Gulf Construction Online - Gulf Rubber Industries eyes new Mideast jobs

UAE Focus

Gulf Rubber Industries eyes new Mideast jobs

01 November 2015

Dubai-based Gulf Rubber Industries (GRI) has set its sights on increasing its market share in just a year-and-a-half of its establishment.

“We are looking forward to get prestigious jobs in Middle East in the coming years,” said managing director Urfi Kidwai, adding that as part of future plans, the main focus will be to increase the manufacturer’s market share.

GRI bills itself as a single, integrated source for high-tech moulded and extruded polymer solutions. It manufactures single and dual durometers (co-extrusions), rubber profiles (EPDM, nitrial, silicone and neoprene), moulded products (corners, frames), setting blocks, splicing, flame-retardant profiles, silicone compatible EPDMs, self-adhesive profiles, and punching and cutting with colour-matching of substrates.

“We have tight control on the materials and can formulate high-quality compounds that meet all of our customer requirements. Customers can depend on GRI to produce high-quality extrusions and moulded parts,” said Kidwai.

GRI’s products conform to industry standards and the compounds used meet ASTM, BS, DIN, SAE, FDA, UL, NSF and US military standards.

The company has been associated with several prestigious projects including the Onyx Towers, City Walk, NAS Arena, and Jewel of Creek, all in Dubai, and the Abu Dhabi Plaza in Asthana, Kazakhstan.

Commenting on one of the challenging projects executed by GRI, Kidwai said: “The Abu Dhabi Plaza in Kazakistan was a very challenging project. We had to design and develop products that could withstand temperatures of up to –50 deg C and also had to test windows for pressures up to 1,000 pascals.

“The client needed a very specific sealing solution so we recommended our co-extrusion profiles. We also recommended the use of silicone gaskets and moulded silicone rubber corners on specific areas, which would withstand temperatures of –50 deg C,” he explained.

The entire mock-up was tested at Exova’s laboratory in Dubai, according to Kidwai.

“Our silicone gaskets were tested in a nitrogen chamber and successfully passed the tests. Windows were also tested at 1,000 pascals and results were very good as there was no leakage,” he added.

GRI’s flagship product is its dual durometers (co-extrusions) which are designed to serve a variety of purposes.

“We are the only manufacturer of co-extrusion profiles in the Middle East. Most often, the harder material serves as means of attachment, and the softer compound completes the seal and gives its an excellent U value (thermal coefficient).

“Sometimes, however, co-extruded polymers are used for decorative purposes. There are many ways to get creative when designing these seals such as by using a multi-colour multi-durometer, notches, holes and pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs).”

Commenting on the company’s performance, Kidwai said: “Our short journey since our establishment 18 months ago has been good and we have outperformed our expectations.

“We have successfully executed prestigious projects for our customers and we have other projects in hand as well as in the pipeline.

“Our view on business growth and development for 2016 is very optimistic. We are looking forward to winning a lot more projects in Dubai and Abu Dhabi,” he concluded.