Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company last night held a major ceremony at the Ritz Carlton Hotel marking its win of the Sir Earl George Safety Award from the Royal Society for Prevention from Accidents (RoSPA) for the best performance of occupational safety and health systems worldwide. The event was attended by a large number of government ministers, shareholders, senior executives of industrial companies, members of the Shura and Representatives Council, members of the diplomatic corps, prominent figures and invited guests from Bahrain and abroad. The ceremony was also attended by Lord Jordan as a representative of the Royal Society for Prevention from Accidents (RoSPA).
HE Shaikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa, Advisor to His Highness the Prime Minister for Industrial and Oil Affairs and GPIC Chairman opened the ceremony by delivering a speech in which he expressed his pleasure at the Company's win of this major international award and reiterated that this achievement was a cause of pride for Bahrain and the Arabian Gulf region as a whole.
He also expressed his thanks and gratitude to our wise leadership His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of the Kingdom of Bahrain, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister and His Highness Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and the wise government for their unlimited support and guidance, which made it possible to receive this award.
His Excellency also expressed his thanks to the shareholders for their great confidence in the Board of Directors and providing the necessary resources for developing safety, health and environment programmes enabling the Company to become a leader in these fields not only on the local level but also on the international level.
HE Shaikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa praised the efforts of the executive management led by Mr. Abdul Rahman Jawahery and all the employees for their sincerity and loyalty to the Company. He explained that this achievement was the fruit of proper strategic planning and accurate implementation that distinguished this Company from its counterparts in other parts of the world.
He concluded his speech by congratulating everyone who has contributed to make this dream come true and make our Kingdom happy as we await the National Day celebrations.
Afterwards, GPIC General Manager Mr. Abdul Rahman Jawahery delivered a speech in which he focused on the importance of safety, health and environment for this industry. He spoke about how GPIC planned and realized its successive achievements.
The General Manager expressed in his speech his thanks and appreciation to the wise leadership for its encouragement and support for the Company and its elimination of all the obstacles facing it. He lauded the support of the shareholders, contributions of the employees and full co-operation of the GPIC Trade Union.
He focused on the Company's achievements in 2005 saying that the year witnessed unique achievements by all standards. During this year, the Company received the Award of His Highness Shaikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa for the best Environmental Garden for Industrial Organisations. This year GPIC also won the Award of Al Hariri, former Lebanese Prime Minister for the Best Maintenance System in the Arab World. The year witnessed the assessment of our plants as the best operated and managed plants. The methanol plant won the first place among the biggest and most prestigious methanol plants in the whole world from Johnson Mathi of the UK. GPIC was also honoured by the GCC Council of Labour and Social Affairs Ministers for excellence in training programmes and localization of jobs. Therefore, it is not surprising that the expected profitability for this year is the highest in the Company's entire history.
He further said he concludes that the Company's success in winning such awards and various forms of recognition is the best evidence that the business strategies and continuous development of the Company complement each other and aim at achieving excellence in all aspects. Winning such global award places upon the Company a major responsibility for maintaining such achievements and realising further progress for the Company.
Then, Mr. Jawahery reassured the audience that the remarkable achievement in the area of safety, health and environment was not at the expense of other aspects but complements them. He said GPIC has been able to pay attractive dividends to the shareholders and contributed more than US$ one billion to the national economy since the launch of the Company. In addition, the high quality of the products has enabled GPIC to win the confidence of the major petrochemical importers in the world. On the social level, the General Manager highlighted the Company's active participation in a variety of cultural, sports and social events, which everyone knows about.
On how the Company won this award, Mr. Jawahery spoke about the strong competition faced by GPIC from such well established companies as Shell, UK, Toyota of Japan and the US General Electric. This win is a reflection of the high level of safety, health and environment systems not only in GPIC but also in the Kingdom as a whole.
The General manager thanked Lord Jordan and RoSPA for this recognition of the Company.
Concluding, Mr. Jawahery thanked HE Shaikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa, Board Chairman for his prudence and unlimited support for the executive management during his chairmanship of the Board of Directors. He dealt with GPIC's relationship with the Health and Safety Society chaired by Dr. Mustafa Al Sayed, Bapco Chief Executive and former GPIC Chief Executive saying that this achievement is the fruit of co-operation with the Society in all matters related to health and safety.
Then, RoSPA Deputy Chairman Lord Jordan thanked GPIC for its participation and its continuous progress compared with other international companies in improving its risk management. The company was able to compete against 1,400 international companies, mostly from Europe, and we made sure that the Company's systems are among the best systems followed by such companies. It was noted that the Company cultivated a sense of responsibility in the areas of health and safety not only among its employees but also throughout the society from the employees' families to the awareness campaigns and participation in the making and development of laws and legislation in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
On this occasion, Mr. Jawahery gave a press statement in which he attributed the Company's remarkable achievements, success and growth to the support and encouragement received by GPIC from His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of the Kingdom of Bahrain, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister and His Highness Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Commander-in-Chief of the Bahrain Defence Force.
