18 May 2004 01:13
SUAL`s Irkutsk smelter receives intl. quality management certificate
MOSCOW. May 18 (Interfax) - Irkutsk Aluminium smelter (IrkAZ), part of SUAL Group, one of the world's top ten
aluminium producers, has successfully passed an audit to comply with international quality management requirements, SUAL
said in a press release.
The audit follows a certification of IrkAZ by the leading UK-based certification body, BM TRADA, the press release
said. The certificate demonstrates that quality management system at IrkAZ meets the requirements of the international
ISO 9001:2000 standard.
It took IrkAZ one year to develop, introduce and certify the quality management system of the plant according to ISO
9001:2000. As part of the preparatory work for the certification, employees at Irkutsk Aluminium undertook additional
training in quality management. The auditors of BM Trada also highly praised the professionalism of the staff and
specialists at IrkAZ, as well as the plans for development of the smelter.
It is important for the enterprise to gain internationally recognised accreditations, in order to compete
effectively, as it is currently the key condition for cooperation with the largest consumers not only in the domestic
market but also in the international marketplace. Irkutsk Aluminium smelter is the 11th plant in the SUAL Group to
receive ISO 9001 accreditation.
"This certificate proves that our work complies with the highest internationally acceptable quality standards.
This is a significant step not only for IrkAZ but for SUAL as a whole, because it underlines the Group's commitment
to use world recognised operating procedures at each of its facilities" - commented Igor Grinberg, General Director
of Irkutsk Aluminium smelter.
In 2004 IrkAZ plans to sign an agreement with a certifying company for development and introduction of an
environmental management system and certify it to comply with the international ISO 14001-96 standard. This
certification will demonstrate that the plant's activity meets international environmental requirements and it is
committed to perform ongoing work aimed at reducing the plant's environmental impact.
The Irkutsk Aluminium smelter from Shelekhov, Irkutsk region is one of the largest smelters of Russian aluminium
industry. The first aluminium at IrkAZ was produced in 1962. Later in 1996, SUAL was formed following the merger of
Irkutsk Aluminium and Ural Aluminium smelters.
The SUAL Group is a vertically integrated business listed among the top ten largest aluminium producers of the world.
It comprises operations in 9 regions of Russia.
The SUAL Group mines some 4.4 million tonnes of bauxite, refines more than 2 million tonnes of alumina, produces some
890,000 tonnes of primary aluminium and more than 50,000 tonnes of silicon and manufactures more than 110,000 tonnes of
aluminium products annually. [RU ASIA EUROPE EEU EMRG ALU CORA] pr
[Interfax] |
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