Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company (Mumtalakat), the sovereign wealth fund of the kingdom, has appointed Basim AlSaie as the new chairman of the board of Gulf Aluminium Rolling Mill Company (Garmco).

Garmco, the first and one of the largest downstream aluminium facilities in the Middle East for rolling, cutting and fabricating aluminium, is 37.29 per cent owned by Mumtalakat.

A key player in Bahrain’s aluminium industry, Garmco boasts an annual production capacity of 165,000 tonnes of quality flat rolled aluminium products, serving over 2,000 customers in more than 45 countries, said a statement from Mumtalakat.

Employing 635 people of whom 85 per cent are Bahrainis, the company’s most recent expansion with a $55 million state-of-the-art recycling and cast house facility is set to increase Garmco’s production capacity of aluminium slabs to reach 200,000 tonnes per annum, it added.

Welcoming the appointment, CEO Mahmood H Alkooheji, said: "Corporate governance and growth go hand-in-hand for successful business development and expansion. We’re delighted to welcome AlSaie as the new chairman of the board."

AlSaie is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering from Boston University. He recently established Rentech Middle East, a company specialised in alternative energy and environmental solutions.

He had also played a key role in the establishment of Installux Gulf, a joint venture with a French group focused on architectural aluminium products for the Middle East. In addition, he launched Polycon Bahrain, a company focused on the production of polyethylene water storage tanks.

AlSaie is a member of the executive committee of Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and an active member of the Entrepreneurship Organization Bahrain Chapter.

He currently sits on the board of Kalaam Telecom, Gulf CX, and French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Bahrain. Previously, he chaired the board of Al Raja School, Bahrain.

"I am confident that AlSaie’s competence and wealth of experience will support Garmco to continue to grow and support the downstream aluminium industry in Bahrain," stated Alkooheji.

"At the same time, I would like to thank the former chairman, Mahmood Al Soufi, for his valuable contribution to Garmco’s success," he added.-TradeArabia News Service