Dubai Cable Company (Ducab) has embarked on a major expansion drive in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries as part of an overall strategy to increase exports and widen its customer base in the region.

“With the increase in capacity of an additional 25,000 tonnes from the new Abu Dhabi plant, Ducab is seeking out newer markets. In this, the MENA region offers huge potential. We have already identified Libya, Sudan and Yemen as some of the new markets we will focus on as part of our expansion strategy,” says Colin Paskins, managing director, Ducab.
Ducab is the leading manufacturer of power cables in the Middle East. Its range of cables includes: Power Plus medium-voltage cables, low voltage XLPE, PVC insulated cables and supplies, Ducab connect cable components and accessories.
The low voltage (LV) range consists of Ducab Smokemaster – low smoke and fume cables, power cables, wiring cables, control and auxiliary cables and lead sheathed cables. Ducab Powerplus medium voltage (MV) cables (11 kV and 33 kV) are made to BS and IEC 60502 specifications. The Ducab Connect Cable components and accessories comprise of more than 7,000 accessories for LV and MV cables in the form of glands, fixings and connectors, tooling, joints and termination for up to 36 kV.
Established in 1979, Ducab has a wide distribution network around the Gulf countries including two sales offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Another sales office is located in Oman. Ducab has also established joint venture companies in both Bahrain and Qatar.
The company says that its production exceeded 40,000 tonnes in 2003 and with the Abu Dhabi plant to start production starting from this month the total production capacity would increase by 25,000 tonnes. Currently, Ducab employs 400 people, and this number is expected to cross the 500 mark by the end of this year.
“2003 was remarkable for Ducab as we achieved record sales of over Dh500 million ($136.12 million) – a 22 per cent growth over the previous year. With the increased capacity with new factory coming up in Abu Dhabi, Ducab will be able to fulfil all its customer orders,” says Paskins.
The UAE and GCC are the major markets of Ducab, while Far East and MENA region constitute the key export area. Ducab also has strong relations with international contractors based around the world.
Export receipts form 25 per cent of Ducab’s turnover. The export business has been growing significantly since 2002 and the company expects record exports and related revenue for 2004.
Ducab is an innovative player in cable business and keeps adding new products to its line. Recently, it introduced fire performance cables and pilot cables, and instrumentation cables. Ducab is also developing 132 kV cables, which are expected to be introduced to the market in 2005.
The technical department of Ducab is fully staffed and equipped to design cables to customer’s requirements. The company’s close working relationship with utility companies has allowed it to design and manufacture highly customised cables that are no just cost effective but also meet the exact specification and requirements of the customers.
Ducab cables have been type tested in some of the most sophisticated testing laboratories like ERA technology, British Standards Institution, Lloyds Register, Warrington Fire Research Laboratories, British Approval Service for Cables (Basec), all of the UK and KEMA of Holland.
In recognition of its stringent commitment to quality, Ducab has been awarded several quality citations. It claims to be the only manufacturer in the Gulf region with ISO 9001:2000 certification for its quality management systems and the only cable manufacturer in the Middle East to obtain certification of its quality management systems to Basec standards. Ducab is also among the founding members of the Dubai Quality Group.
Ducab has recently undertaken several high value, high visibility projects in and around the region, including the Dh 24 million project by Daelim Industrial Company, for the supply cables for a key water effluent disposal plant project of the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), Dh52 million project for supply cables for DEWA’s (Dubai Electricity and Water Authority) new ‘L’ power station with Toshiba, supply of fire performance cables to Delhi Metro rail project and supply of cables to key oil, gas and petrochemicals (OGP) projects in Iran.
“With construction activity booming, we see a surge in demand for our products, as the sector is a major business segment for Ducab,” says Paskins. “With Gulf being an oil-controlled market, more projects and investments in the OGP sector implies positive indicators for Ducab as this is another major business segment. Further, with property and industry booming, power generation and distribution – the third business segment of Ducab – is also showing positive signs because of the increasing energy needs of the region”.
With the new expansion at the Jebel Ali factory and the new factory in Abu Dhabi, Ducab has brought state-of-the-art machinery and test equipment from world renowned and reputed suppliers.
“Ducab’s promise of quality and value added services would be further strengthened with the latest expansions and new products addition,” says Paskins. “However, the major investment Ducab has is in its people. Ducab is committed to bringing experienced and knowledgeable workforce, that will ensure that the quality of Ducab’s cables are not compromised. Also national development is another key area that Ducab is strongly progressing both in terms of training, recruitment and HR (human resources) development and the protection of the environment and environmental issues.”