Johns Manville, a global leader of premium-quality building insulation, commercial roofing, roof insulation, and specialty products for commercial, industrial, and residential applications, are looking for new opportunities for its innovative technologies in the Middle East region.

Senior leaders of the US-based giant – which has a global presence – are eyeing the UAE to either establish the firm’s operations or find new partners in the region.
“We are still exploring and evaluating the market. We have been doing business in the region for the past 20 years but the scale of our business compared to what we do in the Americas, and Europe, is relatively small,” Zain Mahmood, Johns Manville’s vice president and general manager construction materials told Gulf Construction during his recent visit to Dubai.
Mahmood – who held a series of meetings in the city with top developers and key specialists in roofing sectors – is convinced about the growth potential of the market.
“We know there has been immense growth in the recent past and by the looks of things, it’s going to continue for a while. Now it’s only a question of whether Johns Manville should launch its independent operations or it should licence the technology to local partners,” he points out. “Already we are conducting macro-level studies and are looking at the market more minutely at the micro level. This visit is basically aimed at finding enough evidence to convince the top management to establish a presence in the region.”
Johns Manville, a Berkshire Hataway Company, is continuously innovating its range of roofing reinforcement, thermoplastics/thermoset reinforcements, wallboard reinforcements, glassfibre non-wovens, polyester non-wovens, and glass textile wall covering etc.
Johns Manville claims to be the leader in a number of fields: it is the number one manufacturer in formaldehyde-free building insulation, ultra-fine fibres for air filters, insulation for HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) systems, glass and polyester non-wovens, glass textile wall-coverings, says Mahmood.
“We are at the premium end of building materials that provide the exceptional quality which is necessary for lasting protection and the long life of a building,” he adds.
“We develop products which suit a particular environment of a region. Already we are at the final stages of developing a waterproofing membrane that meets high temperature and humidity climate requirements and is ideally suited for Middle Eastern region. We hope that this new product would be launched in the market by the end of summer,” he points out.
The company with 147 years of history has an annual turnover in excess of $2 billion and operates out of 46 production facilities spread over North America, Europe and China. The Engineered Products Group (EPG) – one of Johns Manville’s four strategic business units produces glassfibre non-wovens, polyester spun-bond, glass air media, melt-blowns and glassfibre fabrics at 15 manufacturing locations across Americas, Asia and Europe including US, UK, Sweden, Germany, Slovakia, Poland and China.
“We are at the forefront of the roofing and waterproofing membrane industry. We manufacture carriers in polyester spunbond and glassfibre non-wovens supplying the perfect backbone for low slope roofing membranes, shingles and basement waterproofing.
“Right now, we are evaluating the roofing membranes market in the Middle East, but once we have a sales base in Dubai, we will target other application sectors as well,” he points out.
“Johns Manville is the only manufacturer in the world to master both glass fibre and polyester technologies, which means single-source supply of all premium-quality carrier inlays from a company which offers the widest product range anywhere in the world.
The company has the distinction of pioneering the manufacture of polyester spun-bonds for bituminous roofing membranes that has become a standard now. These spun-bonds are ideal for manufacturers either to be used with the standard or with polymer-modified bitumen.
“Decades of experience has enabled the company to gain a larger share of the market as it has not only maintained the highest quality but has continuously evolved products bringing more and more solutions for the roofing and waterproofing sector,” he points out. “The best foundation for successful waterproofing membrane products is close collaboration; Johns Mansville works in conjunction with its clients on the specifications of new products and develops practical solutions.”
Already the company has provided expertise to various civic bodies around the world and has assisted them with the guidelines on construction codes and safe materials. “Given a chance, we would be delighted to share our global experience with Gulf authorities and help them build safer and lasting buildings,” Mahmood continues.
Commenting on the chances of the company setting up an independent operational base in Dubai to cater to Middle Eastern market, he says: “Johns Manville doesn’t make opportunistic investments for short term gains. If we are going to set up an independent base we would come in for the long term and would serve the whole region, North Africa and Indian sub-continent. However, it all depends on how long the market would sustain the current growth pattern. So far we are observing and no decision has been finalised yet.”