Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) has expanded its AA6060 alloy family by adding a new alloy '6060.HE', aiming to extend product offerings to extruder customers. Produced in a billet form, Alba's new alloy has a faster extrusion rate that improves process efficiency and productivity for its users.
The alloy, with a wide application in the construction sector, has been developed in collaboration with the University of Bahrain. The university as well as Bahrain Aluminium Extrusion Company (BALEXCO), Alba's longstanding customer and one of the leading aluminium extrusion producers in the region, have supported extensively in the development of new alloy by way of field trials, visits, and technical feedback.
They started developing 6060.HE in January 2022 and began commercial production in October 2022, following laboratory-scale, field-scale tests and evaluations. Alba has already bagged ten local and a few global customers for the new product.
Commenting on the new alloy, Alba's Chief Executive Officer Ali Al Baqali stated: "We are pleased to be adding a new alloy to our range of products, a quality product that will enhance the performance and productivity of our customers as well as their competitiveness. Proudly produced in Bahrain by lead national capabilities, we aim to advance with this new developed product our presence in new markets and boost it in the existing ones. It has taken lots of efforts and hard work to get to where we are -- the 6060.HE alloy is the successful outcome of the collaboration between three leading Bahraini entities -- Alba, the University of Bahrain and BALEXCO -- which underlines the fifth priority of Alba's ESG Roadmap' Collaboration and Partnerships."
Dr Fouad Mohammed Al Ansari, the President of the University of Bahrain, stated: "This collaboration resulted in the successful study that focussed on improving aluminium extrusion processes and identifying new alloys that contribute to enhancing the quality and performance of manufactured extruded products. The study relied on statistical experimental design methods to develop a model capable of predicting the ratios of additives to aluminium and provide optimal heat treatment. He also emphasised that the results of this study will serve as a strong catalyst to enhance future scientific research in the aluminium industry."
BALEXCO's Chairman Jassim Seyadi said: "Alba has been our sole supplier of Aluminium Billets to be used for our extrusion presses and we are happy that we could partner with them and the University of Bahrain in the development and trials for the new 6060.HE alloy. The newly developed billets have been tested at BALEXCO and the usage of these billets helps in improving the extrusion speed and overall production efficiency without compromising on the product quality. Alba's team has been very supportive throughout the development and trials, and we look forward to further improve the billets, which would be useful to all extrusion clients of Alba."
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