Green buildings, green cities and an ever growing public awareness of corporate social responsibility means that companies in the UAE are actively seeking ways to appease increasingly knowledgeable stakeholders. Emirates Foodstuff and Mineral Water Company PJSC, otherwise known as AGTHIA, is a company that sees the value of environmentally friendly practices and how they can affect a company’s bottom line. At the recent Al Ain Air Show, the Al Ain Mineral Water Company (which, along with Grand Mills for Flour & Feed Company and Al Ain Vegetable Processing and Canning Factory , makes up AGTHIA) launched its PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottle recycling programme, aimed at addressing one of the many environmental concerns currently facing the United Arab Emirates.
“As a leading manufacturer of bottled water we are fully aware of the growing concerns regarding the disposal, and environmental impact, of the large number of PET bottles in the UAE,” states Fasahat Beg, General Manager of Al Mineral Water. “Our new bottle re-cycling programme, recently launched at the Al Ain Aerobatics Show, has created a lot of interest in the UAE. We were able to recover and re-cycle a large proportion of the bottles used during the course of the Show; and what was especially important was the commitment and positive interest of the general public in this re-cycling initiative.”
At the core of Al Ain Mineral Water’s recycling programme is the Budafilter patented PET bottle shrinking machine. Bottles are placed in the machine and gentle heat shrinks both large and small bottles down to a fraction of their size, thus immediately addressing the issue of waste volume. Al Ain Municipality were impressed enough to request that the initiative be rolled out across the Al Ain community as a first step, with a national roll-out planned to kick off later in 2008.
Showing a commitment to not only the UAE but the planet at large, AGTHIA has tapped into an element of public consciousness that spreads across all cultural barriers. The Living Planet Report 2006, released by the World Wildlife Fund, states that an average person living in the UAE puts more demand on the global ecosystem than an average person living in any other country (the United States of America comes in second).
Government initiatives and strategic plans set out by the country’s rulers seek to address the problem and as a listed company with shareholders to answer to, AGTHIA can be seen as ‘stepping up to the plate’.
AGTHIA CEO, Ilias Assimakopoulos says: “As a listed company on the Abu Dhabi Securities Market, with over 150,000 Emirati shareholders, we at AGTHIA feel it is our responsibility to take a lead on addressing key environmental issues currently facing the UAE. The PET bottle re-cycling programme being developed by Al Ain Mineral Water is the first of several environmentally-friendly programmes we will introduce across our group of companies.”
Al Ain Mineral Water Company holds 23% of the drinking water market in the UAE. Whilst CSR is an increasingly important part of a company’s business plan, quality, brand and reputation obviously factor greatly. Al Ain Mineral Water adheres to the US Food & Drug Administration’s rules on the chemical composition of drinking water, widely considered to be among the worlds strictest,’ continued Beg.
“This, combined with our strong internal quality control systems, means our consumers can have complete confidence that they will consistently receive a product which is healthy in the purest sense and one of the best tasting on the market.”
Such is the strength and reputation of AGTHIA, the company secured distribution rights to Toronto-based Mother Parker’s Tea & Coffee Inc., one of North America’s leading tea and coffee manufacturers. Other Mother Parker’s clients include Air Canada, American Airlines, Tim Hortons, WalMart and Loblaws. With an increase in sales for 2007 of 33.5% to AED 578.7 million and a net profit increase of 31.1% to AED 38.1 million, AGTHIA is a company that appears untouched by the astronomical gains seen in soft commodities throughout 2007.
AGTHIA’S acquisitions of Ice Crystal in 2007 and the Al Ain Vegetable Processing and Canning Factory during January 2008 give the company a strong domestic outlook for the remainder of 2008. Ice Crystal gives Al Ain Water access to the lucrative 5 gallon/Litre market adding to the 5 litre, 1.5 litre, 500ml and 330ml bottles, as well as the 250ml and 100ml cups already sold. A desire to increase exports is also clear. The Al Ain Vegetable factory deal will enable AGTHIA to tap into the very lucrative tomato paste and frozen vegetable markets, and Grand Mills’ introduction of speciality flours during November of last year, shows a real desire for growth in the bread and baked goods category.
With a good domestic history and eyes towards an international future, AGTHIA is an Abu-Dhabi-based company on the right track. Investments in waste recycling equipment, environmental awareness programmes for employees and the public alike, and quality accreditations that are internationally recognized, are pushing the Emirates Foodstuff and Mineral Water Company to the top of the FMCG tree.
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