Caracal markets a bang, flash and coloured smoke at Idex

Caracal Light Ammunition, one of the UAE's home-grown armaments companies, yesterday launched a new division to help the upcoming Idex defence exhibition to go off with a bang, a flash and a dramatic waft of coloured smoke.

Caracal Pyrotechnics was created to cater to the so-called non-lethal ammunition demands of law enforcement and national security organisations across the country.

Caracal is a unit of Tawazun, a holding company born out of the UAE's offset programme that works to build joint ventures between international defence contractors and UAE-based companies.

In keeping with this, Caracal Pyrotechnics has two partners - one a UAE-based investor called MP3 International and New Safety Technology from Germany.

Caracal Pyrotechnics is planning to manufacture signal cartridges, screening smoke, stun grenades and coloured smoke among other non-lethal munitions.

Its entire product line will be manufactured at Caracal Light Ammunition's Abu Dhabi factory located within the Tawazun Industrial Park on the outskirts of the city.

Mohammed Al Ghafli, the general manager of CLA, said: "The creation of this new division is yet another step in our developmental strategy and overall aim to diversify the range of our offerings. At CLA, we are keen to observe the trends in the marketplace, listen to the demands of our international clients and deliver world-class, UAE-made products."

The Caracal announcement came on the eve of the Abu Dhabi International Offset Conference, which takes place every two years and is designed to foster cooperation between international partners engaged in offset defence policies.

The event brings together representatives of global defence contractors, governments and industry experts from more than 25 countries.

Matar Al Romaithi, the chief officer of the Tawazun Industrial Development Unit, said theevent had presented a unique opportunity to exchange information with international partners.

"There are three themes at this year's event - offset programmes worldwide, partnerships between local industry and international companies and R&D [research and development]. It is a great opportunity to further our knowledge-based industries," he said.

jdoran@thenational.ae

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