For international companies such as Victaulic, Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) has proved to be a gateway into the UAE, says Rami Mahmoud, Middle East regional manager for Victaulic.

Victaulic, a world leader in pipe joining systems manufacture, was founded more than 80 years ago in the US. Through world-class product innovations and strategically placed manufacturing and operating facilities around the world, it has gained market-leading status worldwide. 
Renowned for inventing the grooved mechanical joining method, Victaulic has led the industry with grooved-end couplings, fittings and valves ranges for the HVAC, fire protection, water and wastewater, mining and other industrial markets.
Following a careful examination of the region in the late 1990s, Victaulic found that Jafza offered the company the ideal launching pad into the UAE and the rest of the region, according to Mahmoud. 
“With its busy port and proliferation of shipping lines, central location and time-zone bridge between the Far East and Europe as well as its close proximity to India, Pakistan and Iran, the free zone had much to offer,” he says. 
“The clever positioning of Jafza as the preferred hub for companies to serve all GCC countries, through the careful promotion and development of its infrastructure and the lack of similar free zones in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, further tipped the balance in Jafza’s favour,” he adds.
From its small beginnings in the UAE in 2000, Victaulic has grown its business significantly, servicing some of the biggest construction projects in the region.  “The success of Victaulic throughout the region clearly has been facilitated by its position in Jafza. The high level of infrastructure within the free zone allows the company to easily receive shipments from its production facilities in the US and Poland, and move them to construction sites throughout the region with unsurpassed delivery times and its unique “bag-and-tag, just-in-time-delivery process.”
Jafza’s position alongside some of the largest and fastest growing construction projects in the world has also enabled Victaulic to become the grooved-end product of choice on many projects throughout the UAE and the entire region.  A case in point is the downtown Jebel Ali construction project for Limitless, an integrated real estate development company and business unit of Dubai World, one of Dubai’s leading business groups.  On this project alone, the majority of the HVAC and fire protection piping systems have been constructed using solely Victaulic products. Victaulic piping systems are also used on other iconic builds in the region such as the Burj Al Arab, Emirates Towers, Burj Dubai, Jumeirah Beach Residence and Abu Dhabi Convention Centre.
“Despite expectations of slower growth in building services construction projects in Dubai over the coming years, the stronger expected growth in Abu Dhabi and other GCC countries will still ensure that companies such as Victaulic in Jafza are ideally placed to maximise their potential,” says Mahmoud.  In addition to this, the increased growth in industrial, oil and gas projects in and around the ME, especially in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the development of numerous high-profile infrastructure projects and the strong economy and rapid growth of India continue to provide opportunities for companies like Victaulic that are located in the free zone.
“With the geographical placement of Jafza and the power of ‘brand Dubai’ to attract ever-increasing investment from the global community, it looks like the free zone is going to continue to be a great place to do business for many years to come,” he concludes.