Dubai Aluminium triumphs at inaugural Metal Bulletin Global Awards for Aluminium Excellence

Dubai Aluminium, DUBAL, the state-owned corporation which owns and operates the world’s largest single-site smelter using pre-bake anode technology, dominated the inaugural Metal Bulletin Global Awards for Aluminium Excellence by taking the top honours in four of the award categories. The level of competition for the awards was extremely high, with the list of finalists in the various categories also including several other major global and regional players in the aluminium industry, notably Emirates Aluminium, EMAL, UC Rusal, Alcoa, Gulf Extrusions and Novelis. 

The accolades were presented during a special gala dinner on Wednesday 18 September 2013, coincident with Metal Bulletin’s 28^th International Aluminium Conference, which took place in Geneva, Switzerland. The four awards scooped by DUBAL comprised:

Smelting Company of the Year;

Excellence in Operational Management for Smelters and Mills – which was awarded to DUBAL’s Smelting and Casting Operations;

Environmental Responsibility/Stewardship – which was awarded for DUBAL’s successful reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; and

Rising Star of the Year, Person, which was awarded to DUBAL’s Dr Ali Al Zarouni, Vice President: Smelter Operations, who manages assets valued at over US$2.4 billion, oversees approximately 40 per cent of DUBAL’s 3,800-strong multi-national workforce and is also instrumental in the development and marketing of DUBAL’s proprietary reduction technologies.

In addition, DUBAL was a finalist in the fifth award category entered, namely Best Brownfield or Greenfield Technology Project, where the submission outlined the successful development of DUBAL DX Technology, which has been installed in both brownfield expansion and greenfield projects. 

“International recognition of the calibre accredited to Metal Bulletin, which has covered the metal markets since 1913, is a true feather in our corporate cap. The opportunity presented by these awards to benchmark ourselves against the global aluminium industry is invaluable, and I am extremely proud of our performance,” says Abdulla Kalban, President & CEO: DUBAL. “DUBAL’s multiple category wins not only confirm the success of our corporate commitment to excellence in all areas of our operations, but also attest to the progress we’ve made towards realising DUBAL’s vision, which is ‘to be one of the best companies in the global aluminium industry by 2020’, and our quest for continuous improvement. 

“The recognition accorded to Dr Al Zarouni is richly deserved: he is a natural leader who exhibits strong commitment and loyalty to DUBAL,” continues Kalban. “Since joining our corporation in 1991, Dr Al Zarouni has played a key role in the sustained growth and success of DUBAL as well as the establishment and expansion of Emirates Aluminium, EMAL, where DUBAL’s proprietary, in-house developed DX and DX+ technologies have been deployed on industrial scale. His achievement testifies to the exceptional talent and industry expertise amassed within DUBAL’s human capital.” 

The Metal Bulletin Global Awards for Aluminium Excellence were launched this year to mark Metal Bulletin’s 100^th anniversary. The finalists and winners in the diverse competition categories were determined by a panel of industry experts, based upon a fully audited, point-based judging process to ensure integrity and objectivity.  According to a press statement released by Metal Bulletin after the award ceremony, DUBAL is a very highly regarded operation. Indeed, the number of awards presented to DUBAL is testament to the extent to which the panel of expert judges were impressed by all aspects of DUBAL’s operations, as well as with the corporation’s efforts to improve its green credentials and DUBAL’s deployment of its own reduction cell technology for the production of high-quality aluminium.