Case study - Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA): Credit insurance for the materials sector

How we partner with EGA in their risk mitigation strategy and support the business appetite for growth.

At a glance

Company:

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA)

Trade sector:

Materials Sector, Metals & Mining Indust

Market:

Global

Challenge:

To manage robust risk transfer mitigation and develop new markets.

Results:

A strong risk management strategy and significant business growth in a key new market.

How we made it happen:

Through supporting EGA’s risk management strategy and sharing key market insight to promote EGA’s potential growth.

Our relationships with Atradius are deep, they are long lasting and certainly they are valued.

Toby Shore Toby Shore
Senior Director Treasury, EGA

We began working with Emirates Global Aluminium in 2004. Toby Shore, Senior Director for Group Treasury, Risk, Insurance and Tax. He acknowledges the length of time we have worked together is a testament to the strength of our partnership.

 

Aims

EGA’s two major credit insurance aims are to meet stakeholders’ requirements in relation to risk retention and to maintain a robust risk mitigation strategy.

 

“By holding a trade credit insurance program, we’re able to trade with business partners, but also recognise the requirements of our stakeholders in terms of counterparty credit exposure management and balance sheet management,” explained Toby Shore.

 

Our role

Our role involves supporting EGA’s risk management strategy and providing market and sector insight as a trusted business partner. EGA’s own credit philosophy is that they decide on whether they trade with a particular customer or not. They look to us to validate their decision and provide information to help them understand the risk factors surrounding any proposed business relationship.

 

The information and support we provide EGA is one of the risk factors they consider when forming their overall opinion of how credit worthy a customer is for them to trade with.

 

The relationship we have developed with EGA is also an important facet of our role with the company. Toby Shore highlighted this as something special. “The local account team here in the UAE is first class, the key account managers that we get and that we interact with from Amsterdam, not only understand our business but look to help us understand the challenges that they may face and  within the geographies that we operate within”, he said.

 

Results

Atradius Credit Insurance has helped EGA grow their North American market at a speed and size that they would not have had an appetite to achieve if they had not had an effective risk management program in place.

 

As Toby Shore acknowledged: “Our business relationship and our partnership with Atradius really helped us to achieve our ambitious growth targets in North America.

 

“We point to the support we got from Atradius, and that we still enjoy, in the North American market to help us facilitate the rapid growth that we’ve seen in the last two to three years.”

 

In addition, we have also supported EGA through three claims and, in all three instances, the company has been pleased with the outcome.

 

About Emirates Global Aluminium

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) is one of the world’s largest primary aluminium producers. EGA’s core operating assets are Dubai Aluminium (DUBAL) and Emirates Aluminium (EMAL) – whose combined production is 2.5 million tonnes per year – and with interests in bauxite mining and alumina refining.

 

The combined DUBAL-EMAL portfolio comprises high quality aluminium products in four main forms: re-melt ingot (foundry for automotive applications and high purity aluminium for electronics and aerospace); billet (use for construction, industrial, transportation and automotive purposes); slab ingot (for lithographic sheets, food and drinks packaging, and the automotive industry); and liquid metal.

 

Most of EGA’s annual production applies to value-added products; with about 90 per cent of total production being exported across the world. The company’s key markets are Asia, the Middle East and North Africa region, Europe and the Americas.

 

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