Middle East shipping disruptions have pushed ALUPCO to re-strategise its aluminium extrusion supply chain strategies

From a Saudi extrusion manufacturer established in 1975 to an integrated aluminium solutions provider serving more than 26 countries, ALUPCO’s growth mirrors the rapid transformation of the Middle East’s construction and infrastructure landscape.

In this exclusive AL Circle interview, Abdul Aziz AlGhamdi, General Manager at ALUPCO discusses how the company is strengthening its position across domestic and export markets while responding to shifting customer expectations, complex architectural requirements and rising demand linked to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 developments.

With more than 85,000 tonnes of annual extrusion capacity, manufacturing operations on both the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea coasts, and growing investments in green billet production, ALUPCO is navigating new opportunities as well as supply-chain, logistics and aluminium scrap challenges.

How is the company balancing regional growth, international expansion, sustainability and project-driven demand? Read the complete interview to discover ALUPCO’s strategy for the next phase of the aluminium extrusion market.

AL Circle: Since entering the market in 1975, how has ALUPCO’s role evolved within the Middle East and North Africa’s aluminium extrusion sector, and which capabilities have been most important in building its regional position?

Abdul Aziz AlGhamdi: Since it entered the market in 1975, ALUPCO has evolved from a Saudi aluminium extrusion manufacturer into a company that positions itself as one of the region's largest integrated aluminium building-solutions providers, serving customers across the Middle East, North Africa, and beyond. Its growth reflects an expansion in both manufacturing scale and the breadth of services it offers. 

The company's evolution can be viewed in three broad stages:

Establishing a manufacturing base (1975 onward)

• ALUPCO began operations in Dammam during Saudi Arabia's industrial expansion in the 1970s.
• Initially focused on aluminium extrusion, it developed production capabilities that enabled it to supply a growing domestic construction market.
• Over time it expanded manufacturing with facilities in both Dammam and Jeddah, increasing total extrusion capacity to more than 85,000 tonnes annually. 

Expanding into regional markets

• The company broadened its footprint through export operations and sales offices across the Gulf and North Africa.
• Today it serves customers in numerous countries across the GCC, MENA, Europe, and the Americas, positioning itself as a regional supplier rather than only a Saudi manufacturer. 

Moving beyond extrusion

• ALUPCO has increasingly emphasised providing complete building solutions instead of simply selling aluminium profiles.
• Its offerings now include architectural systems, fabrication, assembly, surface finishing, project management, and specialised technical solutions, allowing it to participate in larger and more complex construction projects.

Overall, ALUPCO's regional position appears to have been built not solely on manufacturing scale, but on combining high-capacity extrusion, international quality standards, vertically integrated production, engineering expertise, and end-to-end project support. This evolution has enabled the company to participate in major construction and infrastructure developments throughout the Middle East and North Africa while broadening its reach into international export markets.

AL Circle: Have disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb changed the way aluminium extrusion producers approach inventory, shipping routes and customer commitments?

Abdul Aziz AlGhamdi: Yes. Disruptions affecting the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb—whether from regional tensions, attacks on commercial shipping, or heightened security measures - have prompted many aluminium extrusion producers in the Middle East to adopt more resilient supply-chain strategies. The exact response varies by company, but several industry-wide trends have emerged. To mitigate such challenges, ALUPCO had worked on several fronts including:

Shifting away from strictly "just-in-time" inventory models by:

• Holding larger stocks of aluminium billets and other critical raw materials.
• Increasing inventories of spare parts for extrusion presses and finishing equipment, particularly where components are imported.
• Maintaining larger finished-goods inventories for fast-moving profiles to reduce delivery risk.
• Exploring and introducing more flexible shipping routes
• Establishing a longer planning horizons
• Increased emphasis on supply-chain resilience

AL Circle: The Middle East is witnessing major investment in infrastructure, tourism and urban development. To what extent is ALUPCO participating in these projects, and how are they contributing to sustained demand for the company’s aluminium extrusion products?

Abdul Aziz AlGhamdi: ALUPCO has evolved from a traditional aluminium extrusion manufacturer into an integrated engineering and project solutions provider, offering end-to-end capabilities that span design, engineering, extrusion, fabrication, surface finishing, assembly, logistics, installation support and full project management. This integrated model enables the company to deliver complete aluminium systems rather than individual profiles, serving developers, contractors and industrial customers as a single-source partner for complex projects across the construction, infrastructure and industrial sectors.

