Al Rawabi Dairy Company, a leading producer of dairy products and fresh juices in the Gulf region, plans to invest $200 million as part of its ongoing expansion plans, said its top official.

The dairy company, which currently serves Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain, the Northern Emirates, Qatar and Oman, is now planning to extend its regional footprint to Bahrain and Kuwait, where it will replicate its successful UAE business model.

Announcing this on Tuesday, Dr Ahmed Eltigani Abdul Rahim, general manager, Al Rawabi Dairy Company, said the company is also looking to invest another $100 million this year to further augment its milk production and processing capacity.

'We are constantly investing in new technology to maintain the best quality products; this year, we plan to expand our existing facilities with the addition of a world class milking parlor, yard and cooling system,' he remarked.

'We are also looking to increase the number of our cows to a total of 10,000 from the current count of 7000 by 2012,' he added.
 
He pointed out that Al Rawabi was the first brand to pack fresh milk in plastic bottles, an instant hit with the consumers which inspired the entire industry to follow suit.

'Over the last two decades, Al Rawabi has grown remarkably to become one of the leading producers of milk products in the region - retaining more than a third of its domestic market.'

The company’s success has been largely driven by its focus on quality, innovation and freshness, he added.

Al Rawabi was listed among the strongest 40 brands in the Arab world by Forbes magazine. The company has achieved all of the top quality benchmarks including the ISO 22000 HACCP Food Safety Management System

“Our dairy farm and processing plant are located next to each other; so getting the milk from cows to the processing plants takes only minutes which gives us the unique advantage of delivering farm-fresh dairy products to consumers on a daily basis,” Eltijani added.

The dairy product range of Al Rawabi extends from fresh milk - full cream, half cream, double cream, low fat milk, skimmed, flavored milk to laban, Yoghurt (Robivia), and a range of functional health drink (B-Activ).-TradeArabia News Service