Creating chemistry

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ABDULLAH BIN ZAID AL HAGBANI: Would like more converters to come on board as members of the association.

Abdullah Bin Zaid Al Hagbani, secretary general of the Gulf Petrochemicals & Chemicals Association, talks about the body's role as a catalyst in developing the regional petrochemical industry into a global force.

What is the GPCA?

The Gulf Petrochemicals & Chemicals Association (GPCA) is a dedicated and non-profit association serving all of its members with a variety of data, technical assistance and resources required by the petrochemicals and chemicals industry.

The founding members' vision foresaw the need for a voluntary and non-profit association focused on providing the resources, aid and technical assistance needed by the petrochemicals and chemicals industry in the Gulf.

How did its formation come about?

The formation of the GPCA had been on the backburner of the major producers in the Gulf since the idea was first floated in 2004. The formation of the GPCA was officially announced in March 2006, when the first general assembly took place.

I was seconded from Sabic to lead the association in 2006. The office was formed in July of that year and staffed in September. We wanted to hold our first conference quickly to give the association a profile. This idea was supported by the board and we held it in December 2006.

What else has the GPCA achieved in its first couple of years?

We have formed committees: a Human Resources Development committee chaired by the GPIC and a Safety, Health and Environment committee chaired by Borouge.

Throughout 2007, we had workshops and seminars on different topics and also initiated a couple of studies for members. We also produced a directory to provide a platform for contact.

What's next?

We are now in the third stage of the evolution of the GPCA. We have revisited what we've done in the last two years and looked at how our structure has met our vision, mission and long-term strategy.

We developed our road map with the board and through this we feel we need to tackle global issues. What we're doing now has more emphasis on meetings, but for us to be a lobbying association we need to gear the structure of the GPCA to cope with those requirements.

For example, we've created two committees, one for logistics and one for plastics. There are key performance indicators for all committees to monitor them and see that they are performing in accordance with board directions.

We are also creating a Responsible Care sub group (Responsible Care is the chemical industry's global voluntary initiative under which companies, through their national associations, work together to continuously improve their health, safety and environmental performance).

The GPCA needs to take a leading step in this one. It is mandated by the board and mentioned in our road map.

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