Advanced foam manufacturing technology has helped the BahrainFoam Factory (BFF) maintain high productivity and even go a notch higher insales and production volumes in a difficult year.

According to Paul Uruvath, managing partner, the company canproduce nearly 300 m in a short span of one hour.

BFF, a division of Jassim Al Zayani & Sons, wasestablished in 1983 for manufacturing polyurethane foam with a capacity of onemillion tonnes. The factory is spread over 6,000 sq m at the Sitra IndustrialEstate. In 1998, the company further diversified its activities by setting up aplant - the Bahrain Polystyrene Factory (BPF) - for manufacturing polystyrene  blocks  with a  capacityof half  a million tonnes.

Uruvath said BFF was able to meet the recession head-on andhad been successful in achieving a marginal increase in sales and productionvolumes in 2009 compared with the year before.

The company's production volume for the year ending September2009 stood at 750,000 kg, up 5 per cent compared with the year before. Similarly, its sales value, without export sales, for the same period wasapproximately $3.5 million compared to $3.4 million the year before.

BFF attributes its successful performance in a tough year toits wide-ranging products and efficient services.

"We expect toattain a better growth rate in the coming years as the economy is recoveringand demand for our products in Bahrain has increased," said Uruvath.

BFF manufactures polyurethane foam blocks in variousdensities. 

It is also involved in the manufacture of spring mattressesand latex. It claims its advanced technology helps the company produce foam athigh speed and in huge quantities, ensuring uniform quality throughout theproduction process.

The various densities on offer cater to the differentrequirements of mattress and foam for upholstery in the whole of Bahrain - forhome and hotel use.

To achieve high density, BFF manufactures blocksindividually through a hydraulic compressing machine. Foam is supplied intailor-made sizes and shapes based on customer requirements. The slicing andshaping of the foam by precise cutting machines are executed with ease, cuttingwastage to a great extent. 

A two-dimension contour cutting machine helps cutpolystyrene into various shuttering designs for housing and decorative shapesand designs for flower shops and event organisers. Other cutting machinesenable the company to meet some of the requirements of the insulation, packagingand shuttering markets.

Blocks of various densities
BPF manufactures polystyrene blocks comprising variousdensities in the range of 12 kg/cu m to 40 kg/cu m.  Similar to foam production, the polystyrene blocks are cutand shaped into various sizes and designs.

The company uses raw materials imported from Europe. Themajor raw material for foam is polyol, tolylene diisocynate, methylene andadditives.

According to Uruvath, one of the greatest challenges thecompany faces is competing with its Saudi and Dubai counterparts as pricing oftheir products is quite uncertain.

"Cost control must be emphasised," he said.

"Since all the raw materials are imported, availability at acertain period of time is another worry. The pricing of raw materials isdirectly linked to oil prices, and the volatility of the dollar and oil pricesfurther contributes to pricing difficulties."

BFF has catered to the insulation demands of several majorprojects including Durat Al Bahrain, City Centre and projects in Amwaj Islandand Pearl Harbour.

Some of its main customers are the Nass Group, Al HamadGroup, Awal Group, Eastern Asphalt and Ahmed Mansoor Ali.