Dubai Cable (Ducab), a leading manufacturer of high quality cables in the region, jointly owned by Investment Corporation of Dubai and Abu Dhabi General Holding Corp (Senaat), is this week celebrating 40 years of excellence in industrial manufacturing.

One of the UAE’s flagship manufacturing entities, Ducab was inaugurated by the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum on November 24, 1979, with its first facility located in Jebel Ali and staffed by 86 employees.

Over four decades, Ducab has expanded in parallel with the UAE’s wider investments in industrial manufacturing, guided by the Dubai Industrial Strategy 2030 and the Abu Dhabi 2030 vision. With over 1,600 employees, Ducab today comprises four business units with six manufacturing facilities across four sites in the UAE.

HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and chairman of The Executive Council, congratulated Ducab for its contributions to the UAE’s economic development over the last four decades.  HH also praised the company’s role in supporting national economic diversification and expanding the reach of the UAE’s products across the world. He said the company is a role model in maintaining the highest international quality standards in industrial manufacturing.

“Since its establishment 40 years ago by the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Ducab’s exceptional growth and achievements have mirrored the UAE’s economic development. By providing the highest quality of products and services, the company contributes to the country’s reputation for excellence in international markets.”

HH underlined the important role industrial manufacturing plays in the UAE’s broader diversification strategy. "The industrial sector is a key pillar of our future strategy and ambitious development plans. The wealth of qualified human resources we have increases our confidence in the UAE’s ability to excel globally in this area and maintain a high rank in global industrial competitiveness indicators,” he added. 

Last year, Ducab’s sales rose to Dh4.8 billion ($1.3 billion) with over Dh2.5 billion ($680.6 million) in exports. By staying at the forefront of global quality standards and pursuing its own R&D agenda, Ducab has also grown from only supporting UAE businesses to now serving customers worldwide in the fields of energy, general construction, defense, rail transport, mining, and other specialist industry sectors.

Today, Ducab exports around 60 per cent of its production across business units to 33 countries in the wider Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Overall exports sales have more than quadrupled in the last two decades.

With investments across state-of-the-art facilities in the UAE, Ducab is rapidly expanding its local production and support infrastructure. The company supplies cables and rods for some of the UAE’s largest projects such as the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park and the Barakah nuclear power plant.

Ducab, which expects its sales in 2019 to grow 7 per cent from last year to reach Dh5.35 billion ($1.46 billion), is also exploring manufacturing bases in the region as it looks to capitalise on the Middle East's growing wind, solar and nuclear energy markets. The company is looking at opportunities in Iraq, Syria, North Africa, East Africa and India, to tap significant demand for cables in these regions.
Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani, CEO and executive director of Investment Corporation of Dubai, said: “The UAE’s economic evolution over the past four decades has brought enormous value not only to people within the country, but also to the world. Within this time, Ducab has made significant contributions to our nation’s industrial capabilities and has been, as a result of the ongoing strategic cooperation between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, a main catalyst in diversifying the national economy.”

Dr Mohamed Rashed Al Hameli, chairman of Senaat, said: “Optimising our nation’s natural resources is essential as we move into the future. By championing new ideas and opening up strategic partnerships in the manufacturing field, Ducab has helped to elevate UAE industrial products on a global scale.”  - TradeArabia News Service