Every year on 28 August, the UAE celebrates Emirati Women’s Day. (Image source: Al Gharbia Pipe Company)

Every year on 28 August, Emirati Women’s Day honours the achievements of women across the UAE who are contributing to national progress. This year, three young Emirati engineers at Al Gharbia Pipe Company reflect on how they are shaping the country’s industrial future through innovation, technology, and a passion for lifelong learning.

For Azeeza Al Ali, innovation engineer at Al Gharbia Pipe Company, integrating artificial intelligence into manufacturing is not just about efficiency. It is about aligning with the UAE’s wider industrial ambitions. “At Al Gharbia Pipe Company, we’ve integrated AI through smart systems like MES 4.0 to monitor production in real time, reduce downtime, and cut waste,” she explains. “AI also powers our automated quality checks and helps optimise energy and material use, supporting both efficiency and sustainability in line with UAE’s industrial goals.”

^{Azeeza Al Ali, innovation engineer at Al Gharbia Pipe Company}

Yet the journey has not been without challenges. Azeeza notes that the lack of in-house AI expertise often requires relying on external partners. “One key challenge is that we don’t have in-house AI specialists, so for every AI idea, big or small, we need to find and work with external vendors. This takes time and coordination,” she admits. “But by choosing the right partners and starting with AI projects, we’ve been able to move forward in line with the UAE’s digital transformation goals.”

Her colleague, Meera Mansour Al Bloushi, has taken a more hands-on route in the company’s innovation drive. As assistant engineer – innovation, she built a vision-guided autonomous robot from scratch, an achievement that brought together engineering disciplines and underscored her commitment to sustainability. “The goal was to build a robot that could detect and pick up objects mainly for recycling and sorting materials like paper, plastic, and general waste using a camera, image processing, and precise motor control,” she says.

^{Meera Mansour Al Bloushi, assistant engineer – innovation, Al Gharbia Pipe Company}

Although her background is in electrical work, Meera took on the mechanical design herself. “I designed the robotic arm and assembled the parts, and ensured smooth operation by integrating stepper motors, sensors, and programming the movement logic. The camera allowed the robot to ‘see’ and respond to its surroundings in real time,” she explains. In an industrial setting, she believes robots like this can “help improve efficiency and safety by automating tasks such as sorting, inspection, and material handling in hard-to-reach areas, as well as support sustainability efforts.”

Her curiosity, however, extends beyond robotics. A passionate advocate of lifelong learning, Meera continues to explore new areas that feed into her ambition of becoming a researcher and inventor. “I’m currently exploring new skills outside my main field, such as CNC turning, web application development, and electrical installation,” she says. “Even though these areas seem different, they help me grow as a well-rounded researcher and inventor. I believe being an engineer isn’t about staying in one narrow field – it’s about having broad knowledge and curiosity.”

For Mahla Mohamed Almansoori, another assistant engineer – innovation at Al Gharbia, technical competitions were the starting point of her career. She honed her skills in CNC milling while competing at the Emirates Skills National Competition, an experience that taught her the value of precision and perseverance. “My CNC milling experience and success at Emirates Skills taught me to work with precision, think creatively under pressure, and solve problems step by step,” she reflects. “At Al Gharbia, I use this mindset to find practical and efficient solutions to meet and elevate our high quality standards.”

^{Mahla Mohamed Almansoori, assistant engineer – innovation, Al Gharbia Pipe Company}

Now, she is applying that same discipline to rethinking industrial workflows. “I’m working on making manufacturing data cleaner and faster to use by automating processes and reducing manual work,” Mahla says. “I’m also improving workflows to cut waste and boost productivity, helping support the UAE’s vision for a smarter and stronger industrial sector.”

The initiative brings together a range of powerful, scalable, modular solutions designed for the Middle East’s manufacturing landscape

Omnix International, a leader in digital transformation and innovative technology solutions, is expanding its its Digitization in Manufacturing initiative to address the growing demand for intelligent, immersive, and future-ready production ecosystems and help manufacturers move into the era of Industry 5.0

Omnix’s Digitization in Manufacturing initiative brings together a range of powerful, scalable, modular solutions designed for the Middle East’s manufacuring landscape, that can be tailored for manufacturers across sectors such as oil and gas automotive, aerospace, electronics, and other manufacturing. Offferings range from smart factory enablement to enable predictive and autonomous operations, to immersive technologies to boost collaboration and workforce efficiency, digital twin platforms for real-time monitoring, optimisation and predictive maintnance, and AI-powered insights for proactive decision making. The platform offers the ability to converge immersive design, engineering-grade simulations, advanced automation, and real-time operational visibility into a single, scalable framework, with a focus on helping customers integrate the most appropriate technologies for their needs.

The move comes at a time when increasing global challenges such as supply chains, rising energy and operational costs and skilled labour shortages are accelerating the move to agile, data-driven environments.

Walid Gomaa, CEO of Omnix said, “As a long-standing provider of solutions to the manufacturing industry, we see that many companies are under pressure to work towards incorporating faster, smarter and more sustainable solutions. Our goal is to help them reimagine production through intelligent digitisation where the focus is not only on automating processes but moving away from a fragmented production ecosystem to one which is integrated, predictive and human centric.”

