After having crossed the $5 million mark in terms of revenues in its first year of commercial operations, Duproof – a Dubai-based specialist in the manufacture of a complete range of waterproofing and damp-proofing materials – intends to expand its production capacity.

“Response to our products is more than encouraging and we have managed to gain a substantial market share in the first year,” says managing director Hussain Al Awaid.
“Our products have received approvals from most of the major contractors, consultants, municipalities, Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Defence, electricity and water authorities, among others and we are planning to double Duproof’s capacity to better serve the export demand in GCC and European countries,” he explains.
Operating out of the Dubai Investment Park, and with a team of 52 highly skilled professionals overseeing the various production and marketing assignments, Duproof has made exceptional progress in just over a year of starting business.
“If the current boom in the construction sector – especially in the UAE – continues, the company is confident of increasing its sales and production to 100 per cent capacity,” he says.
“We started the year with less than $100,000 worth of orders in hand but we have ended the year with a business of approximately $1 million.”
Established in 2002, Duproof’s plant in Dubai has a production capacity of 15 million sq m per year of membranes and 10,000 tonnes per year of coatings/emulsions and solutions.
“During the first year of commercial operations, Duproof has managed to export 30 per cent of its production and we are looking forward to doubling the capacity by the end the year,” Al Awaid adds.
Already, Duproof has distributors in all Arab countries, as well as in some European and Far Eastern countries. The company’s export division has been focusing on the European, African and Far Eastern markets.
“We intend to set aside 70 per cent of the company’s production capacity to meet the requirements of foreign markets,” he explains.
Through procuring most of its raw materials from Europe, the US, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Duproof has established a reputation in the market and has already introduced a new range of products in 2004. The company has been maintaining international standards for quality for which it has received distributorship enquiries from the markets of Europe and Africa and these will soon be finalised, he says.
Apart from its usual waterproofing products, the company has introduced a number of new products, which have been developed by its R&D department. APP (atactic polypropylene)/SBS (styrene butadiene styrene) combined waterproofing torch-applied sheet membranes (Duplasel), 4 mm-thick self-adhesive membrane with a slate surface (Duseal SP 4 mm), hot-applied bitumen (Duasphaltum), elastomeric liquid-applied membrane (Duseal R 300) are the fast-moving examples, he says.
Employing state-of-the-art technology that conforms to international quality standards – including ASTM, BS, and European Technical Agreement – the company produces high-quality bituminous-modified APP, SBS and APP/SBS-combined waterproofing torch-applied sheet membranes, self-adhesives and elastomeric liquid-applied membranes, protective coatings, mastics, specialised polymerised bituminous emulsions and solutions among others.
Elaborating on the quality standards followed by the company, Al Awaid says: “Our R&D division is equipped with highly qualified personnel, equipment and supported by the technical know-how from Heraklith Engineering, Austria. Duproof, which conforms to ISO 9001:2000, was accredited in 2004 by Lloyd’s register Quality Assurance and is working for the accreditation of ISO 14001 and ISO 18001.
“We recommend and design products for special projects according to the geographical and climatic requirements,” says Al Awaid.
In a short span of time, Duproof has associated itself with a number of prestigious projects such as The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai International Airport expansion project, Arabian Ranches, Darfur Airbase in Abu Dhabi, British Embassy in Afghanistan, Dubai Health Care City, and the Ajman University, among others.
“There is an excellent market for waterproofing products in the Middle East, and this is expected to grow for many years to come. Taking into account the development in the Middle East, high oil revenue and the aggressive real estate planning, one can say the future of waterproofing industry is very bright,” he observes.