The Chief Executive Officer of the Volta Aluminium Company Limited (VALCO), Dr. Robert Makaila Sambian, has revealed that the state-owned aluminium smelter is steadily recovering from years of operational challenges, with significant investments in equipment, infrastructure, and value addition initiatives already yielding positive financial results.
He noted that while he supports efforts to attract strategic investors, allowing the plant to remain idle while awaiting such investments would have led to further deterioration of the facility.
The CEO explained that the measures currently being implemented are necessary to sustain operations, preserve the asset, and improve performance as the company continues to pursue and anticipate strategic investment opportunities.
Speaking in an interview with 1960news.com, Dr. Sambian said management inherited a company heavily dependent on rented equipment and operating at low production capacity when it assumed office.
However, through strategic interventions and prudent financial management, VALCO has begun charting a path towards sustainable profitability.
According to him, one of the first major challenges management encountered was the excessive reliance on rented operational equipment, including lift trucks, payloaders, and other mobile machinery critical to the smelter’s operations.
“We met VALCO at a point where almost all the mobile pieces of equipment were being rented. We immediately put measures in place to change that narrative,” he said.
Rather than continuing with costly rental arrangements, management adopted a supplier-credit and payment-to-own model, enabling the company to acquire equipment while spreading out payments.
Dr. Sambian disclosed that within the first eight months of the new administration, VALCO successfully injected 23 pieces of equipment into its operations.
“This has been the single most significant injection of equipment into the plant since the post-Kaiser era,” he stated.
The acquisition of the equipment, he noted, has significantly enhanced operational efficiency and productivity across the plant.
The CEO indicated that the company’s potline operations have seen notable improvement since management took office.
He explained that the number of operational pots has increased from 114 to 124 active pots after undergoing necessary rehabilitation works, while additional relining projects are ongoing to further boost production.
“We recently received pot-building materials and have resumed the relining programme. We are also working on carbon production and anode manufacturing to support the cell line and increase pot counts,” he said.
The company is targeting 200 operational pots by the end of 2027, a move expected to raise capacity utilisation from the 23 per cent level inherited by the current management to approximately 40 per cent.
Dr. Sambian described this projected achievement as unprecedented in the post-Kaiser period of the smelter’s operations.
Major Retooling Exercise Underway
Despite the gains made, the VALCO CEO acknowledged that substantial work remains to be done to modernise the ageing plant infrastructure.
He revealed that several critical equipment replacements and upgrades are currently underway, including the procurement of new cranes and essential spare parts.
“Two to three cranes are currently under manufacture and will arrive soon. Once installed, they will further improve operational efficiency,” he said.
He added that the company has already paid for spare parts worth millions of dollars, with deliveries expected in phases over the coming months.
The parts, he explained, will address longstanding operational bottlenecks and improve reliability across various sections of the smelter.
Dr. Sambian also confirmed that VALCO’s Board and management are reviewing recommendations from a Strategic Investor Search Committee established by government.
The review forms part of broader efforts aimed at repositioning the company for long-term growth and profitability.
With support from the Board, VALCO has developed a comprehensive five-year strategic plan that seeks to transform the company into a competitive and financially sustainable industrial enterprise.
“There are several options on the table and we are pursuing all of them in the interest of revamping the smelter and making it consistently profitable,” he noted.
One of the most significant milestones highlighted by the CEO is the company’s recent return to positive earnings.
Dr. Sambian disclosed that since December 2025, VALCO has consistently recorded positive Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA).
He further stated that from December through the first quarter of 2026, the company recorded profits before depreciation and taxes.
The improved financial performance has enabled VALCO to strengthen its operational obligations, including employee compensation and statutory payments.
According to him, workers have received their salaries promptly every month since the current management assumed office.
“Workers’ salaries have never delayed beyond the pay day. Every 25th, workers receive their salaries. Their SSNIT contributions and PAYE deductions are also paid before the due dates,” he said.
He noted that aside from some outstanding electricity bills, the company has honoured all other financial commitments, including payments for newly acquired equipment.
A key pillar of the company’s transformation strategy has been a shift away from the traditional tolling business model towards value-added aluminium production.
Dr. Sambian explained that although VALCO has operated largely as a tolling plant since becoming wholly owned by the government.
Nearly two decades ago, the current administration has accelerated plans to add value to locally produced aluminium.
In line with President John Dramani Mahama’s industrialisation agenda, VALCO has completed Phase One of its value addition project.
The company is currently test-producing aluminium wire rods and supplying them to European markets for quality assessment and certification.
The wire rods are primarily used in the manufacture of electrical transmission cables for power distribution networks.
“We have completed Phase One and are now test-producing and supplying the European market. These are electrical grid wire rods used in high-tension power infrastructure,” Dr. Sambian explained.
He added that management is already working on expanding the production line to manufacture finished cables for wider industrial and commercial applications.
Dr. Sambian expressed confidence that the combination of operational optimisation, infrastructure upgrades, value addition initiatives and potential strategic partnerships will position VALCO for sustained profitability.
He stressed that management remains committed to transforming the smelter into a modern, efficient and profitable enterprise capable of supporting Ghana’s broader industrialisation ambitions while creating jobs and value within the country’s integrated aluminium industry.
“Our focus is to optimise the existing operations and reposition the plant to consistently generate profit while supporting the government’s vision of adding value to Ghana’s natural resources,” he said.
By 1960news.com
