Gulf Construction Online - Danube offers surface solutions

UAE Focus

Danube ... ceramic tiles added to portfolio.

Danube offers surface solutions

01 April 2010

DANUBE Group, a leading building materials company in the Middle East, has recently made a foray into the ceramic tiles segment.

“The addition of this product segment to our ever-growing portfolio further reinforces Danube’s vision of being a ‘one-stop solution for all your home needs’,” says Anis Sajan, managing director and co-owner of the Danube Group. “This business would be spun off as an independent strategic business unit (SBU) that would lend synergy and complement the other SBUs of the group.”
In line with this endeavour, the group has recently signed up agency and distributor agreements with several established brands in the industry. These comprise Marrazi, Keraben-Metropole, Realonda, Emigres and Eskema from Spain and Italy as well as GCC manufacturers including RAK Ceramics, Saudi Ceramics, Al Anwar Ceramics and Al Maha Ceramics. In addition, it has tied up with several potential and proven manufacturers from China and the Indian sub-continent who would be Danube’s OEM channel partners for its exclusive Milano-Italy range.
Danube has also set up its fourth facility in China, in Guangzhou – which is in close proximity to Foshan, the ceramic industrial belt of China. Ceramic quality assurance specialists have been hired to oversee the complete production run of its supplies and thus ensure consistency in quality of its products.
“With these strategic alliances in place, Danube will now be able to offer a comprehensive surface solution concept that extends beyond bathrooms,” says Sajan. “We have built our product pyramid with meticulous planning so that we are able to offer a turnkey solution for tiles for any project – be it a labour camp, low-cost housing, a villa, a high-rise building, a shopping mall or a high-traffic public utility like an airport.
“The product range starts with a modest value-for-money, no-frills-attached Chinese ceramic wall tiles from $2.75 at the bottom tier and goes beyond $50 for its top-end, high-quality, state-of-the-art inkjet technology gres tiles,” says Sajan.
These products will be showcased in Danube’s retail arm – Buildmart – across the GCC. Buildmart also offers designer services as an added feature to enable customers to design their surfaces according to their individual tastes and needs.
Danube is now poised to host official product launches and seminars across the GCC for its tiles division, with the first one earmarked for Oman this month.