Aughinish Alumina, Limerick
Martin Fennell, Managing Director
"With the purchase of Aughinish Alumina in 1999 by Glencore, a privately owned Swiss based company the outsourcing of R&D requirements overseas was gradually reduced and the in-house skills at Aughinish developed. Close relationships with the University of Limerick and a number of key research providers in Australia were initiated to augment this. To stay competitive in the world of alumina we saw a need to accelerate research and expand the capabilities of our technical people. There was a gap in our overall technical knowledge due to having been reliant on corporate technical support in the past and now having to "fend for ourselves".
The Marie Curie Programme was seen as a very suitable means of helping to expand the company's technical competencies in a short period of time. In 2003 an application was submitted covering 5 key areas of the operation where significant benefit could be achieved through fundamental research and the transfer of knowledge to technical staff. The application was successful and on 1st June 2004 the contract with the EU Commission came into force.
Over the past year we have recruited 5 researchers with experience in chemistry, automation, mathematics and fluid dynamics. In that short period of time we are seeing benefits flowing in terms of more in-depth analysis of key process areas but also in the training and transfer of knowledge to our technical staff. In 2006 we plan to start sending a number of technical people overseas to gain experience in world leading organisations.
The most important factor in Aughinish's success in getting Marie Curie funding was the help and guidance provided by the IUA. The IUA encouraged Aughinish to widen its vision of R&D Without them our application would have been limited, seriously flawed and probably would have failed. Their help and guidance helped us put together a focused proposal which pressed all the right buttons."
