02.10.11
Low and Bonar has established a joint venture in Saudi Arabia with Saudi-based company NatPet,with the aim of starting up a factory for the production and sale of nonwoven geotextiles.
The factory will be built in Yanbu, in the western part of Saudi Arabia at the Red Sea coast. Natpet is a producer of polypropylene resin and a daughter company of Alujain Corporation, a public company in Saudi Arabia with a substantial stake held by Xenel Industries, a diversified industrial holding company based in Jeddah. Alujain leverages Saudi Arabia’s significant hydrocarbon resources in developing world-scale, energy-intensive industries.
The combination of Bonar TF’sknow-how in geotextiles, with a strong local partner producing the raw material, offers a number of unrivalled advantages. The factory will be located next to the Natpet factory in Yanbu.The start-up is planned for the second quarter of 2012.
This project fits in with the Low & Bonar Group strategy of starting up or acquiring production units in emerging markets with sufficient volume potential and to serve the local market in a very competitive way, with a minimum of logistic costs and a maximum of market knowledge.
Steve Good, group Chief Executive of Low & Bonar, commented:
“We are delighted to be partnering with such a well respected Saudi Arabian company. The joint venture is well positioned to take full advantage of the high growth geotextile markets in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent given its unparalleled technological, marketing and raw material strength.The venture increases the group’s presence in fast growing emerging markets and is a further step in our development as a global performance materials group."