Beyond its core architectural products, ALUPCO's portfolio includes flooring and lighting systems, modular housing solutions, automated parking structures, complete interior fit-out systems, solar panel frames and tracking structures, MRO (maintenance, repair and operations) solutions, and aluminium domes for municipal and industrial water tanks. By combining manufacturing scale with engineering expertise and project execution capabilities, the company is well positioned to support the Middle East's growing pipeline of infrastructure, tourism, renewable energy and urban development projects while delivering customised, high-value aluminium solutions throughout the project lifecycle.

AL Circle: In AL Circle’s 2024 interview, ALUPCO indicated that Saudi Arabia accounted for nearly 70 per cent of its annual sales. Has the balance between domestic and export markets changed since then?

Abdul Aziz AlGhamdi: Since then, ALUPCO is actively expanding its international business, even if the domestic market remains its largest revenue contributor. The company has strengthened its export footprint across the GCC, MENA, Europe and North America, and now serves customers in more than 26 countries while continuing to position Saudi Arabia as its core market.

ALUPCO currently exports around 40 per cent of its production and ultimately aims for an even 50:50 split between domestic and export sales. This indicates that while Saudi Arabia continues to drive demand—supported by Vision 2030 megaprojects and the company's roughly 40 per cent share of the local Aluminium market—the company is investing to increase its international presence over time rather than reducing its focus on the domestic market.

AL Circle: With manufacturing operations in both Dammam and Jeddah, how does ALUPCO approach supply-chain resilience across the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea trade corridors?

Abdul Aziz AlGhamdi: With manufacturing operations in both Dammam on the Arabian Gulf and Jeddah on the Red Sea, ALUPCO benefits from a geographically diversified production and logistics network that enhances supply-chain resilience. This dual-plant footprint provides greater flexibility in sourcing, production scheduling and export logistics, enabling the company to adapt to disruptions affecting either the Gulf or Red Sea shipping corridors. Combined with integrated manufacturing, inventory planning and project management capabilities, it helps ALUPCO maintain reliable deliveries to customers across Saudi Arabia and international markets.

AL Circle: ALUPCO highlights an annual green-billet production capacity of 25,000 tonnes. What proportion of the company’s extrusion requirements can currently be supported by internally produced billet?

Abdul Aziz AlGhamdi: Based on ALUPCO's existing capacities, its 25,000-tonne annual green billet production can support around 30 per cent of its total extrusion requirements. The remaining billet demand is sourced externally, giving the company a balanced approach that combines greater supply security and sustainability through in-house production with the flexibility to procure additional billet as market demand requires.

AL Circle: Projects such as the Palm Islands and Etihad Towers were completed more than a decade ago. How have architectural specifications and customer expectations changed since then, particularly regarding thermal performance, profile dimensions, sustainability and façade complexity?

Abdul Aziz AlGhamdi: Architectural specifications have evolved significantly since landmark projects such as the Palm Islands and Etihad Towers were completed. Today, developers and architects place much greater emphasis on energy efficiency, sustainability, larger architectural elements and high-performance building envelopes. This has increased demand for aluminium systems with improved thermal insulation, larger and more structurally capable profiles, enhanced corrosion resistance, and finishes that meet more stringent durability and aesthetic requirements.

Customer expectations have also shifted toward integrated, customised solutions rather than standard extrusion products. Modern projects increasingly require complex façade systems, oversized glazing, unitised curtain walls, and aluminium components that support green building certifications such as LEED and local sustainability standards. As a result, manufacturers like ALUPCO are expected to provide not only advanced extrusion capabilities but also engineering support, fabrication, testing and project management to deliver complete façade and building envelope solutions for increasingly sophisticated developments.

AL Circle: ALUPCO also works with market participants to recover production scrap and collects post-consumer aluminium. What are the biggest challenges in securing sufficient quantities of clean and traceable scrap in Saudi Arabia?

Abdul Aziz AlGhamdi: The biggest challenge is ensuring a consistent supply of high-quality, segregated Aluminium scrap that meets the strict alloy and quality requirements for architectural extrusion. While Saudi Arabia is expanding its recycling ecosystem, post-consumer scrap is still relatively fragmented, and collecting sufficient volumes with reliable traceability remains more complex than sourcing production scrap from industrial manufacturers.