Hazelett to Supply Continuous Caster for Oman Aluminum Rolling's $385 Million Plant

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Johannesburg, South Africa)--Hazelett Strip Casting Corporation (Colchester, Vermont) will supply a continuous caster for Oman Aluminum Rolling Company's (OARC) new plant in Sohar, which is north of Muscat. The caster will be part of a $300 million, turn-key engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract awarded to FATA EPC, a division of FATA SpA (Turin, Italy), which is part of the Finmeccanica group.

FATA will construct 160,000 tons a year and will supply a hot-rolling mill and world-class cold-rolling and finishing equipment. OARC's total project investment will be $385 million.

FATA began engineering work in January 2011. Groundbreaking is scheduled for July, and the first production output of coils is scheduled for 2013. The mill will receive a molten metal feed from Sohar Aluminum Company, whose smelter is adjacent to the new rolling plant. It is estimated that as many as 1,200 people will work on the project, which will create 275 direct jobs when in full production.

The mill is positioned to supply growing regional demand and will serve the aluminum food container and food preservation foil markets, with some product exported to international markets. Products also will go to the automotive heat exchanger and air-conditioning markets. The project is designed to deliver high-quality and short lead time products to its customers.

The project fits Oman's strategy of adding value to existing raw materials and developing economically attractive downstream investments in industries that, in turn, contribute to creating sustainable employment, expand the local industrial network, and increase and diversify revenues for the local economy.

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