DOW is keen on assisting the UAE in its rapidly growing building and construction sector, a senior official says.

“Recently we launched a new technology for cool roofs which is perfect for the growing demand for energy-efficient cool reflective roof coatings (CRRC) in the Middle East region,” said Moosa Al Moosa, president of Dow Mena and Turkey.  

The new material will be manufactured at Dow’s plant in Jebel Ali and is a critical component in CRRC formulations. Cool roofs coatings help reduce the amount of air conditioning required in hot climates by reflecting solar heat rather than absorbing it.

“The new product was designed specifically for conditions in the Middle East for extreme warm temperatures, sunlight and dust. We locally produced speciality coatings and construction raw materials in our coatings manufacturing plant in Jebel Ali. This means local supply of key products in the UAE versus imported,” said Al Moosa.

“Dow is also developing products for local conditions and local building practices with a technical application centre that focuses on research and development as well as testing for construction material to tailor make solutions like this one for cool roofs.

“Also for us, the UAE is going to be playing a big role in terms of logistics and the supply chain. The majority of our export import movement is going to go through the country as it will be the hub for all material that is being shipped to the subcontinent, the rest of the Middle East and Africa.”

The plant provides regional coatings and construction customers with the most advanced materials available in the industry and also houses technical application centres in paints and coatings.

Dow’s joint venture EA Juffali & Brothers called Arabian Chemical Insulation Company FZCO (ACIC) was incorporated in 2004. Dubai-based ACIC’s primary activities are making Styrofoam and other insulation for the building and construction industry.

In another field, Dow is a partner with Kuwait’s Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) in a Dubai-based JV called MEGlobal, a world leader in manufacturing and marketing merchant monoethylene glycol (MEG) and diethylene glycol (DEG), collectively known as ethylene glycol (EG).

In a recent development, Dow contracted with RSA-Talke for storage in the UAE of petrochemical products that will be marketed by Dow from Sadara Chemical Company, a joint venture of Dow and Saudi Aramco in Saudi Arabia.

About businesses Dow has in mind, Al Moosa talked about amines used to extract sulphur and carbon dioxide from sour gas, which is produced in huge volumes in the region generally and is increasing in Abu Dhabi as the Hosn Gas project comes on-stream.

“Another regional area Dow is focusing on is desalination, which is moving from thermal technology to reverse osmosis membrane technology.”