The Middle East’s packaging industry has picked up dramatically over the past few months according to a number of key regional players who say the turnaround marks a rebound in business confidence following the events of September 11th last year.
“Initially the crisis caused a major drop in orders,” explained Ian Barker, general manager at Al-Thika Packaging, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). “However, the last two-three months have seen a dramatic rise in demand driven by the fast-moving-consumer-goods, FMCG, sector. “We are now experiencing the same levels of business as this time last year and this is without the benefit of an order backlog which we had at the beginning of 2001.”
Another leading Dubai packaging major, Clearpack, said it too is witnessing a business pick-up. “There is no doubt that the events in New York and Washington impacted our industry. Business was most certainly affected but the past quarter has seen it pick up considerably. Our business from Saudi Arabia alone is recording constant single-figure growth,” said S. C. Bhide, Clearpack’s Middle East sales manager.
Also on the receiving end of increased packaging demand is Emirates National Plastic Industries LLC of Dubai. The company’s Operations Manager Naushad Mohammed says the last quarter has seen the firm recording 20-30 percent growth. “We expect this to increase another 10 percent in the next six months,” he said.
All three companies are now predicting further growth next year and say moves towards automation will be the driver and the key focus of their participation in PackTech International, the global packaging exhibition taking place at the Dubai World Trade Center next January.
“We will be showcasing new technologies and products, including an aluminum packaging solution and higher quality eight colour printing,” said Naushad Mohammed. Ian Barker says automation will be buzzword of the show, which will run from January 12-15.
“We have seen a number of organizations across the Arabian Gulf moving towards automating their packaging process,” he explained. “This enables them to reduce labor costs.” — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
