Media Type: ALVANCE

ALVANCE Aluminium, part of sustainable industry leader GFG Alliance, will begin consulting on plans for a new £94m recycling and aluminium billet plant at its Lochaber smelter next week as it develops Fort William’s position as a leading international producer of low-carbon aluminium.

A public consultation will be held online for 21 days from 22nd February, including a live consultation event on Thursday 25th February from 3.30 pm –7pm where members of the project team will be available to respond to questions.

ALVANCE announced plans in November for a new recycling and casting facility that will double GREENALUMINIUM production from over 40,000 tonne per annum (ktpa) to over 80ktpa. The plant will produce long, round bars called billets for the domestic construction, building and transport sectors, supplanting some of the current dependency on imports.

ALVANCE expects to award contracts to local suppliers including new building works for the facility. The billet, which is destined for both UK and European markets, will be produced from Lochaber’s already low-carbon aluminium and recycled material, giving it some of the greenest credentials on the market.

Once approved, the new integrated business plan and associated developments will secure the long-term future of the Fort William aluminium smelter, safeguarding 200 local jobs and creating 70 new high quality roles. Subject to approvals and any further impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, ALVANCE aims to commence the new development works in 2021 and target full operation by 2024.

Visit the ALVANCE Aluminium Group website to read the full media release

JAHAMA Highland Estates, part of sustainable industry leader GFG Alliance, has made two new female appointments to its estate management team as it continues to lead the way in promoting a diverse and responsible approach to land management.

Anastasia Young, 22, has joined JAHAMA as Estates Surveyor. Hailing from the village of Laggan at the northern end of the Estates, Anastasia studied Rural Business Management at SRUC Aberdeen and has moved from a regional rural chartered surveying firm in the Scottish Borders.

Anastasia’s appointment challenges the typical demographic of a chartered surveyor – only 16% in the UK are female – while also representing an emerging, modern breed of Scottish rural estate professionals. In the rural profession, women now make up 35% of qualified chartered surveyors while 61% of newly qualified entrants to the sector are female.

In addition to her role, JAHAMA Highland Estates will support Anastasia in her final year of training ahead of her RICS exams.

Anastasia’s arrival coincides with the new role of Estates Support Specialist filled by Helen Polley, who has lived in Lochaber for more than 15 years and has a wealth of estate management experience from her previous role with Bidwells.  Helen previously qualified as a paralegal while working for a Fort William firm of solicitors and is well placed to provide the team with a range of advice and support.

Read the full media release on JAHAMA Highland Estates website

ALVANCE will invest in a new recycling and casting facility that will take aluminium production at its Fort William plant from just over 40,000 tonne per annum (ktpa) to 80ktpa. The new facility will produce 80ktpa of long, round shapes (“billets”) for the domestic construction sector which currently relies heavily on imports.  To support the developments ALVANCE is also proposing significant upgrades to the nearby port of Corpach to improve efficiency of material flow.

With current smelting processes already powered by GFG Alliance’s zero emission hydro-electric power, the new addition of aluminium recycling and expansion into downstream billets will allow ALVANCE to manufacture some of the most sustainably produced billets in the world, giving it a competitive advantage as the demand for green aluminium grows.

Read the press release – ALVANCE Aluminium Group website

SIMEC, the international energy business that is part of Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance, is pleased to announce that its Kinlochleven hydro-electric power station has increased generation to its highest level for nearly 20 years following a recent upgrade to capacity.

Jahama Highland Estates has appointed Chloe Malcolm as manager of its 12,000 acres of upland farming operations in the Glenshero and Inverlair areas.

Chloe, 25, was born and brought up on a local Highlands farm and has experience in farming in Devon, Dumfries and on the Isle of Bute.

Her appointment, at one of Scotland’s largest hill farming operations, represents a departure from the usual demographic for a farm manager.

Only 16% of farm managers in Scotland are female, and only 4% are younger than 35.

Read the full media release on the JAHAMA Highland Estates website.

International property and investment business JAHAMA Group is today announcing plans to develop its first hotel after recently receiving pre-planning consent from South Lanarkshire Council for a full-service 100-bedroom facility in Clydebridge on the outskirts of East Glasgow.

Investment in hospitality facilities is part of JAHAMA’s wider strategy to develop surplus land around existing and former industrial sites for a range of property uses, which enhance local communities while also bringing employment and tourism to the area.

South Lanarkshire Council’s support follows a pre-application enquiry submitted by JAHAMA last September. The scheme is for redundant land to the east of sister company Liberty and its iconic Clydebridge Steelworks, situated to the north of Cambuslang.

Once built, Clydebridge Hotel will deliver 50 permanent jobs and help create further indirect jobs in the wider community. UK property and development expert Strutt & Parker (part of the BNP Paribas Real Estate Group) has been appointed to advise JAHAMA on this project and secure planning permission for the development.

The 10-acre site benefits from a strategic road network including easy access to the M74, proximity to the River Clyde and a substantial area of woodland, providing opportunities for future guest amenities.

The plans for a full-service hotel are designed to offer a wide variety of activities to both leisure and business travellers as well as amenities to the local community. When developed, the site will include a restaurant, café, bar and state-of-the-art fitness club.

The east of Glasgow has undergone considerable regeneration over the last decade with the construction of buildings for the Commonwealth games such as the Athletes Village at Dalmarnock, Emirates Arena and The Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome. The wider Clyde Gateway regeneration project is also attracting plenty of property investment and additional businesses into the area, which the hotel will be serving.

