SUSTAINABILITY REPORT Cont’d PRODUCT QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION GRI 3-3; GRI 417-1 Why is this important? Ensuring high-quality aluminium products that consistently meet customer requirements and expectations is critical to sustaining our success. This helps Press Metal build strong and value-adding relationships, creating a competitive advantage for the Group. Conversely, failing to meet our customer expectations may lead to complaints, loss of sales, and damage to our Group’s reputation. We continue to invest in manufacturing process improvements in response to the industry’s rapid changes and stakeholders’ expectations around the world. Our Approach Press Metal primarily produces the following aluminium products: P1020 ingots, value-added products (i.e. alloy ingots, billets, wire rods), and extrusion products. The P1020 aluminium ingots produced by Press Metal are registered with the LME under the High-Grade Primary Aluminium Contract. As such, the production of P1020 ingots must conform to the specified shape, weight and quality requirements dictated by the LME. Our Aluminium Electrical Conductor Grade Rods are made with a 99.5% minimum aluminium purity requirement and are one of our preferred products. This is because it is well suited for electrical industries as it is lightweight, conductive, malleable and has corrosion resistant properties. Due to the stringent standards and high customers’ expectations, we place a high emphasis on our product quality. All our manufacturing facilities maintain rigorous quality standards, evidenced by our ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems certification. Additionally, our China plants are certified with IATF 16949:2016 Automotive Quality Management Systems. Each plant-specific Quality Policy outlines respective commitment to consistently delivering products that meet customers’ expectations and applicable industry standards. Where necessary, we conduct chemical and physical tests on our aluminium products and the outcomes of these assessments are readily available to our customers and distributors via the Safety Data Sheets. Our EHS Department reviews the information contained in these sheets every five (5) years to ensure ongoing compliance. Our Initiatives Press Metal continues to improve the manufacturing processes as per the ISO 9001 standard requirements by implementing quality-centric initiatives. These initiatives include: • Product Packaging – Ingot Press Machine for Ingot Packaging In FY2021, there were instances where the surface of our aluminium products was affected due to strapping issues. The issue was resolved by the installation of ingot press machines for ingot packaging in FY2022. • Product Purity – Anode Stub Protection Project The introduction of fresh alumina as an anode stub protection effectively managed the bath fluxing effect during electrolysis process. The bath fluxing effect causes impurities in aluminium production. As a result, a noticeable decrease in impurities in the final aluminium product was observed. • Product Quality – Modification of Billet Mould Modification to the mould used in billet casting by increasing the grip on the aluminium product, has successfully mitigated the billet bending issue. ANNUAL REPORT 2022 108
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