Communities

We believe we have an enduring obligation to invest in local communities and minimise any environmental impact on the areas where we operate. Our Code of Conduct sets out how Weir Group companies are expected to behave in the communities where we do business.

Charitable donations

The total charitable donations of Group companies made during the financial year was £503, 011 (2011: £422,300), as shown below:

The Group’s Code of Conduct prohibits political contributions and therefore no political donations were made during the period.

As a global organisation, our operating businesses have the discretion to invest in their local communities in the areas of greatest need. Broadly, the Group seeks to support health and education projects, given their potential to provide lasting benefits. Here are examples during 2012 of projects Weir is involved in around the world.

 

Weir India

WEIR Cares, Weir India’s community initiatives programme, is designed and driven by employee volunteers. Volunteer groups from all Weir India locations design monthly calendars centred on the key themes of education, health and wellbeing.

During 2012 WEIR Cares provided finance, equipment and ‘in kind’ support to a range of priority projects, including 20 EKAL (one teacher) schools in rural districts of Karnataka. The programme also continued its support for the Government High Primary School in Gokul Village, Hubli, with the construction of a new activity centre and contributed financial support towards a science centre at the Government High School.

In 2012, WEIR Cares supported a number of health projects including improvements to reception areas for HIV patients being treated at the Government District Hospital, Dharwad and support for 20 local female students in nursing training.

Weir SPM

Weir SPM works closely with Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit organisation that builds and renovates homes. Eighty Weir SPM employees committed two days of their time to help to build a home in the Como neighborhood of Fort Worth, Texas, one of the communities close to the SPM plant.

Two shifts per day of Weir SPM employees were transported to the build site in groups of 20 where they were given safety instructions and various tasks to perform. Habitat for Humanity volunteers work hand-in-hand with the families they serve, to build quality, affordable homes using donations of money and materials. Partner families invest hundreds of hours of “sweat equity” in the construction of their homes, and then buy their houses, making monthly payments on an interest-free mortgage.

Habitat for Humanity is one of many events that Weir SPM participates in each year to help the surrounding community and improve the environment.

Weir Minerals Australia

Weir Minerals Australia provides financial support for a programme called the Spark Engineering Camp. Designed to attract secondary school students into engineering careers, the camp is a seven day residential event involving a range of sponsored activities associated with engineering. The students come from disadvantaged, indigenous or refugee backgrounds and are encouraged to consider university studies. In 2012, around eighty students participated in the camp.

For engineering undergraduates, 2012 marked the quarter-century milestone for the Weir Minerals Warman Design and Build Competition. The annual university challenge, run by the National Committee on Engineering Design of Engineers Australia presents a design challenge to engineering undergraduates across the Asia-Pacific region.

Sixteen universities met in 2012 to challenge for the title, with one team travelling from Malaysia to Sydney for the September event. The 2012 challenge, known as ‘Project Silver’, was to design, build and prove a prototype system in a laboratory environment that serves to autonomously deliver a supply package to a balloon-based observation facility, using only the balloon tether as the connecting pathway for delivery of the supply package.

The competition culminated in the National Finals, where around 75 young engineers competed in a series of events across several days. These activities include keynote speeches, opportunities for students to meet senior engineering staff, and a guided tour of the factory at the Weir Minerals Australia headquarters in Sydney. The University of New South Wales (ACT campus) and Flinders University, South Australia shared first prize.

Weir Minerals Chile

As part of an ongoing programme of support for the Industrial School Miguel Aylwin Gajardo, Weir Minerals Chile donated a CNC lathe which will be used by the students for learning development and training purposes.

Located in San Bernardo near the main Weir Vulco plant in Santiago, the technical high school teaches disciplines such as basic mechanics and metallurgy. A number of students from the school undertake work experience with Weir with some former pupils currently employed in the San Bernardo plant.

Picture: the Mayor of San Bernardo, Nora Cuevas; the School Director, Isabel Cerda; and the LATAM Regional Managing Director, Ricardo Garib.

Weir Minerals Africa

The large micro-enterprise sector in South Africa has grown significantly and is responsible for some 30% of employment, providing an important economic empowerment vehicle for previously disadvantaged people.

Weir Minerals Africa has identified enterprise development as a key way of participating in the National Agenda and in creating sustainable and active businesses. The company has formed a strategic partnership with MEDO (Micro Enterprise Development Organisation) in a unique programme focused on the Emalahleni area surrounding our Middelburg sales and service centre.

The programme is designed to identify genuine business opportunities with budding entrepreneurs closely assessed to determine the strength of self-management skills, financial literacy and credit worthiness.

Weir Minerals Africa and MEDO provide these entrepreneurs with ongoing non-financial support and advice. This involves assisting with processes vital to starting and building an enterprise such as company registration, VAT and other legislative requirements, business plan development and monthly business tracking with reference to the business plan.

The entrepreneurs also enjoy access to a range of services including human resources advice, premises, internet access and meeting facilities.

Weir Oil & Gas Services

Weir Oil & Gas has been awarded a three year contract by Petroleum Development of Oman (PDO) to coordinate management and continuous improvement of PDO workshop facilities where Weir experts will train local talent in rotating equipment repairs, refurbishment and machine shops.

The programme, backed by the Government of Oman, will see Weir deploy a crew of mentors and mastercraftsmen in PDO’s existing workshops to train and supervise 24 young Omani PDO technicians on inspection, repairs and overhauls of pumps, compressors, turbo-expanders, diesel engines and gearboxes.

Weir is committed to working with its partners to support the development of important skills in Oman’s oil and gas industry and contribute to building the careers of talented young people.

The Weir Group PLC

Interest in careers in engineering is growing and Weir is playing its part by running a schools competition in 2012 in conjunction with industry body, Scottish Engineering.

The pilot project targeted 16 schools from across Scotland to participate in the competition by presenting on the theme of "The Importance of Engineering in Scotland."

All of the schools in the pilot submitted excellent pieces of work, with the winners, six pupils from Dunblane High School, presenting their entry to the Group Executive committee. The all-girl team received a £4000 prize on behalf of the school.

Plans are in place to expand the competition in coming years to include all Scottish secondary schools.

Photo: The girls of Dunblane High School receive their prize from Keith Cochrane and Peter Hughes, Chief Executive, Scottish Engineering