The Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) has gone through a tough recession-plagued year but some companies determinedly came aboard the hub or expanded their facilities there while several others waxed optimistic from satisfactory performance.

From the infrastructure standpoint, Jafza completed a number of facilities including a Light Industrial Unit, south zone warehouses and showrooms, a seven-storey staff accommodation complex and the Jafza Mall. A  Dh2.5 billion ($680 million) Convention Centre, whose facilities include a hotel, will open in 2011.

The latest to become a Jafza tenant was Aerostructures Middle East Services (Ames), a 50/50 joint venture company created by Air France Industries and KLM Engineering & Maintenance on the one hand and Aircelle of the SAFR Group on the other. The agreement with Jafza was signed in mid-November and Ames will establish its operating base at the free zone, clearing the way for an early 2010 start-up of its overhaul and repair services for jet engine nacelles.

Ames will set up its Jafza maintenance centre in a 10,000 sq m facility, where the company will offer Middle East customers a full range of services for nacelles on engines from CFM International, General Electric, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce.

The new venture brings together the expertise of Air France Industries as a top provider of maintenance, repair and overhaul services with Aircelle's capabilities as a leading original equipment manufacturer of small, medium and large engine nacelles.

Sizable jetliner fleets 
The driving factor behind Ames' creation is the opportunity to support the Middle East's sizable jetliner fleets of Airbus A320s, A330s, A340-500/600s, A380s and Boeing 777s.   With its base in Jafza - which offers excellent logistics and operational facilities - Ames will be positioned to provide high quality services that are reactive and competitive for customers throughout the region. The new facility will also be positioned well to serve fleets for the upcoming Al Maktoum International Airport planned as the world's largest passenger and cargo hub.

In the last quarter of the year, Germany-based Bohler Welding Group launched its regional operations from the enclave, joining some 6,000 companies who are operating from what is described as one of the world's largest free zones and among the most significant from the standpoint of investment and revenues.

The group provides tailor-made solutions covering the complete portfolio of welding applications and requirements. Industries in the region that will benefit from its new base include oil and gas, petrochemical, power generation, desalination and chemicals.

Steel maker Conares Metal Supply announced its $70 million expansion plan was on track and that it expected to begin operations in the first quarter of 2010. The plant will be able to produce 500,000 tonnes of reinforced bars a year and raise its total production to 700,000 tonnes.  Conares says a factor in the expansion was the logistic advantages the free zone enjoyed.

Prominent Jafza company National Fire Fighting Manufacturing (Naffco) is completing an expansion project and expects to maintain the previous year's annual growth in 2009, despite the global economic downturn.

A specialist in the field of automation and control for fire alarm and security systems, Naffco is expanding its operational capacity further with a new 1 million square feet central manufacturing facility in Jafza that will double its current production capacity.

Shipping group GAC recently acquired 42,000 sq m of warehouse space in the south zone, taking its total space to over 160,000 sq m including 107,000 sq m of Logistics Park and 8,000 sq m of space for its headquarters.
Over the past eight years, the Swedish group has achieved growth by over four times through its Jafza operations which currently account for more than 20 per cent of its global revenue.

Ceva Logistics opened its new regional headquarters in Jafza South in Dubai. The new headquarters and its sophisticated warehousing facilities will be located in a unique Pyramid Building leased from Gazeley, a global developer and provider of highly efficient, carbon-positive logistics space and a member of Economic Zones World (EZW).

The Dubai Tea Trading Centre opened a 24,000 sq m facility in March and posted more than a 60 per cent increase in its tea trade in the first half of 2009. The total tea trade through the centre reached 4.2 million kg at the end of June. It expects to maintain the growth momentum for the whole year.

Earlier in the year, Swedish truck and bus manufacturer Scania opened its facility for the assembly of complete vehicles, becoming one of the first automotive assemblers in the UAE and suppliers of completed vehicles to the whole of the GCC region.

The Scania facility was one of the most significant developments in Jafza's history. The CEO of EZW Salma Hareb, welcoming the enterprise, commented that Dubai and Jafza were well placed with the region's largest container port offering all forms of logistical support to companies seeking easy access to the Middle East, West Asia, the CIS and African markets.

Jafza has developed as a sprawling hub serving a great  range of industries

Texas-based Flowserve's Gulf subsidiary opened its state-of-the-art Quick Response Centre in Jafza lending it prestige. The facility aims to address the service and repair needs of all pump and mechanical seal products.

As the global slowdown became increasingly evident, Jafza-based Kraft Foods Middle East and Africa posted a 10 per cent growth in the first half of this year. That growth far exceeded the group's global organic net revenue growth of 2.9 per cent for the same period.

Hunter Foods' strong growth
Another Jafza operator in the food business announced strong results. Hunter Foods posted a 25 per cent growth in business in the first half. The company, which was established in 1985, has the distinction of being the first manufacturer of snacks in the free zone.

'Hunter Foods has always aspired to be the best, not necessarily the biggest,' exclaimed its chairman and managing director Bharat Narayan.

Narayan praised the combination of Dubai's geographical advantages and Jafza's business-friendly environment as a 'wining formula.' The company hopes to increase its local and international sales several fold in the coming years. It expects to achieve a turnover of Dh50 million in five years.

Another firm to voice optimism was Cimac, a technology company serving the control, instrumentation and technology integration sector. Since acquiring its new identity four years ago, Cimac has quadrupled its turnover to reach Dh169 million in 2008. It expects to push its revenue to Dh240 million in the current financial year thanks to the introduction of a wide range of new control systems.

One of the leading providers of connectivity and power solutions has a presence in the hub. Tripp Lite, whose Jafza office deals with a host of items from uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) to KVM switches, surge suppressors to cables, rack enclosures to power distribution units, offers over 2,000 products.

The regional vice president for sales, Vipin Sharma, said its strategy this year was to offer customers credit lines and focus on existing markets. 'All this has paid off and although we may not have growth this year we have managed to match what we did last year,' he said.

'The share of our office to the overall business of Tripp Lite is about 15 per cent.' 
  
New ISO mark
Jafza recently achieved the ISO 9001:2008 mark for its effective management and control of operations, an upgrade on its existing management certificates.

The flagship of Economic Zones World expanded its online transaction services for customers by introducing a  a number of new options on Dubai Trade, the secure portal that facilitates all electronic services  provided by EZW, DP World and Dubai Customs.

Jafza says the latest survey it conducted on its customer care services showed a 14 per cent increase in the number of customers who were completely satisfied.