Titan Project: Raising Productivity and Accelerating Cost-Saving Initiatives

Hugo Levesque – Operation Excellence Manager

Aluminium BahrainOctober 2015

Agenda

– Alba description

– Context Aluminium industry

– Titan project

– Learnings

Aluminium Bahrain

Start up 1971 5th largest single site smelter in world (931K mt)

Potential Line 6 + 514K mt (go to 1.3M mt) Aluminium Industry ~10% of Bahrain’s GDP 2014 Sales $2.2Billion & Net Income $257 million Public Company (IPO 2010 London & BSE) 50% of production to Bahrain downstream 3,000 Employees (87% Bahraini)

Alba aerial view

Middle east core with Worldwide footprint

Aluminium underperforming market for last 5 years

Solution to unlock value for shareholder

• Offsite management meeting Feb 2014 : Launch of Titan project

• Remember the Titans – American football Hollywood movie

– Overcome individual differences and egos

– Success can be only achieved working as a team for the team

Definition of Titan

• 2 years project started in Feb 2014

• Aim cash cost reduction of 150 $ per ton of aluminium produced – 140 m$ / year

• In scope ; Raw material, Supply chain, Fixed cost, Volume

Why is it important ?

Aluminium price in 2013

1st Quartile : Safe zone for good EBITDA margin + high resilience in market downturn

Project structure & OpEx role

Executive management• Leader to create change• Remove bottleneck• Set top down targets

Managers ( X 40 )• Own the change• Drive area projects ( to reach goals )

Team leaders ( X 200 )• Execute the project• Generate bottom up solutions

OpEx team ( X 8 )• Project progress

tracking• Follow up on

deliverables• Support Managers &

Executives on request• Change agents• Lean 6 sigma training

Communication

– Monthly CEO meeting

– Interconnect

– Campaign

– Social media

– Posters

– Press release

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Instagram

Tracking system

– Tracking tool ( Complete picture Alba and per Manager )

– Roadmaps :

Cost and volume on right direction

12% reduction 3.1 % increase

$ ton/

Result : 129$/t June End

Project sustainability = People development

Learnings

– Launch “a project” to capture and track all initiative is important, scattered initiatives don’t create enough traction

– It takes time to build a meaningful tracking system

– It takes time for people to understand the system

– Independent tracking is required

– Top down targets are required, mainly to start

– Bottom solutions development is the key and this is where the momentum will be created

– Executives and Managers commitment makes big difference

– OpEx to be kept lean and decentralised in view to maximise project ownership of area manager’s

Thank YouQuestions?