21 May 2007
MUSCAT -- Oman Ceramics Company (OCC), which opened a new showroom at Wadi Kabir in Muscat yesterday, is expanding production capacity to 600,000 pieces per annum from 375,000 pieces to meet the increasing export demand. "We are expanding our production capacity to 600,000 pieces at our Sohar plant. The expansion will be completed by March 2008," Vish Natarajan, Chief Executive Officer of OCC, told reporters, after opening an exclusive showroom at Wadi Kabir.
The new showroom was opened by Hilal Hamed Abdullah al Hasani, Director- General of Industries at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Amal Suhail Bahwan, Chairperson of OCC, also addressed the gathering of dealers and media to mark the opening of the exclusive showroom, which is the second one after Sohar. OCC, which commenced commercial production in 2001, is the only manufacturer of sanitaryware in the Sultanate and has a state-of-the-art factory at Sohar.
Natarajan said that the capital expenditure of the expansion project would be RO 0.5 million, which is mostly funded by way of soft loan from the government. "We are exporting 72 per cent of our production to overseas markets," he said, adding, "Our export markets include the United Kingdom, GCC states, Jordan, Syria and some of the Asian countries." "Around 30 per cent of our products go to the United Kingdom," noted Natarajan. There has been a phenomenal growth in demand for sanitaryware products from Europe, thanks to the recent trend there to outsource products from developing countries. Some of the UK-based companies are sourcing OCC products to sell it in their brand name.
The plant was set up with the primary intent of exporting to Western Europe and also to exploit the business opportunities in the GCC and nearby regions. OCC has incurred losses in the initial years due to low capacity utilisation, as an overseas partner could not honour their commitment on buyback. The company went in for capital restructuring last year. Thereafter, there has been a steady improvement in financial performance. As the company made a marginal net profit for the first quarter this year, it seems that it is on the verge of a turnaround.
OCC's products are in conformance to European, British and Saudi standards and are tested and certified by the world's largest independent certification body for ceramic products Ceram. The company's products are sold under the brand name of Wave, which is approved by Abu Dhabi Municipality, several ministries in Oman and National Housing Authority (NHA) of Kuwait. In fact, NHA has stipulated that 17.5 per cent of all their requirements are to be procured from Oman Ceramics. The company's products are also registered with the Tender Board, the Ministry of Defence Engineering Services and with the Diwan of Royal Court Palace Affairs. OCC, which has an employee strength of 212 people, has achieved around 37 per cent Omanisation.
MUSCAT -- Oman Ceramics Company (OCC), which opened a new showroom at Wadi Kabir in Muscat yesterday, is expanding production capacity to 600,000 pieces per annum from 375,000 pieces to meet the increasing export demand. "We are expanding our production capacity to 600,000 pieces at our Sohar plant. The expansion will be completed by March 2008," Vish Natarajan, Chief Executive Officer of OCC, told reporters, after opening an exclusive showroom at Wadi Kabir.
The new showroom was opened by Hilal Hamed Abdullah al Hasani, Director- General of Industries at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Amal Suhail Bahwan, Chairperson of OCC, also addressed the gathering of dealers and media to mark the opening of the exclusive showroom, which is the second one after Sohar. OCC, which commenced commercial production in 2001, is the only manufacturer of sanitaryware in the Sultanate and has a state-of-the-art factory at Sohar.
Natarajan said that the capital expenditure of the expansion project would be RO 0.5 million, which is mostly funded by way of soft loan from the government. "We are exporting 72 per cent of our production to overseas markets," he said, adding, "Our export markets include the United Kingdom, GCC states, Jordan, Syria and some of the Asian countries." "Around 30 per cent of our products go to the United Kingdom," noted Natarajan. There has been a phenomenal growth in demand for sanitaryware products from Europe, thanks to the recent trend there to outsource products from developing countries. Some of the UK-based companies are sourcing OCC products to sell it in their brand name.
The plant was set up with the primary intent of exporting to Western Europe and also to exploit the business opportunities in the GCC and nearby regions. OCC has incurred losses in the initial years due to low capacity utilisation, as an overseas partner could not honour their commitment on buyback. The company went in for capital restructuring last year. Thereafter, there has been a steady improvement in financial performance. As the company made a marginal net profit for the first quarter this year, it seems that it is on the verge of a turnaround.
OCC's products are in conformance to European, British and Saudi standards and are tested and certified by the world's largest independent certification body for ceramic products Ceram. The company's products are sold under the brand name of Wave, which is approved by Abu Dhabi Municipality, several ministries in Oman and National Housing Authority (NHA) of Kuwait. In fact, NHA has stipulated that 17.5 per cent of all their requirements are to be procured from Oman Ceramics. The company's products are also registered with the Tender Board, the Ministry of Defence Engineering Services and with the Diwan of Royal Court Palace Affairs. OCC, which has an employee strength of 212 people, has achieved around 37 per cent Omanisation.
By Business Reporter
© Oman Daily Observer 2007
