Bahrain Rubber Company (BRC) has reported higher sales of its polyurethane (PU) products and is diversifying its products portfolio.

PU is now responsible for 40 per cent of the turnover, with rubber products taking second place at 28 per cent. The company’s tyrefil business accounts for 12 per cent while the commercial division brings in the remainder.
The company is diversifying into PU spraying, which is increasingly being preferred to conventional rubber lining jobs and has additional applications in almost every industry. Other plans include the introduction of  industrial pipeline products such as PU foam pillows, PU thread covers and rubber floors made from PU mixed with a rubber binder.
With diversification into PU industrial pipeline products, the company will radically boost its business, said sales and marketing manager Shamshad Ali Khan. The company also plans to market conveyor belts in a big way by the end of the first quarter of 2006. The belts will be imported from various sources, installed by the company and serviced. The PU spray will come in handy when dealing with conveyor belt servicing.
BRC, a Haji Hassan Group company, was set up in 1993 for the manufacture of industrial rubber products, but PU has grown in importance since its introduction as a new line of business a few years ago, thanks to the many advantages it offers over rubber, said sales and marketing manager Khan. It has an expanded range of hardness and tensile strength, is resistant to cut and tear and to corrosion from oil, gas and chemicals and has greater longevity.
Among the main buyers of BRC’s PU products are Alba, Bapco, Garmco and all construction companies. In Saudi Arabia, the company has supplied to Aramco and the Saudi Coast Guard as well as several other leading organisations.
PU enjoys demand in all aluminium industries, petroleum companies and precast, asphalt, readymix and dredging companies, among others.
BRC is the only company in Bahrain doing PU casting. The existing technology allows it to manufacture couplings, bars, wheels, rods, squeegees and other items for different applications besides the regular jobs of rollers and wheel recoating.
Over the years it has extended its moulding and extrusion capacities. The company produces natural, nitrile, EPDM and neoprene rubber and products are made through moulding, extrusion, pressing and casting. For very large products, the company uses the extrusion mode. One of the important uses of rubber in industry is rubber lining for protection against corrosion and metal impurities.
The company supplies three distinct types of linings based on the method of cure, namely unvulcanised rubber sheets for shop and field use, pre-vulcanised rubber sheets for cold linings, primarily for large erected tanks (no steam needed) and self-vulcanising or chemical curing rubber sheets for repair work (no steam needed). Typical applications of rubber linings are in the chemical, mining, fertiliser, electrochemical, steel, transportation and environment sectors.
The company is capable of manufacturing almost any extruded product, from a one-time special part to high-volume runs. The extrusion equipment can produce rubber products in all shapes including O-ring cords, tubing, squares and rectangles and profiles of different sizes. Extruded rubber rectangles can be up to 2.5 inches thick and 15 inches wide. Extruded rubber cord sizes range up to 7 inches in diameter.
The company has a strong reputation for custom moulding rubber products with natural rubber and all synthetic elastomers. The company carefully monitors moulding characteristics such as the exact mix, hardness, shore and colour specifications, making sure the parts are trimmed, cleaned and inspected prior to shipment. The moulded rubber products include rubber expansion bellows, industrial sealing elements, oil resistant diaphragms and oil seals, rubber pads, engine mountings, dresser coupling rings, valve seats, motor couplings and brake pads.
BRC imports its rubber raw materials from Germany, Malaysia and Indonesia, while the PU raw material is sourced in the UK and Australia. In 2005 it produced 20 tonnes of PU products against 6 tonnes in the previous year, and in 2006 the target is to double production. Khan says the greater sales were largely due to coherent team efforts and also due to PU’s positive features. Many of the big companies that used rubber products are now using PU for their requirements.
As regards its tyrefil business, Bahrain Rubber claims it is the only player operating in that sector in the country. Tyre foam filling is done for industrial vehicles having a maximum travel speed of 50 kph. Tyre fill replaces all the air in any pneumatic tyre with a highly engineered polyurethane resin blend. It is formulated to duplicate the riding characteristics of air and is tough enough to be used in the tyre of the heaviest industrial equipment and in the harshest environments. The filling’s greatest advantage is that the tyres have greater protection against punctures. Among its clients are Alba, iron pellet maker Gulf Industrial Investment Company, the Civil Aviation Department of Bahrain, Rapid Access and other rental companies, scrap dealers and original equipment manufacturers.
To meet growing demand for its products, BRC is expanding its plant facilities at Sitra, near the Alba complex.  “We’ve done the BMRE (balancing, modernisation and rehabilitative engineering) of our factory and we’re installing two large lathe machines by the end of January 2006,” said Khan.
The commercial division was recently revived. The company has scheduled January 2 for the opening of a one-stop showroom called Rubber World on the Sitra Highway near Al Ahli United Bank. Showcased will be all products related to rubber, polyurethane and tyrefil including adhesives, hoses, fenders, conveyor belts, corner protectors, safety products, insulation tubes, parking blocks, rubber and PU rollers, rubber sheets and matting tiles, silicone products, sponge rubber, tyre filling and trolley wheels.
“BRC has exponentially increased its capacity utilisation and also improvised its manufacturing variables: cost, quality, dependability and flexibility,” said Khan.