Ocean Rubber Factory (ORF), catering to the construction, oil and gas and marine industries, says it is investing in a new facility and machinery to meet market requirements.

“We plan to introduce the largest rubber moulding press in the Middle East, which will have a 2,000-tonne capacity, enabling us to join a few select companies in the world that have such a capacity,” says deputy general manager Sajjad Ahmed.
Ocean Equipment Factory, part of ORF, has invested in the new facility to accommodate growing demand for quality turnkey crushers and conveyors, said Ahmed. “We plan to install bulk-handling systems with higher capacity,” added the official.
The company has acquired 10,000 sq m of land near Sharjah Cement Factory and is equipping it with heavy handling and fabrication machinery. The latest types of stone crushers are to be installed in collaboration with a leading company from the US.
Currently, the annual production capacity of ORF is 2,000 tonnes of rubber products. The capacity of Ocean Equipment Factory for bulk- handling systems is up to 1,500 tonnes per hour.
Ocean Rubber Factory, an ISO 9001:2000 company, started operations in Sharjah in 1989 to cater to local requirements of rubber products and services. Its product lines include lining systems, corroline anticorrosion systems, fender systems and pipe seals
During the period of 16 years, the company has grown to be a major manufacturer and supplier not only within the UAE and the Middle East, but also worldwide.
Almost 40 per cent of our production is exported to markets in the Middle East, Nigeria and Kenya as well as to North and Central America.
Major products are building protection systems offering various types of rubber protectors for columns and walls of buildings, rubber speed breakers and bridge bearing pads.
Ocean lining systems include rubber linings for storage tanks, pressure vessels and pipelines. ORF is the only manufacturer and applicator in the Middle East for WRAS Europe-approved rubber lining systems for potable water. With its capability to design, test and apply rubber linings for specific applications, ORF has joined a select few companies in the world that offer such services.
Corroline anticorrosion systems include polychloroprene coating for offshore riser pipes, clamps and other structures. The capacity to actually test the coating for most of the properties in the laboratory as well as on the product during the application stages, is one of the main advantages of using ORF over other applicators who import the coating and apply without any testing during the application. The coatings are applied in an automated extruder coating plant, which is also the only such plant in the Middle East.
Ocean fender systems include fendering solutions for boats, marine vessels, ports and offshore platforms. With installations in places like Hawaii, Seattle, New Orleans, Panama and Venezuela in the Americas, Nigeria, Iran, Pakistan and almost all countries in the Arabian Gulf, Ocean fender systems are poised for further expansions to include the latest designs and larger sizes of fendering systems in its capabilities.
The Pipe Seals division, though relatively new, has added a large variety of pipe seals over the last two years. They are manufactured by injection moulding and the division looks set to become the busiest in the company, says Ahmed.
ORF also offers polyurethane cast products using raw materials from France to ensure the high quality of the products. Different products such as wheels, rollers, pipe cleaning scrappers, screens, pipe-pulling tensioner wheels, track shoes and pads as well as custom-made products are available.
The demand for products and services for bulk-handling systems in the stone crushing plants, quarries and cement plants necessitated the opening of a separate division, namely Ocean Equipment Factory.
The company offers Climaflex conveyor belts of EU origin. These belts have been used in the crushing and cement industry for over 15 years with high confidence, making the company a market leader in this field. Climaroll rollers for conveying systems are also manufactured by the company.
Different sizes and types such as impact rollers, carrier rollers and side rollers are manufactured under a strict quality control system. Pioneer screening systems are high-tensile steel-woven screen clothes of different wire diameters and apertures as per specification.
The high growth of the construction industry over the last three years has resulted in the demand for more stone crushing plants in the Middle East. Ocean Equipment Factory offers turnkey solutions for bulk-handling systems with the greatest advantage being the capability to fabricate most of the parts and components in house resulting in timely completion of the projects.
The company has a dedicated design department using the latest software to help the client from the initial design and planning stages up to the erection and commissioning of the whole plant. Components ranging from simple rollers to complete crushers and the conveyor systems can be designed, fabricated, tested, erected and commissioned by the company without involvement of any other major subcontractors.
Some of the clients for conveyor systems are Nasser Al Sayer Crushers, Al Fahd Crushers, Ali Moosa Crushers, Wadi Al Rawda Crushers, Aswan Trading & Construction, Max Rock, (UAE), Nasser Al Sayer Stone Trading Company, Kuwait; Buswair Crushers, Doha; and Kabbas Crushers, Doha.
“Annual growth of the company during the last few years can be gauged by the fact that the number of employees of the company almost doubled to 350 in the last three years with plans for further expansion already in progress,” said Ahmed.
“Last year we achieved our targeted budget and plan to increase the turnover by a minimum of 15 per cent in 2005.”