Dubai-based RMD Board, a manufacturer of pre-decorated wall and ceiling panels, is targeting a quantum jump in turnover of Dh3 billion ($816 million) by 2020 amid growing demand for environment-friendly and fire-retardant wall panels in most parts of the world.

The company aims to achieve this by boosting its market share and introducing new products.

RMD is now planning a Dh1.5 billion ($408 million) global expansion strategy which will see 70 polypropylene manufacturing lines being built in India, China, Turkey, Russia, Brazil and US.

Through this move, RMD aims to reach global production of half a million metric tonnes per annum by 2016.

A division of Jebel Ali-based JRD International, the company is shaping itself into a turnkey project services company and is investing in expanding its installation team by five times, focusing on aftersales service and customer follow-up.

RMD has invested extensively in researching the construction and interior decoration sectors and is moving towards adopting the one-stop shop concept to meet the demand of its growing base of customers across the world, remarked Anupam Lunavat, the company's managing director.

An all-powered marketing campaign is being launched in line with its expansion plans which sees a 100 per cent annual growth, he added.

One of its two brand ambassadors, Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan, will appear at The Big5’s stand in Dubai on November 21 to promote the brand.

The top-notch star made it into history books by working a record 21 hours non-stop dance-and-action on the RMD’s new commercial for the first time on big screen for a TVC, with its other brand ambassador Bollywood actress, Jacqueline Fernandez. Both of them will remain brand ambassadors for two years, said Lunavat.

According to him, these environment-friendly decorative wall panels were being manufactured at its Dh450 million ($122 million) plant of composite polypropylene (PP) boards in Jebel Ali free zone in Dubai.

The pre-decorated wall and ceiling panel manufacturer has seen the demand rising across its markets landscape, including the Gulf region where Dubai had surpassed 100,000th hotel room inventory milestone and is set to hit the 134,000-room mark by 2018.

In keeping with emerging demand, the 40,000-sq-m plant is now focussed on products that boast the natural look of marble, granite, wood and leather, rather than artificial designs, he noted.

The next big thing from RMD, said Lunavat, will be pioneering products for the external cladding industry which increasingly requires fire-retardant technology. The company is in advanced stages to launch an impressive line-up of innovative products for the cladding sector, he said.

Since commissioning its first state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in 2012, the diversified conglomerate has been expanding the production capacity. From an installed capacity of 12000 tonnes per annum, it plans manufacturing per day 30,000 linear meters of boards in the near future.

Sagar Verma, the president of RMD Division, JRD International, said the diversified product range are water-proof, termite resistant, certified fire retardant, highly durable, light-weight and 100 per cent recyclable.

The use of PP in these engineered products replaces the use of wood, thus reducing carbon foot print, which is a global environment concern, he noted.

The plant uses energy efficient patented technology that creates honeycomb-like structures that gives these fire-rated boards excellent strength to weight ratio.

The strength of these boards is so great, that they could be used in civil engineering and construction industry and they offer value-for-money as they are lightweight, reusable with an almost-zero attrition rate.

Verma said it has been technically approved by the biggest construction materials chain from Germany, Horanbach, which sells RMD through 138 stores in Eastern and Western Europe. They have also approved to market it though their stores on lines of Ikea, he added.-TradeArabia News Service