Rodding - conference

Fifth Electrodes Conference and Exhibition  10-12 May 2011

Four conferences on anode rodding plants have now been held in Reykjavik, Iceland – the first in September 2001, the second in September 2003, the third in September 2005 and the fourth in April 2008. About 125 delegates from 20 countries attended the successful fourth conference, which provided an opportunity to discuss common problems in rodding shop operations and explore latest developments. The conference has now been firmly established as a platform for development and exchange of ideas in this important and previously neglected field of the aluminium industry. The scope of the conference has now been widened to include cathode rodding, and is now appropriately named Electrodes Conference.

Tremendous development has taken place in the aluminium industry during the last few decades. Iceland has actively participated in this development and the country already has the highest per-capita production of primary aluminium in the world. In the year 1970, a total of 39.000 tons of primary aluminium was produced, in 2003 is was up to 270.000 tons and in 2009 it was 810.000 tons.  Primary aluminium is now produced in three smelters in Iceland, at Rio Tinto Alcan Iceland (180.000t), Norðurál Century Aluminium (280.000t) and Alcoa Fjarðaál (350.000t)

The fifth Electrodes Conference will be held in Reykjavik, Iceland in May 2010, allowing participants to learn about new developments, meet colleagues in the field and discuss solutions to common problems. We are confident that the knowledge and experience gained from the first two conferences will enable us to raise the technical standard of the conference even further.

Ingolfur Thorbjörnsson

Chairman of the Conference Technical Committee