Fábio Martins is the CEO of Billets at Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest aluminium producer and a key player in the global metals sector. With over 25 years of experience in operations, sales, and strategic management across the aluminium value chain, Fábio brings deep industry expertise and a proven track record of operational excellence, business turnaround, and stakeholder engagement.
Prior to joining Vedanta Aluminium, Fábio held several senior leadership roles at Alcoa, where he was most recently Operations Director for the Poços de Caldas site in Brazil. He was instrumental in leading transformative projects, including a $60 million transition to dry residue management and a $100 million impoundment de-characterisation initiative, both of which were delivered in close coordination with environmental regulators. He also played a key role in achieving a financial turnaround at the refinery through value-added product strategy and margin-focused production modelling.
At Vedanta Aluminium, Fábio leads the billets business with a sharp focus on performance, productivity, and sustainability. His mandate includes enhancing operational efficiency, scaling value-added aluminium production, and aligning with global benchmarks in ESG performance. His leadership style blends hands-on execution with long-term strategic thinking.
AL Circle: Vedanta Aluminium is India’s largest producer of aluminium billets. Could you provide specific data on your annual production capacity Vs yearly production (2024-25) and market share in India, and how this compares to global billet producers?
Fabio Martins: With a casting capacity of 580 kilotonnes per annum, Vedanta is the largest producer and exporter of high-quality aluminium billets in India. The billets product group is of strategic importance to the company. Our overall market share in India stands at 47%, while our share of the primary billets market stands at 40%. In FY25, Vedanta entered the list of the top 4 largest billet producers in the world (excluding China), advancing two positions in the rankings compared with the previous year. This comes as a reiteration of our focus on continued growth and strategic execution.
AL Circle: What is your billet offerings range? (from xxx-to-xxx series). What percentage of your production is dedicated to value-added alloys, and how has demand for specific alloys evolved across construction, automotive, and electrical industries?
Fabio Martins: At Vedanta Aluminium, we offer an extensive range of aluminium billets across the 1xxx, 3xxx, and 6xxx series, catering to industries such as construction, automotive, electrical, and renewable energy. Our High-speed Billets, engineered with cutting-edge technologies like the Wagstaff Hot-Top Air Slip Casting System and Hertwich Continuous and Batch Homogenising Furnace, enhance extrusion speeds by at least 25% without compromising either strength or quality. These billets are designed for precision and efficiency, ensuring superior metallurgical properties and improved process recovery for our customers. As part of our expansion efforts, we are adding Hycast casting technology to our portfolio along with short and long length billets.
A significant portion of our production focuses on value-added alloys to support high-growth sectors. In construction, lightweight, corrosion-resistant alloys drive sustainable infrastructure. Our High-Speed Billet offers higher extrusion speeds and superior properties, improving die life and recovery for high-efficiency applications. The High Strength 6063 billet, designed for architectural use, can withstand high wind loads and fatigue, with 5% better corrosion resistance and 7% more strength, while maintaining sleek aesthetics.
Meanwhile, our High Machinable Alloy provides 8% more strength and excellent machinability, while also being lead-free and environmentally friendly. Lastly, our Crash Resistant Alloy is designed for electric vehicle bumpers and crash boxes, ensuring durability and safety in high-impact situations. We are committed to co-creating innovative solutions with our customers to meet these dynamic market demands.
AL Circle: Vedanta Aluminium emphasises stringent degassing, filtration, and grain refinement processes to ensure high-quality billets. Compared to industry benchmarks, could you provide specific data on how these processes improve mechanical properties like tensile strength, elongation, and surface finish?
Fabio Martins: Our advanced degassing, filtration, and grain refinement processes elevate the mechanical properties of our products beyond industry benchmarks. Through dual-rod grain refinement and inline degassing systems, we maintain hydrogen content below 0.200 ml/100 gm, ensuring superior ductility with elongation improvements of 15–20% in extruded profiles.
All our billets undergo ultrasonic testing to ensure the absence of centerline cracks and porosity. Surfaces are free of dirt, grit, oil, grease, and corrosion. Mechanical and handling damages are limited to a depth of 2 mm, width of 5 mm, and length of 250 mm. Spacer marks are restricted to a depth of 2 mm, width of 60 mm, and length of 100 mm. Together, these attributes make our billets among the best in the industry.
AL Circle: Could you elaborate on Vedanta Aluminium’s global export strategy for billets and the key markets it serves worldwide? What are the key export markets in terms of volume and revenue? How do Indian billets compete globally against Chinese and Middle Eastern suppliers regarding cost efficiency and quality?
