Dubal : Dubai Aluminium

Entirely state-owned, Dubai Aluminium Company Limited (“DUBAL”) was established in 1979 to aid the diversification of the UAE economy by adding value to the country’s oil-rich mineral resources. The company, widely regarded as the industrial flagship of the UAE and one of the largest non-oil contributors to Dubai’s economy, proudly celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2009.

The company’s roots actually stem back to 22 May 1975, when the late H H Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum (then Ruler of Dubai) signed a decree establishing DUBAL as a joint-venture company. The smelter complex would be built on a 480-hectare site near Jebel Ali village, 35 kilometres south-west of Dubai alongside the then two-lane highway to Abu Dhabi.

Almost five months later, on 15 October 1975, H H Sheikh Rashid laid DUBAL’s foundation stone. Construction of the smelter complex began in May 1976. Working under very tough physical conditions in the desert and salt flats of Jebel Ali, it took four years to complete the arduous task. At the time, it was the biggest basic industry development project in the world. The emerging DUBAL development was one of three major industrial and construction projects taking place simultaneously in the Jebel Ali area, the other two being the Jebel Ali Port – then the largest man-made harbour in the world, where DUBAL would have its own dedicated port facilities; and the Dugas gas plant – which was constructed adjacent to DUBAL. Together, the three projects made the Jebel Ali area, as a whole, the world’s biggest building site.

The official ‘birth’ of DUBAL took place in the last quarter of 1979, and was marked by four key events:

Mid-October 1979, Queen Elizabeth II turned on the tap at the DUBAL desalination plant, in the company of H H Sheikh Rashid, thereby officially commissioning the facility.
On 31 October 1979, the first reduction cell (no. 2 in Line 1A) was powered up (the cell was nicknamed ‘Hazel’, after Production Manager Dick Black’s secretary Hazel Pinto).
On 12 November 1979, the first metal was tapped from ‘Hazel’ and poured into 20 kg moulds in the casthouse (the metal was used to make souvenir ingots).
On 31 December 1979, the first green (pre-baked) anode was produced by the greenmill.

Commercial production of aluminium at DUBAL began in January 1980, the entire planned production volume of 135,000 metric tonnes per annum having been pre-sold to two companies in North America. The plant comprised 360 reduction cells in three potlines.

Through a series of six successive expansion projects in the intervening years, DUBAL has evolved into the world’s largest modern aluminium smelter with a captive power station. The company’s major facilities comprise an 981,000 metric tonne-per-annum primary aluminium smelter, a 2,350 megawatt power station (at 30°C), a large carbon plant, three casthouses, a 30-million-gallon-per-day water desalination plant, laboratories, port and storage facilities.

DUBAL currently has 1,565 fully operational cells in eight potlines. Exceptionally high purity of metal is maintained, with the standard purity cells delivering 99.913% and the high purity cells achieving up to 99.96% metal purity levels. The company has the capacity to produce more than one million metric tonnes of high quality finished aluminium products a year, in three main forms: foundry alloy for automotive applications; extrusion billet for construction, industrial and transportation purposes; and high purity aluminium for the electronics and aerospace industries.

DUBAL’s entire production is pre-sold to more than 300 customers in about 45 countries predominantly in the Far East, Europe, the ASEAN region, the Middle East and Mediterranean region, and North America. The company holds ISO 9001, ISO/TS 16949, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 20000, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certification; and has twice won the Dubai Quality Award in the Production and Manufacturing sector (1996 and 2000).

Ranked in 2008 as the largest single-site smelter in the western world (third overall) and seventh-largest producer of primary aluminium in the world as a whole, DUBAL has set its sites on becoming the world’s fifth-largest producer of primary aluminium by 2015. With this in mind, DUBAL entered into a joint protocol in February 2006 with Mubadala Development Company, a wholly-owned investment vehicle of the government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The resulting joint venture aims to become one of the largest primary producers of aluminium in the world by leveraging the synergy of DUBAL’s aluminium expertise and Abu Dhabi’s energy and financial resources. Good progress has been made towards this ambition:

The first 700,000 mtpa phase in the two-phase green-field smelter development at Al Taweelah in Abu Dhabi, which will be the largest single site smelter in the world on completion, is on track for commissioning in April 2010. The EMAL smelter’s capacity will be expanded to 1.5 million mtpa by 2013.
A partnership has been entered into with Algerian state-owned oil and gas company Sonatrach for the proposed 700,000 mtpa Beni-Saf Aluminium smelter in the new industrial zone of Beni-Saf. The feasibility and environmental impact assessment studies are in progress.
A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority and Emaar, The Economic City regarding the green-field development of a 700,000 mtpa aluminium smelter complex, in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia. Numerous studies have been concluded on the project, such as pre-feasibility, environmental assessments, power studies, financial analysis and downstream promotion. The project will soon commence the next phase of initiating a Bankable Feasibility Study and concluding all the necessary agreements for ensuring a swift and smooth project development.

Active investments are also being made to secure DUBAL’s requirements of alumina and other critical raw materials. With regards to alumina feedstock in particular, the company has to date engaged in four strategic upstream bauxite/alumina projects in Brazil, Cameroon, Republic of Guinea and India.

Throughout the three decades, DUBAL has been committed to safeguarding the safety and health of all its employees, protecting the environment, and maintaining the highest quality standards. Substantial, ongoing investments have also been made in recruiting the best talent, then retaining people through a combination of skills training and career development opportunities and competitive remuneration packages. In consequence, more than 40 employees also celebrate their 30 years’ service anniversary at DUBAL in 2009.

By diligently partnering with the Dubai government, DUBAL has played a key role in the socio-economic development of the local community. Over and above the company’s substantial direct and indirect contributions to the economy, DUBAL actively supports community-based initiatives that fulfil the nation’s broader development goals. Preference is given to corporate sponsorship of world-class sporting and industry events that showcase Dubai’s superb tourism and business infrastructure to international audiences while demonstrating the city’s innovative and cosmopolitan flair; as well as to projects that enhance education so as to enable effective nationalization of business.

In the summer of 1980 there were very few UAE nationals among DUBAL’s workforce of 1,386 employees. Today, employment is provided to more than 4,100 people, of whom approximately 24 per cent are UAE Nationals. At senior management level, 70 per cent of positions are held by UA Nationals. While the resulting multi-cultural workforce comprises a wide diversity of language and culture, DUBAL’s employees are united by a common goal of corporate good.