ALUMINIUM Bahrain  (Alba) will continue to look forward and focus on future growth strategies, a statement issued by the chairman of the company’s board of directors, Sheikh Daij bin Salman Al Khalifa, says.

“Alba remains committed to accelerating our efforts on Project Titan to ensure we remain cost competitive.  In addition I commend all employees for their efforts on safety with Alba recently achieving three million hours without an LTI,” he said following the second quarterly meeting of the year.

Project Titan is a two-year efficiency programme initiated with the objective of reducing cash costs by $150 per tonne by the end of January 2016.

A presentation on the progress of the Line 6 Bankable Feasibly Study was also given during the board meeting. The board also studied the reports of the executive, bank audit and nomination and remuneration committees. Updates were also given to other items of the management report including safety, overall financial performance and capital projects to improve plant reliability.

Alba chief executive officer Tim Murray was a guest speaker at NorCast 2014, the Nordic Aluminium Cashouse Conference, where he presented Alba’s views on the London Metal Exchange and challenges to the aluminium industry.

“As a leading aluminium producer in the world, Alba is privileged to participate in NorCast 2014, which is a leading casthouse industry conference that offers excellent opportunities to meet with leading aluminium companies as well as suppliers and producers from all over the world. I am honoured to represent Alba on an international platform and highlight the various opportunities and challenges in our industry, as well as put forth the company’s initiatives on employee safety and health,” Murray said.

NorCast is a leading aluminium casthouse conference for casthouse actualities and related products in the aluminium industry and witnesses high-profile executive leaders as distinguished guest speakers who cover important aspects of the aluminium industry. Attended by more than 100 delegates from over 20 countries, worldwide, this forum provides a platform for aluminium processors and producers to meet and gauge present and future opportunities as well as challenges.

Alba held a celebration to mark the casthouse department’s success in completing 1.5 million work hours without a lost time injury.  Applauding the employees’ safety effort, Murray said: “At Alba, we believe that all work-related injuries and illnesses are preventable. Due to our continuous efforts, we have witnessed employees’ taking ownership of safety. I also urge everyone to keep up their safety efforts, especially during the summer months.”

Alba emphasised its safety priorities at an international gathering in the US.

Murray (sixth from left) at the Safety Health and Environment Week held by Reduction Lines 1 to 3

Its chief operations officer Isa Al Ansari was a keynote speaker at the international roundtable “Through the Eyes of the Executive, Creating Safer and Healthier Workplaces across Industries”, which took place from June 19 to 21, 2014 at Vanderbilt University, Tennessee.

 Al Ansari presented the audience with the “Alba Safety Journey”, which highlighted Alba’s safety principles and policies, as well as its numerous initiatives to increase safety awareness amongst its employees. Alba was also represented at this event by the manager for operational excellence, Waleed Tamimi, and superintendent for behavioural issues, organisation, training and recruitment, Mahmood A Aziz.

Al Ansari said: “At Alba, employees are our most valuable asset, and their safety and health is our topmost priority. We constantly update and implement safety procedures to incorporate international safety standards, as well as continuously educating our employees on safe behaviour. We believe that is important for organisations to make employee safety and health a top priority, one which demands continuous commitment from all levels of an organisation.” 

Alba launched its Summer Safety Blizzard Campaign – a plant-wide safety, health and environment (SHE) Week – to promote a safe and healthy working environment during the summer months. The campaign is a demonstration of Alba’s commitment to promoting a zero accident work environment across the organisation and to helping employees beat the heat and work safely.

Chairman Sheikh Daij, who inaugurated the five-day event, remarked: “Alba values its employees the most. Increasing summer safety awareness and knowledge about precautionary measures is imperative to protect our employees. I am positive that through this campaign, we will reinforce the values that Alba believes in and further strengthen initiatives to continue making safety, health and environment
a priority.”

Safety awareness was also stressed at the Safety Health and Environment Week held by the company’s Reduction Lines 1 to 3. The week was inaugurated by Murray.

HUMAN RESOURCES

Alba congratulated three of its key officials – chief financial officer Ali Al Baqali, director of power and utilities Amin Sultan and manager of customer services and operations Khalid A Latif – on their MBA graduation from the French Arabian Business School (FABS), Bahrain, in partnership with the ESSEC Business School, one of Europe’s leading business institutions.

The graduation ceremony was held in Paris and was attended by chief executive Murray who stated: “Alba recognises that education plays a key role in the growth of our people and is a journey that never stops.

“An MBA education provides our key management the full range of business skills they need to compete in a global business environment. We congratulate our MBA candidates on their graduation and for demonstrating their commitment towards work and learning at the same time.” 

Alba is developing future leaders by sponsoring its high potential employees for MBA degrees. The FABS MBA Programme is an 18-month course in which, candidates gain global business knowledge and partner with ESSEC, which is one of the leading business schools in the world. The programme empowers managers and potential future leaders with comprehensive skills to further enhance leadership of the organisation as well as leverage their careers.”

The company announced the appointment of Hassan Noor as the new manager for Carbon 3. A Bahraini national, Noor joined Alba in 1997 as a senior operator in the carbon department and was promoted from time to time.

The company has reaffirmed its commitment to developing the careers of young Bahrainis by sponsoring and participating in the “Get Hired” event that was held under the patronage of the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Dr Hassan A Fakhro, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

It also discussed the new Bahrain Labour Law with human resources managers from Banagas, GPIC, Bapco, Gulf Air, Batelco, Garmco, Asry and the Civil Service Bureau who visited the company.  Alba’s chief financial officer Ali Al Baqali and the manager for human resources, Hamad Al Shaibeh, welcomed the visitors.

GREEN FOCUS

Alba took a big step towards a greener environment with the inauguration of it’s first-ever “green amenity building”. The single-story amenity building, catering mainly to Power Stations 3 and 4 employees, incorporates many green technologies such as solar panels and energy-efficient appliances as compared to conventional factors.

Alba director for power Sultan, said “As one of the world’s largest smelters, and a leading company in Bahrain, Alba’s leadership and decisions play a huge role in influencing society. This green initiative clearly exemplifies our environmental values and I thank all the teams for an excellent job. We remain committed to achieving sustainability and reducing the carbon foot print for a better future.”

The green amenity building project was managed and executed by Alba’s Engineering & Infrastructure Department, which will also incorporate the new energy efficiency standards in all future building projects in Alba.