Hamdan bin Rashid Chairs AGM of DUBAL

Moreover, both cast product and sales volumes exceeded one million metric tonnes for the third consecutive year, with DUBAL selling 1.7 per cent more metal in 2011 than in 2010. These statistics highlight the company's ranking as a major supplier of premium quality, highest purity aluminium to the global market, especially as more than 90 per cent of DUBAL's annual production is exported to more than 300 customers in at least 50 countries in various parts of the world. DUBAL's performance also continued to improve in terms of employee safety. The company's total recordable injury frequency rate (TRIFR), comprising lost time injuries, restricted work and medical treatments per million hours) decreased from 4.21 in 2010 to 3.55 by the end of 2011 an improvement of 15.7 per cent over the last three years. Overall, a 95.5 per cent drop in lost time injuries ("LTIs") has been achieved since 2004.

Importantly, DUBAL met or outperformed virtually all measures relating to the environment in 2011, specifically with regard to overall perfluorocarbon ("PFC") emissions, which have dropped by 88 per cent compared to 1990 levels. DUBAL's total fluoride emissions continued to decrease throughout 2011, resulting in an overall decline of 38 per cent since 2000. With regard to occupational health, DUBAL achieved zero lost work days due to heat stress for the sixth year in a row and none due to heat rash for the fifth consecutive year. 2011 also witnessed the third biennial Voice Your Opinion employee satisfaction survey, in which 84 per cent of employees participated. The survey, conducted by Hay Group (an international management consultancy) and analysed using industry benchmarks, showed that DUBAL ranks 7 per cent above the Global Industry Norm, 4 per cent above the Middle East Norm and on par with the High Performing Companies Norm.

Aiming to be a clear leader by example, DUBAL has spear-headed the quality movement in the UAE, adheres to international operating standards in all aspects of its business operations and is an employer of choice in Dubai. Undoubtedly a source of national pride, DUBAL is a strong proponent of Emiratization more than 65 per cent of employees at senior management level are UAE Nationals, while 15.4 per cent of the total DUBAL workforce comprises local employees. Indeed, DUBAL's efforts in this regard earned the company a 2010 Dubai Human Development Award ("DHDA"), which was presented during the annual Business Excellence Awards in April 2011, organised by the Dubai Department of Economic Development under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

"The 2010 DHDA is the third such accolade for DUBAL, our company having previously won the DHDA in 2002 and the DHDA (Gold) in 2006 - the latter precluding the company from entering the competition again until last year," said Kalban. "In the citation for the 2010 Dubai Human Development Award, DUBAL was commended in particular for the company's business model that drives the national goal of empowering Emirati talent." In terms of foreign investments to secure raw material stocks, good progress was made during 2011. DUBAL is currently engaged in strategic upstream bauxite/alumina projects in Brazil, Republic of Guinea, and Cameroon that are in various stages of development.

The performance of DUBAL's proprietary DX Reduction Technology continued to advance throughout the year: the amperage of the 40 DX Reduction Technology cells at DUBAL's Jebel Ali site has been increased to 380 kA, while parallel efforts enabled a lowering in energy consumption, higher efficiency operating parameters and new emissions benchmarks. "The operating parameters being recorded consistently clearly demonstrate the outstanding performance capabilities of DX Reduction Technology at industrial scale and put it at the level of the best available technologies," says Kalban. "DX Reduction Technology has also been installed in the EMAL Phase I potlines, where the cells are performing as impressively as at DUBAL.