This year’s International Aluminium Conference and Exhibition serves as a stepping-stone towards the vision of doubling local aluminium demand by 2030 by increasing local demand and exports of value-added products.

The conference will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on October 26 and 27.

The conference will aim to promote the use of aluminium instead of other metals, such as steel, and promote the aluminium industry as a sector that is committed to a greener future by reiterating the industry’s commitment to the environment and sustainability.

Aluminium Federation of South Africa (Afsa) CEO Muzi Manzi says the conference will run concurrently with an exhibition in which local aluminium producers will showcase the industry’s capacity.

Some of the conference activities include a site factory visit to Guala Closures Group South Africa, in Cape Town, on October 25 and a tour of some of the finest wineries in Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, on October 28, Manzi enthuses.

Further, Afsa members, researchers from scientific councils such as Mintek and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, government officials and policy makers are invited to attend the event to be informed about the progress the industry has made since the inception of the South African Aluminium Industry Roadmap (SAAIR).

Manzi adds that representatives from a number of companies in the industry, including aluminium supplier and exporter Hulamin, mining and metals company South32, aluminium extrusion company Wispeco, leading importer of nonferrous metals Metal and Tool Trade, consultancy AluConsult, and transformation company SMS Group will attend the conference.

Representatives of companies in packaging, construction, automotive, recycling, transport, energy, consumer goods, machinery and equipment, as well as from ferrous and nonferrous metals foundries and industry associations, will be present.

“This will be the convergence of aluminium and the special metals supply chain,” he adds.

Topics focused on include aluminium production, current and new technologies, factories of the future, sustainability, green manufacturing and recycling.

The conference will also cover new areas of demand, growth prospects and new projects, and local and international developments.

Manzi notes that, at the end of the conference, attendees will receive a review of the SAAIR, ensuring that the roadmap responds to and supports the envisaged future of the South African aluminium industry.

He says Afsa is encouraging information exchange and unity towards the attainment of the SAAIR goals.