Gulf Exporters

Polystyrene firm to expand capacity

The EEP plant at Dubai Investment Park

Strong demand for its products in the GCC states has prompted Emirates Extruded Polystyrene (EEP) to announce plans to expand its production capacity within the next two years.

The company currently exports to other GCC states and to regions beyond including the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Africa.

The upgrade will take total capacity to approximately 2.4 million sq m per year and enable EEP to meet what it says is burgeoning demand in the export market for its unique extruded polystyrene sheets.

EEP is a subsidiary of Dubai Investments, a leading investment company listed on the Dubai Financial Market.

The company has witnessed a phenomenal surge in demand amidst the ongoing construction activity in the UAE and other GCC markets, making its current production of around 1.2 million sq m of extruded polystyrene sheets quite inadequate to take care of future requirements.  EEP is currently utilising 80 per cent of capacity and will have to step up production to catch up with demand.

 

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EEP claims it enjoys 30 per cent market share in the extruded polystyrene sheets sector across the region.

The additional capacity will come from a new production line that will cater to the predicted sharp surge in demand for insulation materials once the Expo 2020 projects are activated in the next two years. The new line will be set up at EEP’s 6,235 sq m plot within Dubai Investments Park.

The company is also probably looking at demand that could arise from construction projects for the Soccer World Cup in Qatar.

Extruded polystyrene sheets from EEP

Extruded polystyrene sheets from EEP

Mallikarjuna Gowda, the general manager, said: “Over the last six and a half years, EEP has carved a niche for itself with its unique polystyrene sheets manufactured in line with the highest quality standards. With the anticipated demand likely to spurt over the next two years as the Expo 2020 projects take off in Dubai, we have concrete plans to expand our production facility. The new production line will significantly increase the total output of the plant.”

EEP’s polystyrene sheets are marketed under the brand name E-Foam, whose main application is for heating insulation, anti-impact material and major construction elements. Other EEP brands include E-Roof, E-Wall and E-Floor.

The company currently caters to the UAE market and exports to a number of countries including Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, India, Pakistan, Thailand and Botswana, among others.

According to Gowda, the demand for insulation material will be strongest in the Gulf states which have announced mega projects or are in the process of doing so.

Thanks to a UAE Federal Law that enforces the use of energy-saving and environment-friendly building materials in the construction industry, it has become mandatory for many companies to use extruded polystyrene sheets for the insulation of roofs, walls and foundations.

EEP has secured environmental compliance in all stages of production, along with DCL (Dubai Central lab) certification from Dubai Municipality with all residual matter from the manufacturing process recycled with the original raw materials to achieve zero wastage, said Gowda.

“The entire production process has been designed in line with our strategy to promote energy-efficiency and sustainability in our plant which is highly regarded as a green project,” he added.