Insulation specialist Rubber World Industries (RWI) views Qatar as potentially a top export market with new partnerships formed in recent years with contractors engaged in the construction sector there.

RWI announced recently it aimed to achieve annual exports of 8 million tonnes to that market, an equivalent of 120 containers.

The company last year signed several deals with top contractors in Qatar for the delivery of more than 2,345 cu m of high-quality rubber insulation products including Gulf-O-Flex tubes, sheet rolls and rubber foam tapes.

“These new strategic partnerships demonstrate our steadfast commitment to addressing the increasing demand for rubber insulation materials in the country,” said RWI chairman Abu Baker Shaikhani.

The company is also looking at increasing exports to Iran where the infrastructure market is set for a boom.

Currently RWI exports to a host of markets East and West, and Shaikhani said exports had played a major role in RWI’s realisation of more than Dh44.67 million ($12.16 million) in revenues last year. As much as 48 per cent of the company’s output goes overseas.

It will be able to offer more to its local and international customers after an expansion project to raise production to three times the current level gets completed in 2013.

Total production is now around 1,200 containers or 80 million tonnes annually. The company claims it dominates the Middle East market, supplying 86 per cent of its requirements for rubber insulation pipes, sheets and other rubber-derived products.

Recent contracts

Recent contracts demonstrate that demand exists and could grow significantly making the capacity expansion a good idea.

Shaikhani: exports a major factor in revenues

It was recently awarded a contract to supply rubber insulation products worth Dh875,000 for the Green Community West Villas and Apartments, a high-profile themed community development by Union Properties located in Dubai Investment Park.

The company has also bagged the insulation contract for the Saadiyat Island project in Abu Dhabi. The agreement involves the delivery of top-quality products worth Dh600,000 for Manarat Al Saadiyat, one of Saadiyat Island’s components which will encompass four major galleries, a sales centre, a 250-seat theatre and a restaurant, among other things.

It was also the recipient of a Dh1 million Gulf-O-Flex rubber insulation contract for the Al Raha Beach Development in Abu Dhabi.

Another contract that came its way was to supply Yas Island, a 25 sq km world-class leisure and tourist destination in Abu Dhabi.

Large projects

Over the years, RWI has been associated with some of the largest projects in the UAE including a residential project The Villa in Dubailand, Motor City, Traders Hotel and Horizon Tower.

View of a section of the factory in Ajman

Established in 1993, RWI is a member of the Shaikhani Group of Companies, a conglomerate with interests in real estate development, trading, manufacturing and IT.

RWI’s production facilities are located in Ajman emirate of the UAE and its flagship offerings include an entire range of Gulf-O-Flex products which are CFC-free flexible elastomeric thermal insulation tubes, sheets and rolls.

Its Gulf-O-Flex continuous coil is designed for convenience and engineered for air conditioning applications. Other RWI products have been designed to retard heat and control condensation drips from chilled and refrigeration systems and reduce heat flow on hot systems.

The company’s repertoire includes industrial items such as aluminium foil tape, aluminium FSK tape, aluminium reinforced Gulf-O-Flex PVC tapes, Gulf-O-Flex masking tapes, rubber form tapes with and without Gulf-O-Flex reinforcement and Gulf-O-Flex glue.