Top Priority

What is the extent of the company’s aluminum, alunite, and ferrous mining and processing activities, and its position in the mining sector?

Det.Al is a leading group of companies in the Azerbaijani non-ferrous industry that produces aluminum oxide (alumina), primary aluminum, and semi-final aluminum products of bauxite and alunite ore. In light of our activities, we are pleased that 2014 was proclaimed the “Year of Industry.” This initiative is part of a wider industrialization policy carried out on a large scale in Azerbaijan, through which hundreds of industrial enterprises have been built and a strong potential created in this area starting from the 1970s and 1980s. As in other sectors of the economy, great success has been achieved in the development of industry and the volume of industrial production increased by a factor of 2.7 in the last decade alone. Modern competitive industrial fields have been established, numerous projects have been implemented to improve industrial infrastructure, new workplaces have been created, and the country’s industry has entered a new stage of development.

You have just announced the production of semi-fabricated materials at a new smelter. How do you expect the production, sale, and export of these products to develop over the coming years?

In 2012, when President HE Ilham Aliyev inaugurated Det.Al’s aluminum complex’s first phase, he noted that “a new period has begun in the Azerbaijan metallurgical industry.” There is no doubt that the President’s sagacious internal and external politics have helped with the development of the non-oil sector, the expansion of investment programs, the protection of macroeconomic stability, and the implementation of industrial capacity building programs, which have all had a positive impact on the activities and development of Det.Al. This approach to economic growth is guided by the “from a strong economy to strong state” principle. The inauguration of Det.Al’s aluminum complex in January 2012, the annual capacity of which is 50,000 tons, and the inauguration of the Det.Al aluminum semi-final production plant in January 2014, exemplify the success of this growth strategy. Det.Al’s metal casting and continuous rolling plant and the rolling and coating plant both have an annual capacity of 50,000 tons and meet international standards. The main contractor that built the two new plants was China Non-Ferrous Metals Processing Technology Co., Ltd (CNPT). The contractor has been in charge of building large-scale aluminum plants in China belonging to Chinalco and Chalco, so the company has a formidable reputation and over 45 years of experience in the non-ferrous metal processing field. In addition to Chinalco, the company’s clients also include Canada’s Alcan, Alcoa of the US, and Switzerland’s Hydro. During the production and installation of equipment in order to meet our demands, the producer assumed European standards as a basis to ensure the quality of the products. The most important components originate from the US, Italy, Germany, and Japan. The liquid aluminum extracted from the electrolysis baths is transported to the metal casting and continuous rolling plant for the production of 50,000 tons of aluminum continuous casting coils with a thickness of 6 mm-8 mm per year. These coils serve as raw materials for the production of flat rolled products. Two new fields were established in the newly opened rolling and coating plant, namely the cold rolling area, with 50,000 tons in annual production capacity, and the coating area, with 17,000 tons in annual production capacity. The products will be used in the production of automobile parts, the chemical and food industry, construction, electric materials, communication cables, freezer chambers, piping systems, kitchen equipment, high-pressure chambers, fuel tanks, storage tanks, metal cans, lids for glass cans, and other packaging materials.

What does Det.Al’s collaboration with international institutions consist of?

In order to export manufactured products, contracts have already been signed with Turkish, Italian, Polish, Egyptian, Russian, and Ukrainian companies. The companies are satisfied with the quality of the products that we send. We are currently working on producing final goods from aluminum semi-finished products. Efforts are underway to build new plants for the production of foil for technical and food products, different types of sandwich panels, wire, and other final goods. Det.Al’s newly opened aluminum semi-final production plants will contribute to the development of the non-oil sector, the diversification of the economy, the strengthening of the industrial potential of the regions, the country’s industry, and the non-ferrous metallurgical industry.

What efforts does the company make to meet international standards?

At present, the certification process is continuing. Det.Al is cooperating with major certification companies that have great reputations in the international certification field. The result of the audit process shows that for manufactured products the institute will be awarded the EN 573-3, EN 485-1, EN 485-2, and EN 485-4 certification of compliance, the quality management system ISO 9001:2008, and the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System and OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System certificates.

How is Det.Al contributing to job creation in Azerbaijan?

The newly built aluminum semi-final production plants will stimulate job creation, carrying out the production of new goods in the region. They will assist in the development of SMEs in the country, the reinforcement of industrial potential in the regions of Azerbaijan, and the creation of new non-oil industry institutes, causing the formation of industrial development opportunities on the basis of innovation. We are proud of realizing our motto; “from strong economy to strong state,” and of playing a role in Azerbaijan’s development into a highly developed economy in the region and around the world, thus supporting the development policy of our President, HE Ilham Aliyev.

© The Business Year – February 2014