Al Bayader International, one of the region’s leading food packaging and food disposable products supplier, is the latest company to expand its operations into the Jafza's South Zone.

The company's new, Dh15 million, 15,000 sq m, state-of-the-art logistics facility, comprises extensive warehousing, loading and off-loading areas, parking and logistics management centre and forms part of a bigger Dh80 million-expansion programme for the company. A soft opening is scheduled for the end of this month.

Jafza, the free zone operations arm of Economic Zones World is already host to over 6,000 companies specialising in trading, shipping, warehousing, transportation and distribution/ packaging and printing products, in addition to 140 of the Fortune Global 500 companies.

"We are delighted that Al Bayader recognises the business benefits of expanding its operations into Jafza," said Ibrahim Al Janahi, senior vice president, commercial sales, Jafza.

"We hope their moving into Jafza will both provide them not only a springboard for business growth, and further enhance Dubai's status as an emerging major supplier of packaging and printing products, while also serving as a catalyst in the industrial growth of the country by creating unmatched infrastructural facilities for local, regional and global players,” Ibrahim Al Janahi added.

Nidal Haddad, CEO of the UAE-based company says everyone in the company is excited at the prospect of the new premises, which will significantly improve the company's regional logistics and distribution capability and give a further boost to business which saw 2006 turnover increase 50 per cent on 2005.

"Our rapid growth from a supplier of foodstuff packaging into a provider of innovative packaging solutions, and a catalogue comprising in excess of 1,200 products, has put extreme pressure on our existing 12,000 sq m warehousing and distribution centres across the UAE," says Haddad. "The additional capacity provided by the new Jebel Ali facility will allow us to further improve logistics operations, reduce export costs, and ensure better service to our regional branches within GCC countries."

Another benefit will be that the facility will afford easier access to many more potential export destinations.

"Exports have been an integral part of our business from day one," says Haddad.  "Our branches in Oman and Qatar have provided the springboard into the GCC and now we are looking to serve many other countries in the Middle East, North Africa, East Africa and Eastern Europe from Jebel Ali.

Al-Bayader's new facilities in Jebel Ali will also enable new lines of products and services to be introduced before the end of the year.

Haddad says the potential for business growth throughout the Gulf region in particular, is very exciting as the population of around 36 million today is expected to grow by 40 per cent to 50 million by 2015.—TradeArabia News Service