QIMC plans to set up aluminium plant

July 29, 2015

Author: De Tai

Qatar Industrial Manufacturing Company (QIMC) plans to set up a QR72mn aluminium extrusion plant with strategic partners, which will produce aluminium profiles in different graded alloys for the construction and industrial sectors.The plant is expected to be operational by 2010-end, QIMC chief executive officer Abdul Rahman al-Ansari told Gulf Times yesterday.He said the project, the only one of its kind in Qatar, would come up at New Industrial Area. "As the project founder we will have a 40% stake in the aluminium extrusion plant. The remainder will be held by Qatari shareholding companies. We have already got the land and are waiting for the permit, which is expected soon," al-Ansari said.Aluminium profiles are extensively used in modern buildings and industrial plants. Currently, Qatar meets its needs for aluminium profiles through imports."Qatar is the only GCC country, which currently does not have the facility to produce aluminium profiles. Our New Industrial Area project will make up for this," al-Ansari said.He said the technology for the aluminium extrusion project would come from companies based in Japan, the US and the UK.He said QIMC would shortly launch two other projects – a plant to produce chlorinated paraffin wax and the other for unsaturated polyester resins."We have already tied up with an Indian company to establish the chlorinated paraffin wax unit in Doha. We have been working on the export-oriented project for over a year now," al-Ansari noted. Chlorinated paraffin wax is a major ingredient in flame-retardant paints. It also finds application is downstream plastic industries. He said QIMC has already approved the project for producing unsaturated polyester resins. The project will be implemented with the involvement of a UK-based company and a Qatari firm.Companies manufacturing glass reinforced plastic (GRP) pipes consume polyester resins in large quantities.Al-Ansari said a project to produce high quality ‘autoclaved aerated concrete’ has been delayed to benefit from ‘falling’ material costs. Qatar’s construction sector uses autoclaved aerated concrete, also known as thermostone blocks, in large quantities."We are now inviting fresh quotations for the project. We expect to gain from lower project costs," al-Ansari said.He said Qatar Paving Stones, 100% owned by QIMC, has begun production in March.The QR66mn plant is located at Umm Bab and will produce premium quality paving and kerb stones of all colours and patterns. "We have so far invested QR600mn in some 15 companies engaged in various sectors of our economy," al-Ansari said.He said the QE-listed QIMC had ‘done well’ in the first half of 2009 despite the global financial crisis. The company earned a net profit of QR80.9mn in H1, which indicates a marginal 0.99% rise compared with the same period last year.