Alba Casthouse of Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) has become the first company in Bahrain in the basic metal products manufacturing sector to upgrade its Quality Management System (QMS) to the new ISO 9001:2008 Standard.

The new standard will help in strengthening Alba's interface with customers by assuring them of the international quality standards that Alba follows.

Alba Casthouse achieved this feat during its recertification process that was due in June.

Casthouse re-certified its quality management system from June 2009 until June 2012.

Alba's Casthouse QMS was recertified and upgraded to this new standard on June 3, after a rigorous certification assessment conducted by Bahrain-based Bureau Veritas BV. The certification will remain valid until June 2012.

'Alba is strongly committed towards cost reduction, operational efficiency and in maintaining a strict focus on quality,' said Alba chief executive Ahmed Saleh Al Noaimi.

'The ISO certifications provide us with a viable benchmark to measure our performance and develop concrete goals for the future, namely, to ensure that our smelter continues to be recognised for its quality of products and services, safe working conditions and environmentally-friendly operations,” he added.

'The new ISO 9001:2008 certification will provide our customers with a transparent window into our operations, and assure them that the systems already in place at Alba are of global standards. It will, of course, only help us to serve them better.'

'I like to congratulate the Casthouse team as well as their interfacing strategic partners like marketing, material management, casthouse maintenance, process automation and BMS departments for their success in securing this feat.”

Alba has been consistently ranked as one of the largest aluminium smelters in the world and is known for its technological strength and innovative policies, said a report in our sister publication, the Gulf Daily News.

It supports numerous community oriented programmes and social activities that have underlined its status as one of Bahrain's leading industrial organisations that remains fully committed to its corporate social responsibility. – TradeArabia News Service