Buoyed by the continued growth in the cables sector and a surge in the company’s turnover, Ducab is aiming at trebling its business by the year 2010.

The UAE-based manufacturer of high quality power cables is currently celebrating 25 years of operation and is looking at the future with a new vision that will see the company spread its wings across the region and beyond.
“Like a cricketer who takes a new guard after completing his century, we are making a new beginning after completing 25 years successfully,” says Colin Paskins, managing director.
Ducab recently announced record sales of Dh687 million ($187 million) in 2004, which is a 30 per cent increase compared to the previous year.
Ducab boasts a remarkable average annual sales growth of 15 per cent since 1981. The company’s annual production grew from 2,000 tonnes that year to 40,000 tonnes last year, while its manpower increased from 86 to 500 employees at present.
The company’s new plant in Abu Dhabi with a production capacity of 25,000 tonnes will go on stream this month (March 2005), taking total production capacity to 65,000 tonnes per year.
“We had a very successful year in 2004 and our impressive results are testimony to this. This performance couldn’t have come at a more appropriate moment for us as we commemorate the completion of 25 years of business,” says Paskins.
 “Demand in the short-to-medium term is very good as the region experiences a boom in construction and infrastructure development,” he continues. “A lot of projects are in the pipeline and we have to work hard to cater to the growing demand.”
Ducab’s product range covers low voltage power cables; control and auxiliary cables; wiring and lead-sheathed cables; medium voltage cables (up to 33kv); and low smoke and fume zero halogen cables. Ducab also supplies cable accessories as a package.
The new Dh125 million plant coming up in Abu Dhabi will concentrate on low voltage cables. The Jebel Ali unit, apart from manufacturing low voltage cables, will now focus on medium and high voltage products and any new product developments, he says.
Of the present production, 75 per cent is sold in the local market. The remaining is exported to other GCC countries, the Middle East and the Far East.
Ducab last year supplied special cables for the Formula One track in Bahrain. “This was a prestigious project for us,” says Paskins.
Though the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region forms the major export market for Ducab, it is increasingly looking for new markets and has been successful in winning prestigious deals including in India, Iran, Jordan and Tanzania.
Ducab’s fire-resistant cables, developed for the Delhi Metro, were a flagship product for the company in 2004.
Paskins sees demand growing for fire performance cables and other specialised cables as high-rise buildings multiply in the country. “The market is demanding better technology and we are ready to provide the latest in cables to meet customers’ needs,” says Paskins.
“Ducab offers a quality brand and this is our main contribution to the industrial sector of the UAE. We are up to the world’s best,” he reiterates.
Paskins says the surge in commodity prices last year had disturbed the market a bit. “We had to pass on the increasing costs to customers. They have understood us and cooperated with us.”
The growth in demand for raw materials also caused some supply shortages, but with the China boom slowing, the situation is expected to improve, he says. “We have managed the situation well by using hedging instruments.
“Even while exploring new markets, looking after our home territory is our priority. We are taking a 25-year view. Our plan is to remain strong in the local market, but be less dependent on it,” says Paskins.
The company’s long-term plans include expansion into different markets, investment in upstream projects and new products while building Ducab as a global brand.
Paskins stresses the overall commitment of the company to quality. “Quality is a journey which you never complete. Efforts to reach higher levels of quality are always ongoing,” he says.
Ducab cables have been type tested by the most sophisticated testing laboratories such as ERA technology; British Standards Institution; Lloyds Register; Warrington Fire Research Laboratories; British Approval Service of Cables (Basec) and KEMA.
“We encourage our customers also to tell us if they encounter any problems. We have the technical strength to rectify any issues and we are quick to respond,” he says.
Despite intense competition in the Gulf cable market, the company does not compromise on quality to bring down the price. “The sweetness of low price is forgotten fast, but the bitterness of low quality stays for ever,” he says.
The company conducts a survey every quarter to gauge the views of its customers. “We ensure that we listen to the customers as part of a system,” says Fatma Obaid Farhan, marketing manager.
“The whole process of customer relations is streamlined and key performance indicators have been formulated for this purpose,” she says.
Ducab has been a proud recipient of several awards and recognitions. Ducab claims to be the first manufacturer in the Gulf region with ISO9001:2000 certification for its quality management systems and is also the only cable manufacturer in the Middle East to obtain certification from BASEC.
Ducab is also a two-time winner of the Dubai Quality Award in 1994 and 1998 (Gold Category).
The company was initially set up as a joint venture between the Government of Dubai and the BICC group of the UK. Today the Government of Abu Dhabi and the Government of Dubai jointly own the company.