Commenting on GPIC's achievements and performance, Mr. Jawahery said GPIC was a pioneering example in several areas. Its production has achieved record figures in the production of ammonia, urea and methanol at high levels of efficiency with total output exceeding 1,450,000 metric tons of petrochemicals annually. Such products, he said, are marketing on the world markets and in countries that require high quality standards which requires an enormous ability to adapt to high and sophisticated technologies and successful penetration of the international markets.
He added that the themes of safety, health and the environment are among the main objectives of the Company and its operations, as designs of the different plants are compatible with international specifications and local legislation in the fields of safety, health and environment. The General Manager said he was proud of GPIC's achievements which enabled it to enjoy a worldwide reputation. Such achievements are usually accompanied by major challenges that ensure the continuation of growth while maintaining its gains given that the Company is the first Gulf joint venture to be carried out in the region and great hopes and aspirations are pinned upon it for the good of the people in this area.
As far as profitability is concerned, we have succeeded in reaping attractive profits that enabled us to pay dividends to the shareholders on a regular basis and to strengthen the Company's financial position. Hr added this excellent performance has had significant economic returns through the continuous investments in developing the Company's equipment and facilities with the use of the latest technologies available in the world markets. As part of GPIC's strategy to streamline costs and to reduce production costs, the Company has drawn up an intensive maintenance programme for the in-house manufacture of spare parts according to the international standards with the assistance of manufacturers and local contractors.
As a culmination of the Company's successes, the urea plant project was carried out at a cost of US$170 million which was less than the budget by more than US$10 million and was completed within a record period of time. We were honoured by the Prime Minister who opened it on 3rd March, 1998. The plant produces 560,000 metric tons annually of high quality urea granules and uses the most advanced technologies to further enhance the petrochemical and fertilizer industry in the Kingdom of Bahrain. It has been successfully operated by highly trained Bahraini employees who account for 50% of the workforce. We also made use of local contractors in implementing the project within a record period of time and below budget projections.
Speaking about human resources, Mr. Jawahery said GPIC pays considerable attention to the Bahrainisation scheme and development of human resources believing that competitiveness and continuous success does not only depend upon fixed assets, equipment and technologies as there are many firms that have similar equipment and operations but are distinguished from each other by the qualified, creative and innovative human resources who work within an integrated corporate culture. The Company is seeking to develop its workforce who are the backbone of such corporate culture. This strategy, he added, has been recognized by specialized academic studies that have confirmed the effectiveness of such strategy.
One of the key schemes that serve the Company's objective of developing human resources and participation in the decision-making process is the suggestion scheme that helps develop a spirit of innovation. He said this scheme has a positive return not only on the Company and employees but also on improving performance levels in operations and productivity. Perhaps the annual meeting in 2005 between the management and all the employees in the Company is a clear evidence of the close relationship between the two Parties and their adoption of the joint decisions together.
Moreover, GPIC is considered as a pioneer industrial company in obtaining the dual recognition of its quality management system (ISO 9002) in 1995 and environment management system (ISO 14001 in 1999). These two awards are considered as an international recognition of the total management system applied by GPIC in all its operations, hence enabling it to have a high international repute.
Environmental issues have undoubtedly been very effective in the prominence of the Company and its environmental activities that have gone beyond compliance with the required environmental laws and regulations. A number of environmental and charity projects have been launched and these included the Charity Fish Farm, Charity Vegetable Farm and Bird Sanctuary. Such projects, though small in size, have a considerable implication and prove beyond doubt that the environment around the Complex is clean and tidy. For example, the Company grows 30,000 rare sea-breams in the farm in every year and its output is partly donated to needy families in the neighbouring villages. The rest of the stock is released in the territorial waters as a contribution from the country for enrichment of marine life.
A vegetable and palm oasis has been developed and expanded and its produce goes to the poor people. Also a bird sanctuary has been created on two small islands offering a natural sanctuary to migrating and resident birds. This project has been successful with more than 100 species of birds registered as having visited the sanctuary with some of them taking permanent refuge there.
In 2005 HH Shaikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Wildlife Protection Authority opened the unique medical herb garden where many kinds of medical herbs are grown for later use for medical purposes.
Mr. Jawahery confirmed that the Company would continue its efforts to maintain health, safety and environmental standards believing that the continuation of industrial development was closely linked to protection of such vital elements.
Commenting on the implications of this major award, the General Manager said it is a cause of pride for the Bahraini industry as it motivates the staff and encourage overseas investors especially those from the Gulf states wishing to invest in such downstream industries. This would give a boost to the policy of the wise leadership in diversifying the sources of income and finding jobs for Bahraini manpower. He noted that the urea plant project was the start of a series of expansions of the Company's activities and operations. Such award, he added, was a significant incentive for going ahead with such successful projects which would encourage the shareholders to approve these projects and speed up their implementation.
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© Press Release 2005
