Higher demand for insulation products seen

To expect pre-crisis market conditions to rebound soon would be too ambitious a thought but forecasted growth trajectories in the Middle East countries are reason enough to be optimistic. With construction and infrastructure projects scheduled for 2010 and ahead, plastic and rubber manufacturers are leveraging on this growth factor and targeting the oil and gas field, construction, shipping and automobile industries. Middle Eastern countries including Qatar, UAE, Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait remain in the top 20 countries in terms of economic growth. Countries in the Middle East are raging with high-profile projects - Dubai may play second fiddle to UAE's growth but with Abu Dhabi catapulting to new heights and wider horizons in terms of infrastructure and growth, the demand for rubber and rubber related products is creating new levels. With Abu Dhabi at the helm of infrastructural development and progress, Qatar, Iran, Egypt and Saudi Arabia aren't too far behind. It was reported that Qatar's Prime Minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thain commented on the country's impressive growth of 11% in 2009 and forecasting a growth of 16% in 2010/2011. Reasons of this growth are attributed to infrastructure expansion in gas facilities as Qatar maintains its status as the world's largest gas exporter. With soaring temperatures and humidity being predominant in the Middle East, combined with growing trends for sustainability products, insulation is now a primary feature in the region's rubber products. Rubber insulation products in high demand Leveraging on the growth trend is Rubber World Industries (RWI), the leading and only producer of rubber insulation products in the Middle East region. With modern plants located in the Ajman Industrial Area in the UAE, the company is producing a diverse range of rubber insulation products, catering to the oil and gas field, construction, shipping and automobile industries. Accounting for 56% of the Middle East rubber insulation market, the company has been recording massive sales revenue figures, year-on-year. With AED 32.4 million and AED 46 million as sales revenues for 2008 and 2009 respectively, the company hopes to achieve whopping sales revenue of AED 65 million by end-2010. This figure has been projected in line with its growth strategy of catapulting its production capacity by 25% in 2010 and with its economic vision of producing 3600 containers by 2013. The plant capacity has been increased from 8 to 12 production lines. The Middle East remains a huge market for rubber insulation and related products and with the ongoing significance of eco-friendly and HVAC products (Heating, Ventilation & Air conditioning), RWI is hoping to leverage on both the infrastructure developments and sustainability issues. It recently launched its latest range of HVAC products and to date, remains the only producer of "Gulf- O-Flex", a rubber insulation product that has been designed solely for professional MEP contractors. Gulf-O-Flex is non-toxic, lightweight and can be easily installed, not to mention that it evades condensation or frost formation on refrigerant lines, cold water plumbing and chilled water systems. Rubber insulation tubes manufactured by Rubber World Industries have a high capacity to retard heat loss for hot water plumbing, liquid heating and dual temperature piping, having a flame spread rating of less than 25 and a smoke spread rating of less than 50. Rubber Insulation tube coils are designed for convenience and labour savings with significant toughness, customised to minimise waste, reduce butt joints and easily packaged in convenient-to-handle cartons. Meeting the needs of fast-growing economies As a leading producer of rubber insulation productNike Lebron 10