JAHAMA’S CEO Dilip Awtani said: “We are delighted to be contributing to the huge regeneration activity that is currently taking place in East Glasgow. The recent investment in the infrastructure and recreational facilities will drive tourism and business activity to the city, create jobs and other benefits for the local community. This is why we believe that Cambuslang is an ideal location for a modern enhanced-services hotel and leisure facility.

“Our team has a wealth of property development and finance experience that can bring these plans to fruition and advance further commercial property developments, utilising the extensive land within JAHAMA’s portfolio.

“For this project, we would also be keen to partner with branded operators in the area or new to the city that can work with us to turn the hotel in Clydebridge into a popular destination.”

JAHAMA is part of a collection of industrial companies that form the GFG Alliance, which also includes the owner of neighbouring Clydebridge and Dalzell steelworks, Liberty Steel Group.

Sanjeev Gupta, Founder and Executive Chairman of the GFG Alliance said: “We are focussed on Scotland as a key area of investment, already deploying funds of £500m as recently set out in our Scottish Investment Report. The Clydebridge site was part of our first Scottish investment and I am pleased that the initial investment in the steel business is also bringing further local opportunities.

“We have recently received permission to build a zipwire leisure facility in the Highlands at Kinlochleven so the tourism industry is becoming an increasingly important part of GFG’s Scottish portfolio.”

• Scottish report from GFG Alliance details industrial investment of £500m across Scotland, the creation or safeguarding of 400 jobs and spending of £22m with local suppliers
• Employees past and present celebrate the anniversary of the Lochaber hydro-electric plant and aluminium smelter
• Liberty examines options for downstream manufacturing plant in Fort William to produce automotive wheels or alternative aluminium products

Past and present employees of the UK’s only remaining aluminium factory gathered in Fort William today to mark the 90th anniversary of the Lochaber hydro-electric plant and smelter – one of Scotland’s best known industrial plants.

The factory, on the foothills of Ben Nevis, was acquired by the GFG Alliance for €330 million three years ago and produces up to 50,000 tonnes of aluminium annually, powered by renewable energy from fresh water running off the slopes of Scotland’s highest mountain.

Guests including Ian Blackford, the SNP Westminster leader, will today be treated to commemorative bottles of whisky from the local Ben Nevis distillery and a retrospective exhibition detailing the Lochaber plant’s colourful history.

Coinciding with the event, the GFG Alliance published its first Scottish report detailing industrial investment of £500m in six aluminium, steel and energy sites across the country, the creation or safeguard of over 400 jobs and spending of nearly £22m with local suppliers.

Sanjeev Gupta, Executive Chairman of the GFG Alliance, said: “The Lochaber complex was an engineering triumph, requiring 2,000 men to drive tunnels through the solid rock of the Ben Nevis range. That Highland ‘can do’ spirit has endured for generations as Lochaber has kept lights ablaze and provided high quality metal for use across British industry.

“I’m very proud that the GFG Alliance is not only keeping that tradition going in Lochaber but is investing in staff, capacity and in downstream manufacturing. This is a very special place and it’s a privilege to be a part of its history. As we drive this project forward we have added forty people to our Fort William team.

“The model we see here – of renewable energy powering heavy industry – is at the very heart of GFG’s vision for the renewal and revival of foundation industries not just in Scotland but internationally. Our goal is for our steel businesses to be carbon neutral by 2030.”

The Lochaber smelter has long played an important part in the local community. Under GFG’s ownership, initiatives have included:

• An increase in employment by 26% to 237 roles
• 1,000 aluminium water bottles donated to the local high school under an “eliminate plastic” initiative
• Football strips donated to South Lochaber Thistle and sponsorship of the Balliemore Cup
• Subsidised tickets for residents for the soon-to-open Highland Cinema in Fort William
• Development of the JAHAMA Highland Estates to open access and build profitable local business like the new zip wire and our mountain biking events
• Development of further clean green power projects locally

Liberty has invested nearly £5 million in preparatory work for a downstream manufacturing plant in Fort William. Options under consideration include an automotive wheels plant or, in view of a downturn in UK car production, alternative industrial uses for the liquid aluminium produced in the Lochaber smelter – such as industrial extrusions or water bottles.

Amanda Mackenzie, chief executive of Business in the Community, said: “You can’t fail but to be inspired by the scale of what is happening in Fort William using the natural and sustainable resources of the surrounding countryside. GFG’s commitment to the Scottish economy, investment in their surrounding communities and recycled metal production sets an incredible example for others to follow.”

Elsewhere in Scotland, GFG’s report outlines growing production from its Liberty Steel Dalzell plant at Motherwell, along with an increase in hydro-power generation at Kinlochleven and a doubling of tidal energy generation at the Meygen project off the Scottish coast.

During the period under review, GFG companies supported 400 school pupils in Lanarkshire to gain high-quality industrial work experience, provided or committed nearly £250K to Scottish charities and community projects and, through GFG’s Scottish cycle manufacturer, Shand, supplied the bike that took Scotswoman Jenny Graham around the world in a record time.

The document, which can be accessed on the GFG Alliance’s website highlights plans and studies in respect of further investment in Scotland including:

• A £154m windfarm at Glenshero in the Highlands
• Housing and real estate developments in Clydebridge and across Jahama Highland Estate
• A wind tower manufacturing operation in Scotland
• Prospects for a GREENSTEEL plant in Scotland, to be driven by an electric arc furnace