Two flourishing Gulf companies keen on spreading their wings further afield were among the exhibitors at Emballage.

Arnon Plastic Industries, headquarterd in Dammam, was present with a team of officials headed by its CEO Abdullah Al Sanea. The other firm was Kuwaiti manufacturer Kuwait Packing Materials Manufacturing Company (K-Pak) which has set up a subsidiary in the UAE.
Arnon has three main lines, namely PE forms, polystyrene foam and PET containers. Capacity is 4,000 tonnes per year (tpy) for PE forms and 3,000 tpy each for polystyrene forms and PET containers. As much as 60 per cent is consumed in the domestic market with the export segment mainly made up of Gulf, states and Europe. Expansion plans are underway to double current capacity before long. Both exports and domestic sales are increasing at roughly 10 per cent per year, necessitating a capacity increase.
Al Sanea said Emballage would help give Arnon greater exposure to worldwide markets. The company has made some strides in Europe, which Al Sanea says is one of its stronger markets. “Our exports to Europe look promising and our customers are widespread across the continent. England, France and Germany are the main European destinations for Arnon and we’re keen we sell more of the same there.” Arnon has reached a point where it is competing with some old and well-known European players.
And as Emballage receives US attention, being one of the biggest packaging exhibitions in the world, Al-Sanea was hoping American visitors would examine his company’s offerings. “We plan to increase shipments to US markets,” he said. Currently, small amounts of PET products go there. The company has not made headway on the Indian Subcontinent. “Competition is generally tough there. Also, the market’s different, and for the type of products we make there’s no demand,” commented Al-Sanea.
Arnon recently introduced gold and silver plating for PET containers and designed a new crate for vegetables. It’s R&D department is at work on product development for polystyrene containers for food.
Arnon buys most of its raw materials from Sabic, the petrochemicals giant. “That’s if their prices are not higher than those quoted by other parties,” Al-Sanea says.
At the K-Pak pavilion, the company’s representatives were making a pitch for their packaging items targeted for households and the farm products and catering industries.
One of the company’s products is branded K-Star, which it describes as a revolution in expanded polystyrene (EPS) form tray design. Its open cell structure draws excess fresh meat juices away from the surface of the tray and traps them in the high-capacity interior – away from contact with the product, enhancing the appearance of the packaged food and extending shelf life.
Compressed edges prevent seepage from the tray on to shelves in supermarkets, minimising the need to clean and replace displays.
K-Pak also makes pizza boxes, tableware and cups, hinged-lid containers and trays and egg crates from polystyrene, all of which can be custom printed with the outlet’s slogan, logo or advertising.
The company counts among its customers such well-known brands as McDonalds, Dominos, Panda, Al Wataniyah Poultry, KFC, Herfy and Tazaj Fakieh.
“Today, the food caterer’s choice of packaging is as important as his choice of ingredients,” a K-Pak spokesman observes. “Increasingly discerning customers expect to be served good quality, well-presented food, which is convenient to carry out and easy to consume. K-Pak’s packaging offers insulation properties that are unmatched by equivalent materials, maintaining food temperature and freshness and also permitting advance preparation during busy periods.”
The company has invested extensively in state-of-the-art mould and tool making equipment.
It has factories in Jeddah and Dammam, and is set to open similar plants in the UAE and Jordan this year. Outside the Gulf it has appointed distributors in Jordan, Morocco, Syria Lebanon, Pakistan, Belgium, Malta, Spain and the UK.
One of its newest customers is Dedisan, a company that is importing K-Pak containers for sale in the Canary Islands.