Update

Emirates Glass marks 25 years, chalks new plans

Ahmed Al Shared

Emirates Glass, a subsidiary of Dubai Investments and one of the largest processors of architectural glass in the Middle East, is marking its 25th anniversary this year since production began in 1998 in Al Quoz Industrial Area in Dubai, UAE.

A home-grown UAE company, Emirates Glass has since its inception been an integral part of Dubai’s growth and evolution, having supplied glazing and expertise for many iconic buildings across the city.

The company has focused on the overall consolidation and business process improvement over the last 25 years and has supplied glass that is utilised for high value projects not only regionally but also internationally contributing to the local economy and attracting foreign remittances into the country via exports.

An Emirates Glass coating line

An Emirates Glass cutting line

The company expanded its international presence and has supplied solutions to GCC countries such as Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait, but also to Azerbaijan, Turkey, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, East and South Africa and even Canada.

Going forward, Emirates Glass is gearing up to contribute to the country’s new industrial strategy Operation $300bn and has already drawn up plans for it. 

The construction sector continues to be a key contributor to the UAE’s GDP and towards driving diversification, away from oil- and gas-based growth. The sector has also widened its industry portfolio in recent years, with companies based in Dubai now ranging from steel production to high-tech manufacturing, among other areas.

“Emirates Glass plans on leveraging the Emirate’s geostrategic location via a wide range of air and shipping routes enabling us to conduct export and re-export activities to boost foreign direct investment (FDI),” Ahmed Al Shared, Head of Operations, Dubai Investments told the Gulf Industry in an exclusive interview.

 

UNIQUE STRENGTH

According to Al Shared, Emirates Glass’ strength in the region can be mainly attributed to having a coating line and a processing (tempering/Insulated Glass Unit) line under one roof which is unique. This has helped the company to bag various new projects that either have Emirates Glass coatings specified or have special requirements like digital printing/ceramic frit plus coating on the outer panels which no other local glass processors can execute. So, the focus was to have such requirements specified on projects that enabled Emirates Glass to be the sole processor to be able to fabricate such products.

Emirates Glass‘ coating line and a processing line are under one roof

Emirates Glass‘ coating line and a processing line are under one roof

“The increased logistics costs in the glass supply from China, helped us to acquire more than five mega projects in Africa including Meridian Hotel and Lagos International Hotel that are valued for more than AED 5 million ($1.36 million) and we as Emirates Glass ensured the timely supply of the glass,” he revealed. 

Emirates Glass is currently executing projects spanning the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Africa. The recent project win for Emirates Glass includes high-performance, energy-saving, reflective, coated glass products for Al Alamain Towers, Egypt; Kuwait international Airport New Terminal; Wuhan Lingyun Lingyn Building, UK and Pension Tower, Uganda.

Within the UAE, Emirates Glass LLC is working on numerous projects such as: Zayed National Museum; Bloom Garden by Bloom Properties, Yas Acres by Aldar, Al Jurf Villas by Imkan, Al Jubail Island Villas and Tilal al Ghaf by Majid Al Futtaim; Jewel of the Creek – Phase II and several projects by Binghatti Developers.

The mega projects are valued worth more than AED20 million ($5.45 million), Al Shared said.

 

NEW UPGRADE PLAN

Given the company’s focus on sustainability, Emirates Glass is planning to upgrade its production facility with new highly efficient machines that will increase the production at a reduced cost.

“The implementation of this will help us in acquiring greater market share which will ultimately result in the growth of company’s profits and revenue,” he said.

In 2022, the company plans to enhance its technology by adding Jumbo Glass Processing machineries such as: Hi-tech auto glass processing edging machine to enhance its high performance temperable glass products; Jumbo size advanced technology 8 meters cutting machine; Jumbo size digital printing machine which will be its edge over its competitors because it will enable it to do digital printing and then coating which will be a revolution in the Middle East as no one in the region provides it.

“Since the company’s inception in 1997, Emirates Glass has been implementing continuous improvement strategy for glass products and coating, which pushes the business to be more effective, more streamlined, and ultimately, more profitable,” Al Shared said.

As for sourcing the raw materials, Emirates Glass collaborates with numerous European raw materials suppliers because these key suppliers drive innovation and/or can be a source of additional value and competitive advantage. This added value can take different forms, from risk reduction (security of supplies, business continuity), decrease of total cost (efficiency, working capital) to mutual growth (co-development of new products, added-value services, etc.).

 

KEY CHALLENGES

Giving his outlook, Al Shared said that even with a marked slowdown in the domestic construction sector, glass industry continues to thrive in the Middle East with higher window-to-wall ratios now than ever before.“UAE climatic conditions are strikingly different to, say, European countries where more heat and visible light transmission are desirable. For most part of the year, UAE continues to receive heat and light in abundance and the coatings are therefore designed to block the infrared radiations while allowing maximum visible light inside the building,” Al Shared observed.