Fabio Martins: We are focused on leveraging our strong commitment to quality and diverse product offerings to serve key markets across 60 countries. We have established a robust presence in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America, with a particular emphasis on freight-friendly destinations. Aluminium billets, primarily used in construction and transportation, are highly sought-after value-added products. Available in over 20 variants that are known for their high quality, our billets have made a significant impact on the global extrusion industry.
While Indian billet suppliers face strong competition from China and the Middle East, they have a distinct advantage with significantly lower labor costs, focus on productivity and operational efficiency, diversified portfolio of products specifications and the support of government initiatives such as the 'Make in India' effort, which encourages wider investments in the manufacturing sector. However, to maintain a strong position in the global market, it is crucial that we continue to focus on enhancing product quality and improving supply chain efficiency, ensuring that we can meet international standards while keeping costs competitive.
AL Circle: Are there any upcoming capacity expansion plans for the billets division? Could you provide investment figures and expected production growth targets for the next five years?
Fabio Martins: We are in the process of increasing 670kt capacity, totalling 1.25Mt per annum, since we command a significant share of India’s aluminium market and want to further ramp up our production capabilities. As of now, we are focusing on increasing our portfolio of Value-Added Products from 60% to 90%, and billets will occupy a major share in that increase. We are now focused on concluding and stabilising the ongoing expansions of our casthouses.
AL Circle: As an integrated aluminium producer, Vedanta has a strategic advantage in raw material security. How does this integration translate into cost competitiveness for your billets compared to non-integrated global competitors? Additionally, what strategies are in place to optimise costs across the value chain, including energy efficiency and process automation?
Fabio Martins: At Vedanta Aluminium, we have increased our alumina refining capacity at the Lanjigarh facility to 3.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), with plans to further expand to 5 MTPA towards boosting our overall aluminium production to 3 MTPA. This expansion will further strengthen our raw material security and reduce costs for our Jharsuguda and BALCO smelters, driving us toward 100% vertical integration for long-term growth.
In addition, we have also implemented advanced energy efficiency and process automation strategies. Using IoT and Machine Learning, we optimise power consumption, asset management, and supply chain logistics, improving operations and reducing our carbon footprint. Such efforts help us remain one of the most cost-efficient aluminium producers globally while consistently producing high-quality billets.
AL Circle: Vedanta highlights its use of renewable energy, efficient casthouses, and low-carbon production methods. Could you share specific numbers on Vedanta’s current renewable energy share in billet production and how this contributes to reducing the carbon footprint (kg CO₂ per tonne of aluminium) compared to conventional billet manufacturing?
Fabio Martins: Currently, we are procuring a significant portion of our energy from renewable sources, with a goal to increase our share in our overall operations to 30% by 2030. Furthermore, initiatives like using biomass briquettes for power generation and transitioning to natural gas at our Jharsuguda smelter will further enhance our low-carbon profile.
Our continued emphasis on sustainable innovation is reflected in our Restora brand of low-carbon aluminium, which addresses growing customer demand for eco-friendly solutions. By leveraging advanced market intelligence, we adapt our offerings to align with emerging trends, ensuring we remain a trusted partner in the journey toward sustainable growth. Guided by the principles of ‘Zero Harm, Zero Waste & Zero Discharge,’ we focus on reducing our carbon footprint through operational efficiencies, renewable energy adoption, and offsetting initiatives like afforestation. These efforts not only enhance environmental stewardship but also strengthen trust with stakeholders while contributing to India’s self-reliance and societal prosperity.
AL Circle: How is global aluminium billet production and consumption expected to evolve in the coming years? Could you please provide us with the global aluminium billets production and consumption figures for 2023 and 2024, and a prediction for 2025? Also, how do primary aluminium billets compare with secondary (recycled) billets in terms of quality, cost, and market demand?
Fabio Martins: Global aluminium demand is projected to grow by nearly 40% by 2030, increasing from 86.2 MT in 2020 to 119.5 MT. This requires an additional 33.3 MT to meet demand across transportation, construction, packaging, and electrical sectors, which will account for 75% of total consumption.
China is expected to drive two-thirds of this growth in demand with 12.3 MT, followed by the rest of Asia (8.6 MT), North America (5.1 MT), and Europe (4.8 MT). Together, these regions will contribute over 90% of the global increase, highlighting their critical role in shaping aluminium market trends. The demand for billets is at about 16 MT globally (excluding China), and we expect a market growth above 3% yearly up to 2030.
Primary aluminium billets offer high purity, superior mechanical strength, and consistent surface finishes, making them ideal for high-precision applications. In contrast, secondary billets, derived from recycled aluminium scrap, often contain impurities like iron and magnesium, leading to reduced strength, efficiency, and anodising quality. Primary billets also ensure better structural integrity and longer equipment lifespan while enabling cost savings through thinner profiles with equivalent strength. For industries prioritising performance and durability, primary billets remain the preferred choice over secondary alternatives.
