Garmco and Fives to launch re-melt expansion project

GARMCO, the Bahrain-based international aluminum rolling mill and one of the largest downstream aluminum facilities in the Middle East, today announced the signing of a letter of intent with Fives, an industrial engineering group and supplier of machines, process equipment and production lines for the world’s largest industrial companies, to build a new state of art cast house at GARMCO’s Bahrain based facilities. The total cost of the project will reach up to $55 million.

The Re-melt Project is an EPC (Engineering, Procurement & Construction) Turn-Key project, which will enable GARMCO to develop its metal recycling capability and lower the cost of metal casting. The project will run for a duration of approximately 21 months, starting September 2015. The first stage has already commenced and is being managed internally by GARMCO with the support of a local supplier. This stage consists of the construction of a scrap storage area and segregation unit. The new project, once complete, will enable GARMCO to produce 120,000 tonnes of aluminium slabs.

Commenting, Mr. Mahmood Al Soufi, Chairman of GARMCO, said, “We are delighted to launch this important expansion project in collaboration with Fives. This facility will have a number of advantages for GARMCO. Importantly, it will create 50 new jobs, further bolstering GARMCO’s position as one of the most sizable employers in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and will generate significant cost savings. This project, alongside one or two others, forms an integrated part of a three year strategy and will contribute to the profitability and growth of the Company regionally and internationally. We look forward to the commencement of the next phase of work on the project and our continued collaboration with world-class partners as we further build GARMCO’s capacity and reach across global markets.”

Mr. Jean-Baptiste Lucas, CEO of GARMCO, added, “With the launch of this Re-melt Expansion project, we move the company even further down the path of efficiency – both in terms of the value and savings that can be extracted – but also in terms of furthering our commitment to sustainable operating and manufacturing practices. The project, once complete, will see GARMCO better positioned than ever to deliver high quality, competitive products to our customers around the world.”

GARMCO is a global exporter of flat rolled aluminum products with a network of subsidiaries and associates companies spanning the Middle East, Asia, Far East, Australia, Europe and the USA. Today, the Group employs over 830 worldwide (660 in Bahrain and 170 overseas), and has an annual turnover exceeding US$450 million. It was established in 1981 by the governments of Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia and its current shareholders are: Bahrain Mumtalakat, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, Industrial Bank of Kuwait, Gulf Investment Corporation, Government of the Republic of Iraq, Government of the Sultanate of Oman and Qatar Holding Company.