Danube invests USD 15 million in new manufacturing facilities in China.

Danube Building Materials, a leader in the construction, building materials, and shop fitting industry, has announced that it has invested USD 15 million (approx. AED 55 million) towards the formation of the Lianyungang Donghai Danube Wood Products Co in China, as a part of the company's international expansion plans. The move involved the construction of three new manufacturing facilities in the Punan Industrial Economic Development Zone in Lianyungang Port, which the company expects to generate USD 50 million in additional revenues. The Danube International Trading Company will serve as the local hub for its operations, with the first batch of China-made products expected to arrive to the Middle East by early 2008.

Danube initially forayed into China through the establishment of an office in Shanghai in 2002, which was shortly followed by the launch of a liaison office in Guangzhou to serve as the primary sourcing office for the wood products and sanitary fittings marketed by Danube's distribution facility in Dubai. The rapid growth of Danube's operations has earned the Dubai-based manufacturer an export licence from the customs department of China, which has paved the way for the formation of the Lianyungang Donghai Danube Wood Products Co. Spanning 50,000 square feet, the industrial unit comprises three facilities including a Melamine MDF pressing plant, a Melamine impregnation line, and a backing panel pressing plant and the decor ply production line, all of which have been constructed within a six month period.

"China currently supplies close to one-third of the materials in the booming construction industry of the UAE. This is reflective of the success of our China-based operations, which has continually shown huge potential in its capacity to manufacture an even greater proportion of high quality products for our regional and international clients," said Rizwan Sajan, Chairman, Danube. "With the initial success of our established operations in China, we have identified and capitalized on the tremendous opportunity to expand into manufacturing operations in this highly progressive Asian economy. As a result, we believe that we are on track to a venerable position as a reliable source of high quality construction material products to address the burgeoning demand from the booming regional real estate market."

Employing a 100-strong workforce including a mix of well-trained Chinese and expatriate workers, the Lianyungang Donghai Danube Wood Products Co. maintains a three storey office and utility building, which accommodates an administrative centre for factory operations and the exports, development and accounts departments. Surrounding the office buildings are the fully automated factories including a common loading and unloading area, which are designed to accommodate future proposed expansion activities. In addition, the entry and exit control gate of the site is equipped with an automatic gate, security room and surveillance cameras to ensure unhindered operations within the compound.

China has long been an export hub for centuries as reflected by its dominant history of massive international trade with the West and the Middle East. The expanse of the country's geographical area and huge work force has afforded it with advantages such as abundant natural and labour resources, which enhances production speed. In addition, Lianyungang is a port city, which has a promising outlook to further enhance its capacities in the near future. Through its accurate foresight, which has recognised the favourable situation in China and its implementation of strict quality control across all its production processes, Danube has fully utilised China's large scale industrial production capabilities to its full advantage.

"Our Chinese operations has been maintaining a steady progress on an annual basis and has largely contributed to the increased business we have witnessed on account of greater demand from local and regional customers. Through our strict implementation of industry recognised best practices, which we maintain across all our operation hubs, we are certain that this venture will result in a speedier and stronger product flow to support the demand of our regional market and the possible further expansion in the future," concluded Sajan.Danube is one of the largest building suppliers in the UAE and the region with an extensive portfolio of over 10,000 products ranging from medium density fibreboard (MDF), plywood, timber, laminates, veneers to sanitary fittings, hardware, ironmongery, steel, aluminum and glass among others. In 2004, the company began its operations in Jebel Ali with a 19,000 square metre warehouse cum office, which serves as its regional hub, catering to the booming markets in UAE, Oman, Bahrain and India.About Danube Building Materials FZCODanube Building Materials FZCO was established in Dubai 14 years ago. The company has in stock more than 10,000 products and value added services in-house. Danube operates from its head offices in a 285,000 square foot facility in Jafza north and 365000 square feet area in Jafza south, which includes warehouses, logistics, kiln drying and a factory. Danube has grown from a small trading firm in 1993 into one of the largest building materials company in the region, with 8 branches in the UAE, 2 in Oman, 1 in Bahrain, 2 in China and 1 in India. Danube has a team of 400 people working from strategic locations in Jebel Ali, Deira, Abu Dhabi and Muscat. Danube's prestigious projects include Emaar projects such as Emirates Hills, the Burj Al Arab, Shangri-La Hotel, Grand Hyatt, and a private palace in Muscat.

[c] 2008 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)