Manama Packaging Industry has reported sales of approximately BD10 million ($26.5 million) for 2008, a 42 per cent increase over the previous year, a company official said.

Anwar Khan, marketing manager for Asia, Africa and Europe, said laminates contributed 65 per cent of the turnover with polyethylene packaging making up the remainder.
Khan expects the lamination business to do even better in the future with the company having just installed a new nine-colour rotogravure printing machine to supplement flexographic printing machines that the plant has been operating for some time.
The company has no firm expansion plans but if it does go in for one it would be to install specialised extrusion equipment or pouch-making machines, Khan said.
The company’s export markets cover Europe, South America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Khan said efforts were being made to boost sales in some European states where its performance was weak.
The company sold packaging material worth BD7 million in 2007 and BD6 million in 2006 and is targeting business of BD13 million for 2009.
Manama Packaging undertakes lamination of various substrates such as BOPP with metalised BOPP; BOPP with metalised cast polypropylene; aluminium foil with low-density polyethylene, metallic polyethylene with polyethylene, and PET with polyethylene.
The company has a production capacity of 700 tonnes per month with facilities covering extrusion, printing, lamination, slitting and bag-making.
It supplies its products to the food, construction, agriculture, medical and pharmaceuticals, hygienic products and general consumer sectors.
One of its specialities is supplying customised greenhouse films. Other products it makes include films for packing syringes and a paper laminated film for sachets.
Offerings having industrial and commercial applications are shrink films, PE films for various industrial uses, films for adhesive tapes, shopping bags, zipper pouches, refuse sacks, laundry bags, courier bags and table covers, among other things.
Manama Packaging also makes Bioplas, a new generation of biodegradable films and bags.
The main shareholders of the company are Mohammed Hasan Dawani, Abdul Hameed Dawani, Mohammed Akram Chaudhry and Mohammed Ejaz Chaudhry.
Sister-firms of Manama Packaging are Manama Food Industry and Gulf Utensils.