The Business Bytes
TBB BUREAU
JHARSUGUDA, FEB 14, 2023
Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminium, hosted the inaugural edition of the International Aluminium Conference 2023 on February 9-10, 2023, at its operations in Jharsuguda, Odisha.
Held in partnership with the Aluminium Association of India, the event featured the who’s who of the global aluminium industry and allied sectors, with nearly 400 customers and industry leaders from across 13 countries in attendance.
Themed on ‘Making India the Aluminium Capital of the World’, the International Aluminium Conference was conceived as India’s largest B2B platform for facilitating greater collaboration amongst players in the aluminium manufacturing value chain, industry forums and the government.
The roster of participating companies included Siemens (Germany), ABB (Switzerland), REEL ALUMINIUM (Canada) and Simonsen (Denmark), in addition to representatives from domestic giants such as Indian Oil, Ultratech and Grundfos which displayed their industry solutions as part of the exhibition.
Experts and industry leaders from aluminium manufacturing companies, customers, business partners and technology providers, came together for nearly 45 in-depth technical sessions from industry experts operating in wide-ranging domains such as leading technologies in aluminium manufacturing, electric mobility, smart engineering and digital technologies.
Matthieu Arlettaz, CEO – R&D Carbon (Switzerland), spoke on ‘World Class Smelters – Key Performance Indicators with Benchmark Anodes’, while Dagoberto Schubert Severo, Director of CAETE (Brazil), spoke on ‘Recent Numerical Simulation Innovations in the Aluminium Smelting Industry’.
Customers, suppliers, and industry players interested in partnering for the upcoming Vedanta Aluminium Park also took part in the conference.
The two-day event also featured an international exhibition by over 30 companies hailing from the aluminium sector and associate industries, showcasing their technological and manufacturing capabilities.
Another highlight of the conference was the launch of Vedanta’s 12-mm Aluminium Wire Rod that is set to cater to the needs of the global electrical industry. The 12-mm wire rods are the latest addition to Vedanta’s top-of-the-line offerings in the wire rod segment, which include 7.6 mm, 9.5 mm and 15 mm EC-grade wire rods, alloy wire rods (8xxx series) and flip coils. With a production capacity of 560 kilo tonnes, Vedanta Aluminium is the largest producer of high-quality electrical conductor (EC) grade wire rods, widely used in producing wire and cables for transmission & distribution networks, coils & windings, and heating & cooling tube, among others.
Sharing his views about the event, Rahul Sharma, CEO – Aluminium Business, Vedanta Limited, said, “We are delighted to have hosted some of the world’s most innovative minds, experts in the metal & manufacturing field, and key players in the aluminium manufacturing value-chain at our mega aluminium smelter in Jharsuguda. This confluence of thought leaders and industry stalwarts has paved the way for new opportunities in international collaborations and insightful exchange of ideas and best practices to bring about a step change in the manufacturing excellence and sustainability of the aluminium industry.”
“With insightful takeaways from the maiden edition of the International Aluminium Conference, we look forward to working with our customers, partners, and stakeholders to make India the Aluminium Capital of the world,” he added.
Sharing her experience, Petra Mühlen, CEO, Spectra Flow Analytics Ltd., (Switzerland) said, “I am very happy that I took the opportunity to attend the conference which was hosted here by the Vedanta team… It was very nice to see peak attendance from the Indian producers and have a lot of interesting interactions. Thank you very much that you provided the opportunity in a beautiful place and made this a memorable moment.”
The vibrant showcase of Odisha’s rich art and culture at the conference was an added attraction for the delegates. Set up in partnership with the Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society (ORMAS), the cultural showcase also featured artisans who presented live demonstrations and exhibits of their artwork, such as Saura paintings and Dhokra art. In addition, as a display of Odisha’s vibrant culture, there were live performances by classical dancers and musicians as part of cultural events.
Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India’s aluminium i.e., 2.27 million tonnes in FY22. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 2nd in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) 2022 world rankings for aluminium industry, a reflection of its sustainable development practices. With its world-class aluminium smelters, alumina refinery and power plants in India, the company fulfils its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow.
