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Quality, reliability and prompt service are the cornerstones of many a successful business, but Dubaibased Universal Concrete Products Limited Company (Unimix) says that it goes one step further in its quest to serve some of the city's most prestigious construction projects over the last 25 years.
In a quarter of a century, Unimix has established itself as the leading producer and supplier of readymix concrete in Dubai, continually upgrading its processes and services to meet increasingly demanding specifications from large, unique and complex jobs in the emirate, according to a leading company official.
Allied to this are the close relationships which Unimix has built up with its clients and contractors, according to managing director Khalid Mohd S Bakhit.
Unimix is also driven by challenges, and it adapts its operations up to meet new technical advancements in the industry, said E R Menon, sales and technical manager, describing the evolving nature of readymix specifications over time.
To meet changing market needs and stay ahead of the competition, Unimix has adopted a policy of sound investment in plant and personnel over the years. Menon has personally witnessed a major change in readymix specifications in the last two decades. Dubai has grown and so has the industry. Twenty years ago there were just two readymix companies in Dubai whereas now there are13 and the market demand was then just about 5 per cent of what it is now, he says.
"Cement chemistry has changed, as has raw materials, specifications and machinery and the concrete we supply to some of the prestigious projects in Dubai meets the highest specification requirements in the world." he explains. "We use the latest available technology and the best raw materials in our production."
Raw materials, which are sourced either locally or from abroad, are required to pass through the most stringent of quality control procedures prior to their use in production.
"They are the best available in the market, even though we pay a premium for them sometimes," he says, adding that the company only deals with reputable, quality-conscious suppliers and subcontractors.
Unimix has one of the best state-of-the-art testing laboratories in the readymix industry with adequately qualified and experienced QA/QC (quality assurance/quality control) personnel.
Quality is evident throughout the Unimix operation, from the striking reception area in the head office to the batching plants and quality systems which were accredited with IS09001 certification in 1997. The company says it is also looking to upgrade its facilities to meet higher environmental standards, and in this regard Menon says that ISO 14001 is a target in the nearterm.
Unimix plants are equipped with highly-efficient mixing devices which are vital in the production of low water/cement ratio, high-strength, high-performance concrete mixes.
"It is very encouraging to note that there is great emphasis now on durability of concrete and long-term life of structures," says Menon.
Various cement replacement materials such as microsilica, GGBFS (ground granulated blast-furnace slag) and fly ash, hydrophobic pore blockers, corrosion inhibitors etc, are all being widely used and Unimix has been a leading player in these areas.
The company has achieved several milestones such as:
- Upto 221 m at Burj Al Arab
- Upto 260 m at Emirates hotel tower
- Upto 300 m at Emirates office tower
''These are feats which no other readymix concrete company in the Middle East has accomplished,'' says Menon.
Menon feels strongly that quality standards in the concrete industry in general are somewhat lacking.
"The industry should have prequalification criteria, wherein for projects with a certain design life, specified durability and strength criteria, only companies which prequalify to meet these standards should be considered.
Unimix's reputation is reflected in the fact that many of Dubai's major landmarks have been built with the company's concrete. Some of the prestigious projects completed include:
Unimix is currently involved in the following projects:
Unimix operates a total of four fully computerised batching plants, three at the company's headquarters in A1 Quoz and one at Jebel Ali Free Zone.
Added to this the company's range of modern equipment, which includes 60 trucks and two of the largest stationary pumps in the world - capable of pumping concrete to heights of more than 400 m - and Unimix certainly has the tools to maintain and build on its leading market position in Dubai.
Total peak production capacity (realistic) is 750,000 cu m per year of concrete, though the company operated the facilities at around 75 per cent capacity during 2000 and 2001 as a result of a slight downturn in construction activity in Dubai. As such, there are no plans to expand production facilities at the present time, according to the company, unless the market demands it.
With large and challenging projects the current trend in Dubai, Menon sees this as being an area of increased focus for Unimix in future, as the number of competitors in the market grows and capacity overtakes demand. By providing highly professional service, the company believes it is well placed to continue to serve this segment of the industry.
"Business during 2001 was not as good as 2000 and 2000 was not as good as 1999," Menon said, citing a fall in concrete prices due to the high number of suppliers in an already crowded market.
"The concrete industry in Dubai is fairly immature, and overexpanded companies are forced into cost cutting when demand falls. However, it is a cyclical market and we expect 2002 to be better than 2001," he concluded.
