Firms ordered to register chemicals
Companies in Bahrain were given 60 days to register chemicals they use and import as part of a new clampdown on dangerous substances.
A ministerial order, which bans the use of 127 chemicals and severely restricts 257 others, came into effect recently.
It aims to phase out the use of almost 400 toxic chemicals in the country over the next few years. Firms which fail to meet the 60-day deadline face possible court action if they are found to be in breach of safety rules. "Both users and importers of chemicals have 60 days to register them with Environmental Affairs," said Jaffar Ahmed Salman, a specialist in the pollution control section of the environmental affairs department. "If companies don't do this and are found to violate the rules of the ministerial order they could face penalties."
Some companies such as Bapco and GPIC have already contacted the ministry to acquire registration forms.
Company does well in exports
Set up two years ago, Headline Engineering Factory is winning export contracts for its fabricated structured steel. Business development manager M Z Khwaja sees more business from the raft of construction projects in the region, the Dubai press reported.
Headline Engineering, which has a plant in Mussafah, has exported 4,000 tonnes and sold more than 10,000 tonnes locally. The company now has an annual turnover of Dh30 million ($8.1 million).
Karcher expects boom
German cleaning equipment maker Karcher expects the Gulf's $80-million cleaning equipment industry to grow by 25 per cent in the next 12 months. Karcher expects this to stem from the rising number of regional infrastructure projects. The company said growth would continue as organisations and individuals take steps to protect their investments. "In order to achieve this it is imperative an investment is made in the necessary maintenance equipment," said Richard Nouira, managing director of Karcher's regional office.
Nouira said his company had a 35 per cent share of the GCC market and results were particularly good in the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar.
Sadolin projects sales increase
Paint firm Sadolin Oman is projecting an increase in its annual sales, despite competition in the local market.
The company says sales volumes in the first nine months this year are holding up compared with the previous year.
Sadolin Oman's turnover is RO6 million ($15.5 million), 30 per cent coming from exports, mainly to the GCC markets. The venture of the Omar Zawawi Establishment has invested more than $8 million in two factories at Madinat Qaboos and Rusayl. The combined production capacity is more than 20 million litres of paints and adhesives. The firm has a technical tie-up with Sadolin of Denmark and licensing deals with Akzo Nobel for coatings, Pidilite India (adhesives), the US' Stoncor (protective coatings) and PPG (automotive paints).
Poultry body calls for bigger output
The UAE Poultry Association has called for an increase in national poultry production to meet the market demand for eggs and chicken and to raise the industry's 25 per cent market share in the country. A spokesman for the group said the UAE national industry was suffering from the dumping of imported frozen poultry products.
He also said members emphasised that national products should have standards to match those outlined by the UAE Federal Standarisation and Specifications Authority.
Zomco launches vessel
Zamil Operations & Maintenance Company (Zomco), one of the largest operations and maintenance companies in Saudi Arabia, recently announced the launch of the first service ship fully built in Saudi Arabia with international specifications. Zamil 25 was inaugurated at a ceremony attended by Naem Ebrahim Naem, general manager of King Abdul Aziz Port in Dammam.
Zamil 25 was designed and built by well-known international organisations, a press release said without identifying the organisations.
The vessel will provide all kinds of maintenance within the petroleum production fields. It is also equipped for fire fighting operations in accordance with Aramco and American Bureau of Shipping specifications, the release stated.
Sabic announces new grades
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) has announced the introduction of three new polypropylene-impact copolymer grades to the international market.
The new grades will be introduced by the Saudi European Petrochemical Company (Ibn Zahr), which is 70 per cent-owned by Sabic and is based in Jubail. Mustafa Al Sahan, Sabic's general manager for polypropylene marketing, said: "The introduction of these new grades adds to our product offering and places Sabic at the forefront of world polypropylene production. These new grades should be available for sale to our customers across the globe by the second quarter of 2003."
ME firms invited for Indian show
Middle East firms are being invited to take part in an exhibition for the plastics industry - PlastIndia 2003 - in the Indian capital of New Delhi early in 2003. PlastIndia 2003 is now in its fifth edition and will run from February 15 to 20. The organiser, PlastIndia Foundation, says the event will be the largest of its kind in the Asia Pacific region with firms from across 35 countries taking part.
Indian firm plans Dubai venture
India's largest storage battery maker, Exide Industries, which commands more than 90 per cent of India's original equipment manufacturer (OEM) market, is planning to set up a production facility in Dubai. SB Ganguly, chairman and CEO of Exide, which runs nine factories in India and elsewhere, said he was exploring the possibility of setting up a factory possibly within the Jebel Ali Free Zone.
"The capacity will be 1.5 million to a million units a year, less than which the project might not be necessarily viable," said Ganguly.
If the plans for a new factory work out favourably, Exide will have an industrial battery unit also, which, according to the Exide chief, has immense potential in the region for key sectors such as telecom and power that have been making big strides in this part of the world.
Over the past two years, Exide acquired two overseas factories, one each in Sri Lanka and Singapore.
