Dubai
The $10 million (Dh36.78 million) Emirates Fibre plant, which produces polyester fibre used in bedding products and home furnishings, launched on Thursday with the aim of supplying the local market and exporting to the region, a top company official said.
Emirates Fibre, a subsidiary of bedding material manufacturer Safetex Group, expects to increase production to 1,500 tonnes a month by June, said Muhammad Saleem Ahmad, chairman chief executive of the group. It began production on January 15th at a production capacity of 600 tonnes a month at the Al Gail Industrial Park in Ras Al Khaimah.
“There are more than 50 manufacturers in the Gulf who produce bedding, so the demand is there. In the Gulf, the biggest consumers of bedding materials are Saudi, UAE and Kuwait. In the Middle East, its Egypt, Morocco and Algeria,” Ahmad said.
The next step for Emirates Fibre is to produce spinning fibre for the clothing market within the next four to five years, Ahmad told Gulf News.
Half the plant’s polyester fibre production will go into supplying the Safetex group while the rest will be sold to the local, Gulf and Middle East markets, he said.
Oil prices are driving up the costs of raw materials and is likely to push up prices of polyester fibre, he said. “Oil prices are making it difficult.”
Emirates Fibre is expected to see a return on investment within three to four years and aims to reduce the UAE’s reliance on imports from Taiwan, China and Korea, Ahmad said.
