One of the world’s largest plants for manufacturing glass fibre reinforcements is to be completed in the second half of 2009 in Jubail.

Headquartered in Riyadh, Eastern Petrochemicals Company (Epetco) will have a first-phase production capacity of 60,000 tonnes per year of ECR glass fibres and initial costs will be $180 million, according to Swicorp Joussour which has a controlling stake in the company.
Fiberex Glass Corporation of Canada, the world leader in the production and marketing of ECR glass fibres, is providing proprietary technology and exclusive advanced process rights to Epetco in Saudi Arabia, said Swicorp managing director Nabil Triki.
ECR glass fibres have strong resistance to stress corrosion cracking and enjoy a global market of 4 million tpy. Epet will benefit from low production costs due to the availability of quality raw materials in the proximity of the kingdom and low-cost energy. The regional market is driven by a significant demand for composites, particularly for infrastructure applications.
“We are very excited about this opportunity to produce ECR glass fibres in the GCC on such a large scale” commented Faysal Hamza, Swicorp Joussour executive director. “As an investor, we believe that the glass fibre composites industry has the right ingredients for success in the Mena region such as low cost production base, availability of competitively priced raw materials, surging demand and pricing, both in the region and globally.”
Swicorp Joussour has acquired a strategic equity stake in Ghani Glass Limited, a publicly listed glass manufacturer with a dominant market position in container and float glass in Pakistan. The company operates through three factories across the country and serves all the key multinationals. It recently entered into a joint venture with the Ras Al Khaimah government to establish a pharmaceutical glass manufacturing plant in the UAE. The Ras Al Khaimah plant is expected to be commissioned by May 2008.
In other Swicorp Joussour developments, the company acquired a strategic equity stake and has been given board representation in a greenfield refinery to be built in the Mostorod area of Greater Cairo, as part of a larger consortium led by Citadel Capital which also includes Egyptian and Arab investors as well as Egyptian oil companies.
The refinery is designed and configured to maximise the production of distillates such as diesel and gasoline through the cracking of heavier atmospheric residue which is supplied from the neighbouring Cairo Oil Refining Company under a long-term supply contract. Total production capacity of the facility is expected to be 5 million tonnes. Plant start-up is expected in the fall of 2011 with a total project cost estimated at SR9.3 billion ($2.4 billion).
According to Mr. Hamza, “the refinery’s configuration, adjoining agreements and experience of the development group will ensure that the project will benefit from unique competitive advantages and provide significant value to both investors and to Egypt.”
Swicorp Jossour recently announced it completed transactions worth SR456 million ($149 million) across the greater Mena region. The company, a joint stock operation, was launched by Swicorp with a capital of SR2.67 billion.
“The transactions are aligned with the company’s focus on energy and energy-intensive industries that leverage the competitive advantages of the region,” said Triki, who is also managing director and head of private equity at Swicorp as well as being the managing director of Swicorp Joussour.
The Swicorp Joussour board of directors recently approved three additional transactions worth $209 million (SR784 million) and is on track to invest over SR1.3 billion of the company’s capital in the coming months.