ADNC's factory.
UAE manufacturer eyes global market
Abu Dhabi National Carpets Factory, a relative new-comer in the carpet manufacturing sector, has already made successful inroads into the global market and now has plans to expand.
01 April 2003
Having started production in December 2001, Abu Dhabi National Carpets Factory (ADNC) already has expansion plans, according to Mohammed Haziq Ahmed Danish, marketing manager.
ADNC's 43,000 sq m factory in the Mussafah Industrial area of Abu Dhabi is equipped with state-of-the-art machinery imported from Europe, including a BCF (bulk continuous filament) extruder, three tufting machines and dyeing, chromojet printing, backcoating and cut-to-size equipment.
The expansion programme will see ADNC acquire additional machines and value addition products. The expansion also entails increasing its storage area.
The factory is currently running at 70 per cent of its capacity of six million sq m of carpet per year, and produces a wide range of products covering:
Polypropylene BCF is produced in-house. PP granules are sourced from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, while other yarns are imported from Europe. Pigments and dyes are procured from Clariant Europ.
About 40 per cent of its production is absorbed by the UAE market with the remainder exported to the GCC, other Middle Eastern countries, South Asia (including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal), the Far East, Africa and South America (Chile).
ADNC also carries a considerable stock of standard items in its factory as well as with wholesalers. It says it can also produce custom designs using the skills of its in-house designers.
The company says it currently enjoys sales of 4.2 million sq m annually and is now targeting the residential, commercial and project sectors of the UAE, bidding for all major projects including the Abu Dhabi Grand Mosque, ADIA headquarters and major hotels.
ADNC is also looking at marketing its products in Europe (UK and Turkey), and has already established a sales distribution network to promote its products.
In addition, to enhance customer-awareness of its products, the ADNC has had a presence at a number of international exhibitions, including Dormatex at Hanover in Germany and Index in Dubai (last October), and intends to maintain a stand again at Index later this year and at Dormatex 2004.
Danish attributes the success of the company to its general manager J S Ranawat, whose extensive experience in the carpet industry in South East and Far East Asia as well as in the Gulf has put the factory to full capacity utilisation, and running 24-hour shifts, within a span of a year - which has been matched by sales, overseen by Danish and his sales team.
Commenting on the characteristics of carpet, Danish says: "The last two decades have witnessed the growing use of chemically-modified fibres in the production of carpet. These modified fibres offer the attributes of comfort and luxury, comparable to wool, yet can possess better wear performance and superior properties.
"In terms of durability, nylon is the best followed by polyester and then polypropylene.
"The production process is fairly simple. For polypropylene, the PP pellets are melted and mixed with pigment pellets and then extruded to form a yarn which is tufted on primary backing. Due to chemical properties of PP the colour-fastness is of the highest quality.
"PP frieze heat set carpet comprises tufts rather than loops and the texture and thickness of its pile is achieved through heat setting. Polyester carpets are produced using imported polyester yarn tufted white and then dyed under pressure in the MCS Bergamo machine.
"Nylon is used for the chromojet process and is good for rugs and runners," Danish adds.
Wall-to-wall carpets are generally delivered in 3.66 m by 30 m rolls (110 sq m) and 4 m by 30 m rolls (120 sq m)
ADNC employs a staff of 70 and is one of three projects launched by Abu Dhabi National Industrial Project Company (ADNIP) - the other two being Abu Dhabi National Paper Mill and Medeco.
