Members of The American Chamber of Commerce in Bahrain (AmCham Bahrain)were invited to tour the Gulf Aluminum Rolling Mill Company (GARMCO) plant in northern Sitra.
Mr. Mohamed Essa Ebrahim, GARMCO Acting Chief Executive Officer, welcomed AmCham members and provided them with an overview of GARMCO growth, future plans, and the way it benefited from the U.S.-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in opening the U.S. market for its products. Mr. Ebrahim stated “GARMCO is pleased to showcase its plant and its contribution to Bahrain’s economy and US-Bahrain bilateral trade. The company’s new expansion which will soon be fully operational re-melt plant will increase its production while saving us energy and resources.” Mr. Ebrahim continued “The U.S. is an important market for GARMCO and we are pleased to have AmCham members who come from different sectors to visit us today to learn about Bahrain’s aluminum industry and hear about GARMCO FTA success story.
Mr. H. Delano Roosevelt, AmCham Vice President stated “AmCham is honored to have this unique opportunity to meet the executive leadership team at GARMCO and learn about an important industry in Bahrain. Mr. Roosevelt continued “The purpose of AmCham’s plant tours is to better know and understand the industries in Bahrain and the related business opportunities for both in Bahrain and in the U.S. AmCham is committed to supporting businesses, large and small, in using and benefiting from the FTA.”
The U.S. is GARMCO’s largest export market outside of the MENA region, currently receiving about 40% of GARMCO’s manufactured products. GARMCO strategically ships and stores stocks of core products from the Bahrain mill at the Baltimore Maryland, Houston Texas, and Long Beach California, facilitating convenient just-in-time delivery to customers. GARMCO also partners with a U.S. university for research and development.
Aluminum is the top export from Bahrain to the U.S. In 2016, $406M worth of aluminum was exported to the U.S., up from $293M in 2015. GARMCO’s rolled aluminum coils are a significant part of this increasing and important export.