Duplas Al Sharq is aiming to continue investing following a $2m purchase of blow-moulding machines from Italy-based Magic for a line for shampoo and detergents, says Mohammad Nofal, general manager of the Dubai-based plastics supplier.
In 2014, the company aims to expand its building infrastructure and stores in Jebel Ali, he told Packaging MEA.
“We will inject a further AED10 million into this project plus new PET lines to produce clear bottles for milk, water and juice industry,” he said.
Duplas Al Sharq is a subsidiary of Emirates Investment & Development (Emivest), in which Dubai Government holds 30%. The company sources raw materials from suppliers including Borouge in Abu Dhabi and Sabic from Saudi Arabia. Specific products like polycarbonate and PET are sourced from Europe and South Asia, respectively.
In 2014, the company expects to keep growing despite increased competition, he added.
“New players are coming into the market, but it is not just people adding new machines and factory in order to compete in the existing industry,” he said.
“In this industry you have to compete in quality, service and total sales value and not only in price and the production lines. You have to compete in terms of service in the sector that you are supplying. We are servicing high quality customers like Shell, Enoc, Total in the lubricant sectors. We are supplying to Henkel and other big companies.”
Duplast Al Sharq is a plastic manufacturing company that produces plastic bottles servicing the entire packaging industry, he added. The firm produces polypropylene, polyethylene, PET and polycarbonate and its bottles are used for lubricants, detergents, water and milk.
“Primarily, we cover UAE and also supply to Saudi, Bahrain and Oman,” he said. “Some of our products are also exported to East Africa. But 80–85% is to the UAE because of the nature of the industry. With plastic bottles, the transport cost is high compared to the product. There are limitations exporting to the other countries, although opportunities are still there.”