The Dutch company AkzoNobel, a global paints and coverings producer, opened a new $10mn plant in Dubai’s Al Quoz industrial area
The plant will employ 40 people and will be its sixth facility in the Middle East producing powder coatings used for the protection of buildings and pipelines in the oil and gas sector.
“We have nearly 1,000 people working across the Middle East,” said Conrad Keijzer, AkzoNobel’s executive committee member responsible for performance coatings.
“The coatings industry is growing at 6 to 7 per cent a year and we expect to double that. The Middle East and the UAE in particular has been the most resilient since the global crash with a continuously strong construction sector and its oil and gas facilities are strong.”
Amsterdam-based AkzoNobel considers the Middle East as key market for growth. The recent drop in oil prices, however, might have a certain impact on the company’s business here in the reagion.
“When AkzoNobel decided to build this plant they could not have foreseen today’s oil price,” said Joost van Beek, a securities analyst at the private bank Theodoor Gilissen.
“However, most of its plants are for the long term and its contracts will be for two or three years hence so it will not be an immediate concern.
“AkzoNobel has been, like a lot of European companies, and trying to lessen its exposure to Europe, where there is no economic growth,” van Beek concluded.
