OCTAL sheds light on manufacturing potential at Oman Plast 2017

Reaffirming its commitment to supporting Oman’s economic diversification strategy, Salalah-based PET innovator and economic powerhouse OCTAL proudly sponsored OMAN PLAST 2017, the Sultanate’s leading Plastics and Petrochemicals event. A platform of great importance to manufacturers, service providers and SMEs, OCTAL showcased its achievements over the past decade and highlighted the opportunities waiting to be harnessed in Oman’s fast-growing manufacturing industry.

OCTAL’s Director of Government Affairs, Ahmed Al Najjar, said: “As a globally successful Omani company at the forefront of PET technology, OCTAL is an ambassador for the tremendous possibilities and potential of the Sultanate’s rapidly growing manufacturing industry. Leading by example and with a firm belief in the strength and contribution of innovation and enterprise, OCTAL works on an on-going basis to develop SMEs in the downstream PET industry, collaborating with them to best enhance their significant contribution to our country’s vision of a vibrant diversified economy.”

He added: “Investing in our staff through an active program of continuous professional development, we also nurture Omani talent to enable them to take advantage of the many and increasing employment opportunities with domestic manufacturers. In this regard, we regularly fund educational scholarships and have provided 225 internship placements to date. With a focus on building the technical skills required by this dynamic key sector, we launched the National Technical Development Program in co-operation with the Ministry of Manpower and partner colleges. So far, the program has graduated 93 people, with 89 subsequently offered jobs.”

Founded in 2006 with an investment of USD600 million, OCTAL is now geared for its third phase of growth – downstream expansion and value realization to support its further global ambitions. As the largest global manufacturer of PET Sheet and Resin on a single site and the only company in the world with a fully integrated food packaging system from raw material to finished product, OCTAL represents 7.3% of Oman’s non-oil exports. The company’s purpose built facility in Salalah also boasts of a 20,000 MT/y PET recycling plant taking PET full circle by eliminating production waste and reusing it in the manufacturing process to produce post-industrial recycled sheet.