Sohar Aluminium continues its successful journey

Muscat: Overcoming the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic since early 2020, Sohar Aluminium Company has recorded an excellent annual production of primary aluminium totalling 396,929 tonnes.

Timely business continuity measures initiated by the company management have greatly contributed to this achievement. The year 2021 so far seems to be witnessing a similar trend in production and other overall Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Sohar Aluminium Company was formed in September 2004 to undertake a landmark Greenfield aluminium smelter project in the Sultanate. Its establishment stands on a strong foundation of decades-long industry insight in design, specification, and construction.

This has ensured efficiency, environmental protection, and utmost safety of its workforce. The company is jointly owned by OQ representing the Omani government (40%), Abu Dhabi National Energy Company - TAQA (40%) and Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. (20%) that also provides smelting technology and sales support. The smelter has an annual production capacity of 395,000 tonnes of high-quality aluminium.

The company's first pot started in June 2008, operating at 350 kA and reached full operational capacity in February 2009. By August 2011, a cumulative 1 million tonnes of aluminium had been produced and currently, 360 pots operate at 398kA. Sohar Aluminium uses the latest and most efficient AP39 technology provided by its shareholder Rio Tinto Alcan. The company's primary products include hot metal, primary Aluminium Ingots, and primary Aluminium Sows.

Nearly 60 per cent of finished products are committed for local downstream companies, in the form of hot metal, the rest as Ingots and Sows - is exported to markets in Southeast Asian countries such as Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam. Indirect export via downstream is to USA, Europe, Brazil. Sohar Aluminium sources its raw materials from Australia, USA, China, India, Tunisia, and UAE, and has signed technology-sharing agreements with global leaders among which Rio Tinto Alcan is the provider of AP39 technology.

In-Country value

Besides its commitment to provide metal to the downstream industry with 60% of its metal production, Sohar Aluminium is also committed to total spend retained in country that can benefit business development, contribute to human capability development, and stimulate productivity in the Omani economy. For example, in terms of procurement of goods and services, the company dedicates more than 50% of its spending locally. SMEs and major suppliers take priority in sourcing and tendering processes.

In 2020, 59% of the company's procurement were sourced locally totalling more than OMR14 million. In terms of job creation, Sohar Aluminium is considered to be one of the leading companies in hiring Omanis, with its Omanisation rate currently standing above 77 per cent. The workforce is the driving force within the organisation.

The development of its employees is paramount, for which the company has set up its own recognised training centre that gives every employee the opportunity for further learning and growth. In many ways, Sohar Aluminium's development mirrors the Sultanate of Oman's own emergence onto the world stage - driving forward at a formidable pace, while being respectful of its cultural heritage and values. The company intends to become a benchmark smelter and an important contributor to Oman's sustainable development goals.

Support for local communities

Sohar Aluminium firmly believes in supporting the local communities it operates in. Its well-established Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) framework ensures execution of projects that directly and indirectly have a positive impact on various sections of society. This commitment is one of the key drivers behind its high investment in CSR programmes.

Awards and recognition

Sohar Aluminium recently claimed the first position in His Majesty the Sultan's Award for Industrial Excellence 2021. This is the third time that the company has won this prestigious award, other than titles and trophies at local, regional, and international levels for nationalisation, CSR, Human Resources Administration and Development, Occupational Health, community service, and environment protection.

EHS policy

Sohar Aluminium's Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) Policy is embedded in its Strategic Business Objectives and forms an integral part of its journey towards excellence. Its main EHS goal is to operate its smelting operations and power generation in a manner that minimises environmental footprint, creates a mindset of Zero Harm, and ensures good health of its workforce.

This is achieved through engaging all employees and contractors in EHS, providing safe and healthy working conditions, commitment to leadership in environment protection, responsible use of natural resources, mitigating risks, and eliminating hazards.

Committed to ESGs

Sohar Aluminium has always been mindful and acts in favour of protecting the environment, adopting, and implementing high standards in terms of working conditions for its workforce, maintaining excellent relation with all stakeholders, and committing to transparent policies and moral responsibilities. These aspects form the company's commitment towards Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), a key indicator of its successes and aspiration to be a benchmark Smelter.

Combating COVID-19 Impacts

The company has taken a proactive approach to managing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As always, the health and safety of its workforce has remained top priority in addition to business and operations continuity. Several actions were taken including the formation of a special committee mandated with planning and overseeing implementation of actions and precautionary procedures.

The number of workforce on site was reduced before being gradually increased using clustering patterns. Also, work-from-home plans were initiated. On the logistics front, Sohar Aluminium managed to keep the pandemic's impact on its import and export lines at the minimum thus avoiding disruptions in production and operations of smelting aluminium.