FIRST Bahrain’s Majaal Warehouse Company has signed a tenancy deal with a Bahraini-Saudi joint venture and announced it is close to signing another agreement.

The deal was signed with Bahrain-based First Uniforms Company (FUC) which will be setting up a 250 sq m factory to produce 60,000 high-end industrial uniforms per year with the likelihood the volume will increase to 500,000 in three years. The garments will provide protection against fire and chemicals and the range includes apparel for the military.

The second deal, to be signed later, is between Majaal and Espac, a Saudi-Emirati company specialising in precast aerated concrete. Espac will supply wall panels for Majaal’s project for setting up structures for Mazaya and Al Nafisi.

The industrial uniforms plant is a unique venture, hiring predominantly female staff with 30 Bahraini women working in the first phase.

 

JV PARTNERS

FUC is a joint venture between Orient Middle East, a Bahrain consultancy firm in business management and financial and investment services, and Bahraini partner Dr Khalid Behzad on the one hand, and Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Al Fayez on the other. Al Fayez owns a garment factory in Dammam which has been in operation for some 50 years and has the expertise and associated quality certification for manufacturing industrial garments.

Amin Al Arrayed, Majaal’s managing director, commented:  “We’re encouraged and very honoured to have a company that shares our values for promoting the local economy and providing employment opportunities in a specialised industry.”

He noted that this is the first garment factory to be set up on Majaal’s premises.

Al Fayez commented: “We’re very happy with the environment that Majaal has created for its tenants including the layout and the security measures.

Al Fayez, managing director at FUC, said the target market would be the GCC region and arrangements have been made for the offtake of FUC’s entire first year’s production. He said currently regional capacity is far short of demand for industrial uniforms and these have to be imported.

He said FUC is in talks with Bahrain’s government for utilising the Bahrain-US Free Trade Agreement.