Emirates Towers ... prestigious project for Emirates Glass
A project which grew out of local investors' eagerness to provide the regional construction sector a flexible option for their glass requirements is today a major player in the sector, just within a span of three years.
Emirates Glass, set up in 1997, is an architectural glass processing company which has won worldwide respect for the quality of its products. Emirates Glass specialises in tempering, insulating, heat treatment, coating and double glazing of glass. The company buys glass on the world markets, then processes it for architectural use.
Emirates Glass supplies a wide spectrum covering a range of clients' requirements in terms of energy conservation, thermal properties of the glass, colours of glass and external cladding. It also supplies monolithic glass for the double glazing industry.
As a local producer, Emirates Glass offers a tremendous amount of flexibility for local contractors and builders. It relieves them of the hassle of going overseas to buy glass, time constraints and financial losses.
Paul Nicholas, marketing manager of Emirates Glass, explains: "The flexibility does not come just by ordering locally. If one side of a building is ready and the other is still under construction, the client can order in parts from Emirates Glass. However, if he buys overseas, he will have to put all the order in one go. This is very important benefit."
"Using a local supplier enables contractors to execute the glass work of a building in part because glass can be delivered in batches. Another major advantage of local supplying is quick replacement. If the shipment ordered from overseas goes wrong and some panels break, the client will have to ask for replacement which can delay the project. Replacement lead time can be up to 10 months and it can put the builder in a difficult situation. Emirates Glass, however, can provide replacements from days to within a month at the latest, depending on the size and colour of the glass.
"Manufactured locally, the products of Emirates Glass meet the highest world-acknowledged standards and 99.9 per cent of them are custom-made."
Emirates Glass' product range includes:
Emirates Glass has a capacity of 500,000 sq m per year. The capacity is not fully utilised and there is room to grow further and the management is keen to expand domestic and export business.
Exports now stand at 5 per cent of the total sales and the company is targeting to increase it to 50 per cent. The target markets are Far East, East Europe, Northern Africa and India.
The company is setting up agencies in the export markets to increase its market share. One of the prestigious order the company won outside of the UAE is to supply glass for the Changi Airport in Singapore. Emirates Glass also has supplied for projects in other GCC states and India.
In the UAE, the recent prestigious projects the company was involved with are the Dubai Airport expansion and Emirates Towers.
"The Dubai airport was one of the most complicated works carried our by the company. It involved coordinating with many other suppliers and customers. The products supplied there were fairly unique," says Nicholas.
Emirates Glass' equipment is supplied by Leybold of Germany which also provides the coating technology. The agreement allows for transfer of new technology as it is developed.
One of the new products introduced in the market by Emirates Glass is the Low -E glass, which is new to this market, he says.
Combining good thermal performance with high transmission, the Low-E is found to be very useful to the Gulf climate. Emirates Glass is also looking at producing laminated glass.
The company gets clear glass from the region and body tinted glasses from the UK, US and Europe. Sourcing raw material from all over the world, allows the company to offer a bigger product range.
Emirates Glass was accredited to ISO 9002 in June 1999, just 18 months from the start. The ISO certification helps in streamlining and formalising procedures.
On the perceived downturn in the market, though not many projects are coming up in Dubai, the Emirates Glass management believes that UAE has not yet fully blossomed and it continues to evolve.
Still the company's activities are not limited to the emirate. The team is determined to develop the export market vigorously. According to Nicholas, that is critical for the long-term viability of the company, which can't just depend on the local market.
