ALBA ACHIEVES WORLD RECORD

Hi, well good news for ALBA and Bahrain, enjoy:



Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) today made history as it started up the final pot in its new Potline 5 just 77 days into the commissioning process, thus achieving a world record. With the start-up Alba is now the largest smelter in the world outside of Eastern Europe.

Alba's annual aluminium production will grow by over 310,000 tonnes per year (tpy) to a total output of 840,000 tpy.

Alba successfully ended its `100-Day Safe Startup' challenge much ahead of schedule and broke the world record by 57 per cent for the fastest startup of an aluminium reduction line.

Setting a new world record without lost time injuries (LTIs) is a huge international achievement, placing Alba and Bahrain in the global spotlight, and giving the company cause for both industrial and national pride, said chief executive Bruce Hall.

Speaking about Alba's success, a jubilant Hall said: 'It is without doubt and with great pride that I attribute this feat to the entire Alba workforce whose hard work and commitment have been the driving force in bringing the ambitious Line 5 Expansion Project to its grand finale by setting a new world start-up record of 77 days.

'Our people's diligent efforts have been instrumental in sustaining the highest quality work and safety standards throughout the start-up process and today, as all eyes are turned on Alba, our employees should be proud for having placed their company and their country at centrestage in the global industrial arena,' he said.

Alba embarked on the '100-Day Safe Startup' challenge 77 days earlier, in an attempt to achieve the safecommissioning of its new 1.2 km Reduction Line 5 - currently the longest AP 30 potline in the worldconsisting of 336 electrolytic pots - within the record-breaking time of 100 days, smashing the last record set by a smaller smelter, by 80 days.

With an initial plan to commission an average of four pots a day, the Reduction Operations Team supported by Alba's units, soon increased to six pots a day following the determination and efforts of its people. Today, having surpassed its own target by 23 days, a feat that will prove hard to beat, Alba has set a benchmark in global industrial excellence, positioning itself as a leader in the international aluminium field, he said.

Hall also said the shorter start-up also had tremendous implications in terms of cost-saving for the company. Every day that the start-up was brought forward translated to $1.4 million of additional revenue, bringing in more than $32.2 million for the 23 days early start-up. Combined with the $7.3 million saved by the five-day early start-up in February 2005, our start-up project has resulted in over $39 million savings for Alba,' stated Hall.

The Line 5 Expansion Project marks a historic milestone in Bahrain's aluminium industry, firmly establishing the company as a global leader in its field.

The production of 330,000 tpy is about 17 per cent higher than originally planned and this has been achieved within the total budget for the entire project. In fact, Hall said, the entire $1.6 billion project has achieved a saving of $50 million on budgeted cost.

He said he would strongly recommend to the board to go in for Potline 6 which would be one of the most cost-effective plant in the world, he said.

Hall did not see any threat to Alba from the upcoming smelter projects in the region. He said there was enough demand in the world market to absorb the increased capacity and the synergy that the new regional plants will create will only help the aluminium industry in the region.

About 50 per cent of Alba's additional output will be kept within Bahrain while the GCC and Far East will consume 15 per cent and 35 per cent respectively.

As one of the largest construction projects in the Gulf, Line 5 has brought major added benefits to the Kingdom and its economy with the creation of over 8,000 jobs during construction and over 500 permanent jobs during operation.

The project has also created many lucrative opportunities for Bahrain-based companies. In addition, local contractors have benefited from attractive budget allocations and exposure to the international work practices and standards implemented by Alba and Bechtel - Alba's Line 5 engineering, procurement, construction and management (EPCM) contractors. Alba's contribution to the national economy is also set to increase from 8 per cent to approximately 12 per cent as a result of the expansion project.