Emirates Extrusion acquires Dubai facility for aluminium processing

Emirates Extrusion Factory has bought an aluminium extrusion plant in Dubai, helping to bolster the country's presence at both ends of the metal's production chain.

The firm, part of Dubai Investments, said yesterday that it had acquired a state-of-the-art production facility for aluminium extruded profiles from AKFA Aluminium and Plastic, a firm based in Uzbekistan.

The 10,000-square-metre factory in Techno Park, a free zone, will process aluminium from nearby plants operated by Dubai Aluminium and Emirates Aluminium to make windows, doors and other finished products.

"The new factory will streamline our operational processes and dramatically reduce cost and improve time efficiency to help us escalate overall output," said Khalfan Al Suwaidi, the managing director of Emirates Extrusion, which is a subsidiary of Masharie, the private equity arm of Dubai Investments.

Located near Jebel Ali port, the plant will help the firm to serve the entire UAE market, said Mr Al Suwaidi.

"Its close proximity to Dubal and Emal will reduce the transportation cost of billets and scraps and improve our overall business readiness," he said. Several extrusion firms have recently expanded as the country seeks to marry industries working at different stages of the aluminium production chain.

Gulf Extrusions has signed a joint venture to open a plant in Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi, the industrial zone in which Emal is based, to complement its existing operations in Dubai.

Under Emirates Extrusion's acquisition, it will take over machinery such as an extrusion press, as well as automatic and manual powder-coating lines.

The 35,000-sq-metre plot has the scope to add a further two presses. AKFA was started in Tashkent in 2000 and has become one of the largest aluminium extrusion firms in Central Asia.

AKFA has plants in Tashkent and Krasnodar, Russia.

Emirates Extrusion was launched in Ajman in 1993 and has since grown to serve more than 100 customers in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and Africa.