Alba: good progress in 2014

ALUMINIUM Bahrain (Alba) released final sales and production figures for 2014 showing increases for both.

Sales rose 1.3 per cent to reach 931,526 tonnes versus 919,722 tonnes in 2013 ahead of the company’s own forecast. Output was up 2.1 per cent to reach 931,427 tonnes versus 912,700 tonnes in 2013. The company said both were record figures.

The company was able to sustain value-added (VA) sales for 2014 with an average of 66 per cent of total shipments.

Commenting on Alba’s sales and production for 2014, its chief executive, Tim Murray, said: “We continue to build momentum and we were able to exceed our own forecasts thanks to the hard work of Alba’s dedicated workforce. We firmly believe that the improvement in safety had a direct correlation on Alba’s setting the record on production in 2014. In 2015 we expect to further push the limits on operational performance and look positively to future growth.”

Alba said it would release its full-year and fourth-quarter 2014 financial results to the public on February 9.

Al Ansari (right) and Hadi at the MEET ICT Bahrain 2014 awards

Al Ansari (right) and Hadi at the MEET ICT Bahrain 2014 awards

Established in 1971 as a 120,000 tonnes per annum smelter, the company’s products include standard and T-ingots, extrusion billets, rolling slab, properzi ingots and molten aluminium.

In other news, the company celebrated the winning of several MEET ICT Bahrain 2014 awards which it said underscored its commitment to international standards of excellence and workplace efficiency. It was honoured with the business and commerce application category award for implementing the BI solution using Microsoft BI; the ‘on the cloud’ project category award for its private cloud solution based on Windows Server 2012 and the MEET ICT Personality of the Year of 2014.

Al Ansari, expressing pride at being honoured by the GCC region’s IT industry experts, said: “I would like to congratulate Alba’s IT department for their hard work in developing processes and promoting efficient operations throughout the organisation. We are proud to win these awards, which clearly demonstrate the department’s will to uphold its key principles – speed, agility and simplicity.

The awards were accepted by Alba’s chief operations officer, Isa Al Ansari, and senior manager for IT, Esam Hadi.

Murray speaking at the first Town Hall meeting of 2015

Murray speaking at the first Town Hall meeting of 2015

“I also congratulate Hadi on his well-deserved win of MEET ICT Personality of the Year of 2014. He has played a key role in leading such an award-winning team and we look forward to winning more accolades in the future.”

Hadi was a key speaker at Meet ICT 2014 and delivered a presentation “Big Data: To Be or Not to Be” which explored the fundamentals of big data and suitability of its implementation within organisations. Hadi was also part of a panel discussion on ‘How Organisations tend to run their ICT with cloud computing and big data’.

Held under the patronage of Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, Minister of Transportation, MEET ICT Bahrain 2014 was an exhibition-cum-conference, which brought together IT leaders from across the GCC region to discuss the  latest technology trends and ideas on different platforms.

 

TOWN HALL MEETINGS

Murray kicked-off the inaugural session of the 2015 Town Hall meetings at the Oasis Hall and brought the employees up-to-date on the company’s performance in 2014 and its initiatives and plans for 2015.

Alba staff at Line 5

Alba staff at Line 5

The 2015 Town Hall meetings took place throughout the month of January and highlighted various areas including safety achievements, operational performance, the Project Titan cost improvement programme and management expectations for 2015.

At the first Town Hall meeting, Murray said: “I truly believe the best way to connect with the employees is through direct communication and the Town Hall meeting atmosphere offers a simple and effective way to reach people. Alba has had an exceptional 2014 as reflected in the company’s record production figures of  931, 427 tonnes and significant improvement in safety.

“I express my sincere thanks to all Alba Board, Management, Alba Labour Union and all Alba employees and contractors for a great 2014 and we look forward to the challenges in the year ahead.”

The Town Hall meeting was a special initiative introduced by Murray in January 2014 to update employees on Alba’s performance and goals through presentations and interactive sessions.

 

SAFETY CAMPAIGN

A much appreciated initiative in recent weeks was the Alba Labour Union’s safety campaign “Our children are waiting for us”, which received the full support of Alba’s management. 

Ingots made at Alba’s production facilities

Ingots made at Alba’s production facilities

The opening ceremony took place at the Union Hall inside Alba and was attended by the executive management and top officials as well as the chairman and members of the Alba Labour Union board and a large number of employees.

The chairman of Bahrain’s Free Labour Unions Federation, Yacoub Yousif Mohammed, was present. The event was held on the occasion of the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.

Chief executive Murray said: “Road accidents could be very serious, if not fatal. Therefore it is important to stay safe on the road, especially through using the seat belt as it helps minimise the impact of these accidents.

“We at Alba stress on the importance of making safety a priority in all aspects of life and that employees should come to work safely, work safely, go home safely and be safe at home.”