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There is a vote of confidence in the Hunter’s aluminium sector, with a $60 million cables manufacturing plant being commissioned at Tomago today.
Bahrain-based Midal Cables International has built the manufacturing plant at Tomago which will use molten metal from the nearby aluminium smelter.
It will use the molten aluminium to make rods, wire and conductors.
Midal Cables managing director Hamid Al Zayani says the plant will play a key role throughout the Asia Pacific.
“This optimism comes from the fact first that we have a very important market share in the Australian market that we’d like to protect and consolidate,” he said.
“But also this country enjoys a high level of free trade agreements with the rest of the world and we are looking at this factory to be the hub for servicing the Pacific rim.”
In 2012 the Hydro aluminium smelter closed its Kurri Kurri plant because of high production costs, the impact of the Australian dollar and low prices.
Mr Al Zayani says the Midal plant will be state of the art and its prospects are good.
“Aluminium has been growing at 15 per cent per year on a global basis,” he said.
“Some smelters are proving to be not viable to carry on but if you look at the global consumption that has been going up 10 or 15 per cent.
Only the effective smelters will survive.
“The ones that carry the highest technology and most competitive energy.”
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