Qatari aluminium firm Qatalum is the recipient of the ‘Environmental Excellence Award’ bestowed by the Gulf Aluminium Council. The award was made during the Arab International Aluminium Conference (Arabal 2016) held last week in Dubai.
According to local media, the award is in recognition of the firm’s “continual effort” to observe good environmental stewardship by using advanced technologies to lessen the environmental impact of its industrial operations.
“Arabal is a significant platform for Qatalum to highlight the company’s vision and aspirations, as a leading global smelter supported by advanced technology, and an ongoing commitment towards environment preservation,” explained Qatalum CEO Khalid Mohamed Laram. “By participating in such events, Qatalum aims to promote the industrial sector in Qatar, which comes at the forefront of the state’s efforts to diversify its economy.”
“This year’s conference has witnessed an exceptional level of cooperation, knowledge and exchange of experience among experts and industry participants from the Gulf and beyond. We will spare no effort to cooperate with our peers and partners in order to enhance the quality of our products and continue our competitive efforts in the global markets,” Laram added.
Several Qatalum employees and officers spoke at this year’s iteration of Arabal, including Laram, who participated in the “Industry Keynote Panel,” which touched on subjects including energy prices and policies, operations expansion, products, financial aspects, raw materials, and downstream development.
Dr. Mufeed Odeh, Qatalum sustainability consultant, spoke on the environmental aspects of sustainability in the aluminium industry. Odeh focused upon methods for controlling emissions associated with energy generation and sustainable disposal of aluminium by-products.
Qatalum COO Olaf Wigstoel spoke at the convention as well, commenting upon the overlap between technology and operations, and the use of cutting-edge technology in operations in order to reduce overhead and improve efficiency, productivity, and profitability.
Qatalum operates a 585-thousand-metric-ton-per-annum aluminium smelter located in the Mesaieed Industrial Area. The firm is a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum and Norsk Hydro.