Sustaining market leadership

OCTAL is the world’s largest producer of PET sheet and resin on a single site and the world’s leading clear rigid packaging material supplier.  Based in Oman, the company has established itself as a market leader in competitive and environmental-friendly packaging products, and has taken aggressive steps in developing its innovative technology to better serve its customers. International Plastics News – Middle East and Africa (IRNEA) learned from Maurice Abou Zeid, OCTAL’s Business Manager for MENA the company’s history and how it has emerged as a market leader in the sector it serves.

IRNEA: How specialised is OCTAL’s product range?
 
Mr. Zeid: As the world’s largest producer of PET sheet and resins on a single site and a major clear rigid packaging material supplier, OCTAL has been a market leader in competitive and environment-friendly food wrapping material for baked goods, meat, cheese, fruit, egg cartons, poultry, bottled drinks, as well as water cups and yogurt potsusing form, fill and seal (FFS) processes. Our DPET? sheet is also used in a variety of consumer markets, including electrical and medical packaging where superior properties ensure each item reaches the customer in pristine condition, free from cracks and contamination. 

IRNEA: How extensive is the company's operations?

Mr. Zeid: OCTAL is truly a global company. Based in Oman, with its head office in the nation’s capital of Muscat and operating from Salalah in the southern-most Governorate of the country, we have strategic sales offices in China, the United Kingdom,  Germany and the United States, as well as within Oman.The company’s customer base extends across Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America and within our own local Middle Eastern market.

In 2012, OCTAL’s exports represented approximately 2 percent of Oman’s GDP, and contributed more than 15 percent of the country’s annual non-oil exports. Our groundbreaking material science technology continues to attract an impressive roster of customers from thermoformers to brands, retailers and merchandisers including leading multinational corporations such as Walmart, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Unilever, P&G and Almarai.

Salalah is a natural and historic port city with a rapidly-expanding industrial and  commercial  port. The  company’s advantageous location allows the free flow of trade to major hubs around the world and cuts transport times and cost. With frequent trade routes passing through Salalah, OCTAL is able to utilise the major east-west shipping lanes to deliver products around the world in the shortest possible time.

IRNEA: The global recession has affected big players in all industries. What made OCTAL withstand the crisis?

Mr. Zeid: OCTAL sources a large number of its key requirements, amounting to almost $180 million, from within the country to generate employment and new revenue streams. This has protected OCTAL against any potential global economic fluctuations. Wooden pallets, jumbo bags for resin packaging, spare parts and other fabrications are all supplied locally, thus contributing to the growth of SMEs within the country.

Having established a strong base in Salalah and pioneered the innovation of PET as a fully-recyclable packaging material, local companies such as Dhofar Cattle Feed, National Mineral Water Company and Lulu Hypermarkets have made the switch from more traditional packaging to our proprietary packaging material.

The global financial crisis did not have as much impact on the Gulf region as it did in other areas of the world. Our production of PET sheet and resin is usedVans Old Skool Grise