Rizwan Kareem, business unit manager - Industry Support Solutions at Omnix, added, “We see value being provided by offering solutions that can help bridge our customers physical and digital needs and help them raise their decision making capabilities, increase operational efficiency and strengthen their work-force productivity. It is our way of seeing manufacturers pave their path towards Industry 5.0. Our strength lies in unifying design, automation, AI and XR into a single platform that helps customers achieve their strategic goals.”

Integrated pilot environments are underway at key customer sites that are incorporating the new capabilities, across the UAE, KSA, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman.

The company aims to work alongside regulators, academia and technology partners to foster a regional ecosystem, enabling upskilling through immersive learning and being in a strong position to deliver full lifecycle digital services from consulting and solution architecture to deployment of change management.

The company’s portfolio spans automotive V-belts, multi-rib belts, and timing belts. (Image source: Universal Rubber)

Universal Rubber Belts Manufacturing has inaugurated its new high-specification facility in Dubai, creating a regional source of precision-engineered rubber belts for automotive and industrial applications across the GCC.

The plant is positioned to strengthen supply chain resilience by reducing dependence on imported transmission components while offering shorter lead times, consistent quality, and tailored engineering solutions.

“Universal Rubber Belt Manufacturing is addressing a long-standing gap in the regional market: the need for reliable, locally manufactured rubber belts that meet global technical standards,” said Mahyar Razaghi, CEO at Universal Rubber Belt Manufacturing. “Our production is tailored to serve both automotive aftermarket distributors and industrial OEMs with durable, high-performance solutions.”

key features

The company’s portfolio spans automotive V-belts, multi-rib belts, and timing belts for passenger and commercial vehicles, as well as industrial belts used in pumps, compressors, and HVAC systems. It also offers specialised options such as high-temperature, oil-resistant, and anti-static belts, alongside custom engineering and private-label manufacturing for partners in the region.

Belts are produced using advanced compounding, precision moulding, and stringent quality control, and comply with ISO, SAE, and DIN standards. The factory is designed to accommodate both high-volume production runs and smaller, specialised batches, depending on client needs.

From its base in Dubai, the company benefits from strong logistics links that enable fast delivery to customers in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain. It also supports long-term supply agreements and export requirements.

Universal Rubber Belts Manufacturing, headquartered in Dubai, focuses on the design and manufacture of technical rubber belts for both automotive and industrial use. By combining high-quality production with efficient regional distribution, the company aims to provide Gulf clients with consistent supply, quick turnaround, and precise technical performance.

Also read: Smart manufacturing hub launched in Ras Al Khaimah

The low-carbon metal will be supplied to CANEX Aluminum. (Image source: EGA)

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has delivered the UAE’s first batch of low-carbon aluminium powered by electricity from the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra region.

Marketed under the brand name MinimAL, the low-carbon metal will be supplied to CANEX Aluminum, a leading downstream aluminium producer in Egypt, for use in infrastructure, solar energy, transportation, and architectural applications.

This milestone positions the UAE as a key supplier of sustainable industrial materials globally and enhances EGA’s portfolio of low-carbon products.

Electricity for the aluminium was provided by Emirates Nuclear Energy Company (ENEC) and certified through the UAE’s Clean Energy Certification programme using I-REC protocols, ensuring international traceability and credibility.

Decarbonising the aluminium industry

Electricity generation accounts for roughly 60% of the aluminium industry’s global emissions.

The Barakah Nuclear Plant, supplying 24/7 carbon-free electricity via Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), generates 40 terawatt-hours annually, meeting 25% of the UAE’s electricity needs and avoiding 22.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year.

EGA, already a pioneer in green aluminium, produced 80,000 tonnes of solar-powered CelestiAL aluminium in 2024 and markets recycled aluminium under the RevivAL brand.

The company is also constructing the UAE’s largest aluminium recycling facility at Al Taweelah, due to begin operations in the first half of 2026.

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, chief executive officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said, “Global demand for low carbon aluminium is expected to triple by 2040, and EGA aims to play an important role in this growth. MinimAL is our latest low-carbon product, made possible through the UAE’s investment in nuclear power generation. We are glad to be working with ENEC to supply more low carbon aluminium to the world.”

His Excellency Mohamed Al Hammadi, managing director and chief executive officer of ENEC, said, “This milestone shows how nuclear energy is boosting national energy security and enabling the UAE’s industrial decarbonisation in parallel, reliably powering energy-intensive sectors like aluminium production with clean electricity 24/7. Through the abundant electricity generated at Barakah, we have unlocked the significant, proven and long-term benefits of nuclear energy to power the UAE’s low-carbon economy for decades to come.”

Mutassem Daaboul, managing director of CANEX Aluminum, said, “At CANEX, we believe true sustainability is built into every layer of production—from the raw material to the final product. Our upcycling model already transforms waste into value-added products. Now, with MinimAL, we are taking another step forward by reducing embedded emissions at the very beginning of our process. This partnership with EGA reflects our shared commitment to responsible innovation.”

Also read: EGA to boost US aluminium supply with new smelter