Ras Al Khaimah: Shaikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, laid the foundation stone for Knauf, a leading producer of building materials, for its first gypsum board plant in the Middle East in the Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone (RAK FTZ) yesterday.
Shaikh Faisal Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Chairman of the RAK FTZ, and Gunther Beckstein, Prime Minister of the German state of Bavaria, attended the ceremony.
The plant will be operated by Knauf, headquartered in Iphofen, Germany. Once completed, the plant, an investment of Dh500 million, will produce building materials such as gypsum board, metal studs, channels, joint compounds, drywall accessories and plasters, for construction sites across the UAE and the rest of the Middle East.
Drywall materials
The plant's capacity will be approximately 40 million square metres of gypsum board per year.
Michael Morgan, General Manager of Knauf LLC, the group's Middle East division, said: "We are one of the leading manufacturers of drywall building materials such as gypsum board, plasters, metal framing components, floor systems and thermal insulation materials.
"Knauf is no longer only about gypsum board. We have developed into a complete drywall solutions provider. We can supply all of the components and we are implementing this in the Middle East."
RAK FTZ has registered almost 5,000 companies including international branded companies such as Knauf, Dole, DHL and Amoun Pharmaceuticals whose business volume exceeds Dh10 billion.