluminium has been innovating aluminium to make modern
life possible.
Today EGA is the world’s biggest ‘premium aluminium’ producer and the largest
industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside the oil and gas industry.
EGA is equally-owned by Mubadala Investment Company of Abu Dhabi and the
Investment Corporation of Dubai. It is the largest company jointly owned by the
two Emirates.
EGA is an integrated aluminium producer, with operations from bauxite mining to
the production of cast primary aluminium. EGA operates aluminium smelters in
Jebel Ali and Al Taweelah, an alumina refinery in Al Taweelah and a bauxite mine
and associated export facilities in the Republic of Guinea.
EGA’s aluminium is the second largest made-in-the UAE export after oil and gas.
In 2021, EGA sold 2.54 million tonnes of cast metal. EGA is the only UAE
producer and makes the UAE the fifth largest aluminium producing nation in the
world.
EGA has more than 400 customers in over 50 countries. In 2021, value-added
products accounted for 84 per cent of EGA’s cast metal sales.
EGA’s aluminium is primarily used in the construction, automotive, packaging,
aerospace and electronics industries.
Around 10 per cent of EGA’s aluminium production is sold in the UAE to around 26
downstream aluminium companies that make products with EGA’s aluminium. The
growing broader aluminium sector in the UAE supports 60,950 jobs. EGA itself
employs over 7,000 of these people including almost 1,200 UAE Nationals.
EGA has focused on technology development for over 25 years. EGA has used its
own technology for every smelter expansion since the 1990s and has retrofitted
all its older production lines. In 2016 EGA became the first UAE industrial
company to licence its core industrial process technology internationally.
As a corporate citizen of the UAE, EGA aspires in all its operations to be
measured amongst the world’s leading metals and mining companies in meeting its
environmental and social responsibilities. In 2017, EGA became the first Middle
East headquartered company to join the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, a
global programme to foster greater sustainability and transparency in the
aluminium industry. In 2019, EGA’s Al Taweelah site became the first in the
Middle East to receive certification from ASI for its sustainability practices
and performance.