
Emirates Global Aluminium has bagged a prestigious order from the German luxury car maker BMW for supplying high-quality aluminium for use in the car engines, reported a recent release. The three-year contract is EGA's first direct deal of its kind with an automotive major which also acknowledges the enhanced efforts by the Gulf company to help diversify their economy beyond oil. The financial details and the car models wherein the metal would find use, however, have not yet been divulged.
"Winning BMW as a direct customer is important for EGA because their standards are so high, both for the aluminium itself and how it is made," said EGA managing director and chief executive Abdulla Kalban. "EGA produces high-quality aluminium with world-class efficiency and environmental responsibility. We have spent decades developing technology in the UAE to improve our processes and make this possible."
EGA as a key industrial entity in the UAE has been very proactive in finding headways in the global arena that would help the economy become less oil dependent. Expanding global reach is also being driven by EGA's core strategy to spread risk which comes with the global price volatility of the commodity it deals in primarily, that is, aluminium. EGA, created by the merger of Emirates Aluminium and Dubai Aluminium in 2013, posted an alarming 50 per cent drop in net profit last financial year as the price of the light metal nosedived amid a supply glut.
However, Mr Kalban is hopeful about the demand of aluminium going up in the long-term driven by its enhanced use in automobile, construction, and defence sector.
Already the demand scenario of aluminium is looking up. The price of the metal traded on LME, although witnessing extreme volatility is also predicted to enter a bullish phase in 2017.
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EGA has been eyeing major investments to bolster its aluminium production and further upstream capacities. Earlier this year, the company said it was progressing towards constructing a US$1 billion bauxite mine in the Republic of Guinea. The project will secure access to the prime aluminium ore and boost the company’s metal production in the long run.
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