Coming to Almatis after the 2009 global crisis, how do you see the market of speciality alumina?
 |
|
“We are making a move from contract durations of one year to six months.” Taco Gerbranda, new chief executive officer at Almatis GmbH. |
TG: The market is recovering well from the global recession. For Europe and North America, we have seen a recovery of more than 40% in 2010 compared to 2009 with our core products for refractory and ceramic applications. Other market participants supplying raw materials for steel refractories reported similar rates.
For 2011, so far, we have seen stable conditions in North America and a growth slightly above the steel market in Europe and China. Based on our customers’ feedback, we expect similar rates for the rest of the year. The current forecast for steel projects a global growth of 6% for 2012, which will be driving the...