DUBAL endorses Earth Hour 2010 through active participation in campaign

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Acknowledging its corporate social responsibilities, Dubai Aluminium Company Limited ("DUBAL")Dubai Aluminium Company Limited ("DUBAL")Dubai Aluminium Company

DUBAL 

UAE | Mining and Metals 

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 - the world's largest modern aluminium smelter with a captive power station - is committed to minimising the impact of its operations on the environment. With this in mind, the company will whole-heartedly endorse the Earth Hour 2010 campaign, which takes place from 20:30 to 21:30 on Saturday 27 March 2010, by switching off all unnecessary lights, air conditioners, office computers and other non-vital equipment in a united stand with millions of people across the world.

"Being a 24-7 operation, the DUBALDUBAL plant cannot be switched off on an ad hoc basis," says Abdulla J M Kalban (President & CEO). "However, we acknowledge that certain non-critical items can be turned off temporarily without compromising individual safety and/or plant security; or affecting production and plant efficiencies. Our individual operating departments have identified these items, and will flick the proverbial switch during Earth Hour."

Kalban adds that staff in DUBALDUBAL's administration areas have also been encouraged to turn off their personal computers, printers, scanners, lights and other equipment for the entire weekend (i.e. from Thursday afternoon through to Sunday morning). In addition, DUBALDUBAL's Residential Area - which is home to some 1,600 bachelor employees - will mark Earth Hour 2010 with 60 minutes of complete darkness across the camp; and the company's large electronic notice-board will be switched off.

"By communicating DUBALDUBAL's participation in Earth Hour 2010 through personalised letters, posters, PC wallpaper, a banner on DUBALDUBAL's corporate website and bulk SMS-messaging to all employees, we have urged our 4,100 employees to support the initiative consciously, wherever they find themselves at 20:30 on Saturday evening," says Kalban. Moreover, the company has sent letters to all its customers, suppliers and contractors to advise them of DUBALDUBAL's participation in Earth Hour 2010 and encourage them to do so, too. As importantly, DUBALDUBAL has been officially registered as a participant and supporter on the Earth Hour website (www.earthhour.org). Locally, the company is partnering with EWS-WWF by distributing "Heroes of the UAE" literature to teach employees how to save energy; and will distribute thousands of energy-saving light bulbs to employees as they enter the company's premises on Thursday 25 March.

"According to the organizers, the overall goal of Earth Hour is to encourage people to take simple steps everyday that collectively reduce carbon emissions and halt climate change - from businesses turning off their lights when their offices are empty, to households turning off appliances rather than leaving them on standby," concludes Kalban. "Our sincere hope is, that by participating in Earth Hour 2010, every member of the DUBALDUBAL family will be inspired to make conscious lifestyle changes that will make a lasting difference to the planet as a whole."

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About Dubai Aluminium CompanyDubai Aluminium Company ("DUBALDUBAL")

Dubai Aluminium Company Limited ("DUBAL")Dubai Aluminium Company Limited ("DUBAL")Dubai Aluminium Company

DUBAL 

UAE | Mining and Metals 

 News | Profile | Officers 

 owns and operates the world's largest modern aluminium smelter with a captive power station. Built on a 480-hectare site in Jebel Ali, the complex's major facilities comprise a one million metric tonne per annum primary aluminium smelter, a 2,350 megawatt power station (at 30°C), a large carbon plant, casthouse operations, a 30 million gallon per-day water desalination plant, laboratories, port and storage facilities.

The Jebel Ali site has the capacity to produce more than one million metric tones of high quality finished aluminum products a year, in three main forms: foundry alloy for automotive applications; extrusion billet for construction, industrial and transportation purposes; and high purity aluminium for the electronics and aerospace industries. More than 300 customers are served in at least 45 countries predominantly in the Far East, Europe, the ASEAN region, the Middle East and Mediterranean region, and North America.

The company holds ISO 9001, ISO/TS 16949, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 20000, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certification at its Jebel Ali site; and has twice won the Dubai Quality Award in the Production and Manufacturing sector (1996 and 2000). More than 4,100 skilled operators, tradesmen, administrative staff, technicians, professionals and managers are employed by DUBALDUBAL. Some 24 per cent of the total workforce is drawn from the local population, with UAE nationals holding over 70 per cent of Senior Management positions.

DUBALDUBAL also holds a 50 per cent share in Emirates Aluminium ("EMAL"), a green-field smelter development at Al Taweelah, Abu Dhabi. Commissioning of the first phase of EMA (comprising a 756,000 metric tonne per annum smelter plus associated power generation, reduction material and casting infrastructure) began in December 2009.

Driven by a quest for continuous improvement and ongoing innovation, DUBALDUBAL has invested substantial sums of money over the past 25 years in developing advanced reduction cell technologies that not only improve productivity but also reduce the operations' impact on the environment through improved energy efficiency and minimized emission levels. This has culminated most recently in DUBALDUBAL's proprietary DX Technology - a UAE flagship technology that operates at 370kA plus and therefore ranks among the best in its class. Developed in 2006, DX Technology has been implemented in a dedicated 40-cell potline at DUBALDUBAL's Jebel Ali smelter complex; and is being installed at EMAL, which will ultimately produce 1.5 million metric tones per annum using DUBALDUBAL's DX Technology.

Entirely state-owned, DUBALDUBAL is one of the largest non-oil contributors to the economy of Dubai and is widely regarded as the industrial flagship of the UAE. Having begun to tap metal at the Jebel Ali site in November 1979, DUBALDUBAL celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2009