EGA’s culture of innovation rewarded at Ideas.America 2015

EGA suggestion wins gold award at international competition

United Arab Emirates, 04 October 2015: As a business built on a legacy of excellence, innovation is a core guiding principle at Emirates Global Aluminium (“EGA”); and a contributor to the organisation’s sustained success. Continuing a tradition of international recognition over the years for its commitment to ideas-sharing and continuous improvement, driven through active employee involvement, EGA received the Gold Award in the ‘Safety Idea of the Year’ category at the 2015 Ideas.America International Competition, which took place in Maryland, USA, from 15 to 17 September.

Value-adding innovation has been a tradition since EGA’s inception in 1979 when operating subsidiary Dubal Aluminium (“DUBAL”, also known as EGA Jebel Ali) was formed. Today, one of EGA’s corporate values is “perform” whereby the business strives to excel in operations through continuous improvement and innovation. This year’s Ideas.America Gold Award went to the suggestion entitled “To use sacrificial fuse to energise pots without using shunt bypass system”, which was submitted by Mudassar Hassan and Kochali Hussain from the Cell Lining department.

Commending the award winners, Abdulla Kalban (MD & CEO: EGA) said, “This Ideas.America Award further highlights EGA’s commitment to Environment, Health and Safety and demonstrates our specific emphasis on ‘safety first and always’, where zero harm and the overall wellbeing of employees are paramount. Congratulations to the innovators on developing this initiative which goes a long way in supporting EGA’s continuous efforts to raise our safety standards and performance records.”

In May 1981, DUBAL developed a Suggestion Scheme, which continues to empower EGA employees today through a proactive ideas-sharing culture. EGA operating subsidiary Emirates Aluminium (“EMAL”, also known as EGA Al Taweelah) followed suit by launching a Suggestion Scheme at its commissioning in 2009. The level of employee involvement in the integrated EGA Suggestion Scheme shows no sign of abating. In 2014 alone, EGA employees at a non-supervisory level submitted a total of 28,791 suggestions, of which 17,389 were implemented and awarded. These suggestions have helped drive cutting-edge developments and contributed to the long-term sustainability of the business by generating savings of US$9.9 million.

Ideas.America is the leading professional association that assists organisations internationally in idea management. This is EGA’s 36th award from Ideas.America, having previously won a total of 35 awards in the annual competition from 2002 to 2014. EGA has also won numerous awards at diverse international innovation-based contests including the annual Ideas.UK, Ideas.Arabia and “dib” competitions.