Intercoil International Company, the Dubai-based manufacturer and distributor of orthopedic sleep products, says it will continue with its expansion plans in 2009.
These include setting up a distribution and sales office in Jeddah, which will also cater to Bahrain, more retail outlets across the GCC region and a manufacturing facility outside the UAE.
“Our retail market has been growing and our export market is also doing well,” said Hassan Al-Hazeem, the company’s managing director.
Recently the company opened two new stores in the UAE increasing its total retail outlets in the country to seven.  It has one outlet each in Oman, Kuwait and Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
“We started feeling the impact of the economic slowdown in December, mainly in the wholesale and projects sector. But we believe there are opportunities and we need to refocus and realign our plans and find the best ways to move on,” said Al-Hazeem.
“Over the past seven years we have worked very hard to diversify our range. We have expanded our export market and grown our retail business by establishing a presence in the whole of the GCC area and by appointing agents in Egypt Tunisia, Jordan, Libya and India.”
With rising inflation in the UAE, Intercoil has been contemplating a manufacturing facility outside the country.
Intercoil wants to push ahead with this plan and is looking at setting up a plant in India. “Though we have an agent there we see a huge potential for our products in that market,” Al-Hazeem said. 
“No one expected the speed at which the financial crisis has affected businesses but we view the current situation as an opportunity to refocus and restructure plans. We are looking at maximising efficiency by quality management,” he added.
As one of the pioneers in polyurethane foam manufacturing in the Middle East, the company’s core business is the production and distribution of PU foam, furniture and orthopedic sleep products under two brand names – Intercoil and Therapedic.
The company says it has improved its business processes, adopted innovative industrial technology  and used environment-friendly raw materials while fulfilling its social responsibility of educating consumers about the importance of healthy sleep.
Intercoil is accredited to ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001. It is also a member of the ISPA (International Sleep Products Association). It has entered the Guinness Records twice – once in 2000 as manufacturer of the world’s largest spring mattress and in 2007 as manufacturer of the world’s largest bed set and pillow.
“By doing so we wanted to draw the world’s attention to our country and promote UAE-manufactured products as ones having high quality and being competitive in the international market,” said Al-Hazeem.
The company recently introduced Ghalya’s, a new range of sleep systems for children.
Ghalya’s has been developed after cooperation with a team of specialists from Medcare Hospital and includes a full range of orthopedic beds and mattresses scientifically designed for each growth stage, ensuring healthy development.
“For 2009 we will continue to focus on diversification,” said Al-Hazeem. “We are looking at diversifying the streams of revenue. For example we manufacture foam and normally a foam manufacturer will sell to a furniture manufacturer but there are other channels too like car upholstery or manufacturers of foam toys. These are some of the unexplored channels that one can look into.”