The 35th Arab International Aluminium Conference and Exhibition (Arabal) will take place November 11-13th in Kuwait City. The host for the 2018 edition of Arabal will be Kuwait Industries Co. Holding.
This is a special homecoming for the event, which was launched in 1983 in Kuwait, under the initiative of Mohammed Al Naki, owner of Kuwait Industries and chairman of Arabal. The three day event features a conference with a side-by-side exhibition and a pre-conference workshop offered on Sustainable Innovation. The member companies responsible for the ongoing continuation of the event are: Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), Egyptalum, Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), Ma’aden Aluminium, Qatalum, and Sohar Aluminium.
Programming
The conference will include an Opening Ceremony followed by nine topical sessions titled: Industry Dynamics, Driving Forces, Market Outlook, Upstream, Downstream, Technology and Innovation, Environment & Sustainability, Production & Operations, and Investor Experience. Highlights of some of the sessions follow.
Each session includes from one to six speakers. In the Opening Ceremony, the two speakers are: Dr. Abdullah Intahim El-Kuwaiz, former secretary general of the Council for the Arab States of the Gulf and Dr. Adnan Shihbab-Eldin, director general of the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences.
Session 1 speakers, on Industry Dynamics, are some of the top executives from major Middle Eastern aluminum companies, including EGA, Qatar Aluminium Ltd. (Qatalum), Alba, Ma’aden Aluminium Company, Egyptalum, and Sohar Aluminium Company.
In Session 2 on Driving Forces, top trade issues will be covered, including: U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs, the Russian market and where it’s heading, and Chinese policies with a look at the country’s evolving climate and its impacts on the industry. The three top executive speakers from this session are from Braidy Industries, HAI Holdings, and the Russian Aluminium Association.
Session 5 on Downstream covers topics on extrusion production management, the implications of electric vehicle development, and the potential for additive manufacturing.
On the second evening all delegates are invited to a Gala dinner hosted by Kuwait Industries. This highlight and other social gatherings at coffee breaks between sessions and lunches offer ample opportunity for networking with the over 500 high level delegates that are expected to attend from 42 countries all over the world.
A review of a selection of sessions from the 2017 Arabal is available online.
Exhibition
Alongside the conference will be a two-day international exhibition. It will feature specialists from the complete industry spectrum — from upstream to downstream. The exhibition, program, and networking events deliver an exceptional platform for the aluminum industry in the Arab world.
The high-powered conference offerings once again confirm ARABAL to be the leading aluminum conference and exhibition in the Middle East.
For more information: www.arabal.com.
