Economic Zones World flagship, Jafza will collaborate with the Dubai Economic Council (DEC) and Dubai Statistics Centre to conduct a World Bank ‘Enterprise Level Survey’ (ELS). The ELS is widely considered to be the world’s most comprehensive company-level research tool to analyze micro-economics of emerging markets and developing economies.

Jafza will assist and cooperate with DEC on research and compiling data related to its 6400 strong client base that includes 150 Fortune 500 companies. It will also coordinate with other Dubai free zones to facilitate the collection of trade data from the respective free zones and their companies.

Playing a lead role in the process, Jafza recently held a seminar to introduce the ‘Enterprise Level Survey’ to other free zones across Dubai urging them to contribute to the study. Attending officials from Dubai free zones were given comprehensive information on the proposed survey including its scope, objective, requirements, methodology and timeframe. Economic Zones World, through Jafza will host further workshops in the coming months.

The seminar was attended by all Dubai based free zones including Dafza, DFC, DIFC, DMCC, DMC, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai World Central Zones and Tecom.

The Enterprise Level Survey, spearheaded by DEC in conjunction with the World Bank, is expected to help DEC identify and assess contributions made by the various free zones and free zone based companies in Dubai. DEC’s comprehensive study of the current export structures and export related data in the Emirate will contribute to the development and implementation of new policies.

The survey will provide comprehensive data, at a firm level, and would allow for the comparison of Dubai to regional competitors such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and the European Union.

Jafza is home to thousands of businesses and it is imperative to provide accurate and relevant information on their trade figures and trends to the Government,” said Ibrahim Al Janahi, Chief Commercial Officer of Jafza. “We will coordinate with other free zones to facilitate the gathering of such data by DEC. Statistical indices and indicators are among the most important tools that drive legislation and economic planning. We are extending our full support to DEC and we are confident that the Council will devise relevant strategies and implement the most appropriate programs to the advantage of businesses based here, for the overall development of Dubai, he added.

Jafza is widely considered as the region’s most important trading and redistribution hub and one of the main economic drivers of the nation. Jafza supported Dubai’s overall non-oil trade with an impressive contribution of USD 88.65 billion in 2008, with USD 49.7 billion in imports and USD 38.9 billion in exports, according to the Statistics Department of Dubai World.

The Enterprise-level Survey is a standardized research tool used by the World Bank and other leading development business research institutions. It has already been implemented in over 100 economies. Enterprise Surveys collect information about the business environment, how it is perceived by individual firms, how it changes over time, and about the various constraints to firm performance and growth.

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Economic Zones World’s fully owned subsidiary, Gazeley, global provider of sustainable logistics space, has kick-started 2010 with a deal to develop a state-of-the-art warehouse at G. Park Crick, one of the most sought-after distribution parks in the Midlands, which will be forward funded by investment manager Legal & General Property (LGP) on behalf of its Managed Pension Fund.

The warehouse will provide the Headquarters for Butcher’s Pet Care’s UK operations, as well as a manufacturing and distribution facility for the Company which currently occupies a building on another part of the site. The deal will see Butcher’s Pet Care Ltd, the leading UK family owned dog food business, take on a 20-year lease.

The 260,000 sq ft warehouse will be situated on strategically located G. Park Crick, a 95 acre site close to the M1 in the heart of the logistics ‘Golden Triangle’ which can access the majority of the country within a 4.5 hour drive time.

Bruce Topley, Development Director at Gazeley, comments, “It is fantastic to be starting 2010 on a high note with a major deal delivering a bespoke manufacturing and distribution facility in the UK. We are really pleased the Gazeley Team can offer Butcher’s the bespoke solution they require. Gazeley’s trusted record in delivering to customers the very best in, sustainable logistics warehousing within tight time frames, is key to our ongoing business success.  This transaction delivers the infrastructure to release the balance of the site where we can deliver up to 1.1M sq ft in a single unit for our customers”.

Charlie Walker, Senior Fund Manager at LGP commented “We are delighted to be funding this opportunity with Gazeley, following the recent successful funding of the John Lewis distribution facility in Enfield at the end of 2009.  The opportunity reflects the Managed Fund’s continuing strategy to secure investments with exceptional location, specification and income profile. Development fundings are once again offering value to investors in a stock starved market – providing the edge on yield which had all but disappeared in the bull market. Institutions can provide a natural partner in a reluctant banking environment.”

Work on the £38m project will begin on the site in April 2010 and it will be operational in 2011.

Graham Baker, Founder of Butcher’s Petcare Ltd added “We have a small but successful continental European business and believe our investment in UK manufacturing over the coming years will support a growing export business. We will produce around five million cans a week in our new facility to meet this growing demand. Butcher’s has always wanted to keep our business in the Midlands where local people have helped us to grow the company to what it is today.”

As is standard for Gazeley projects, the warehouse at G. Park Crick will be developed with sustainability at the heart of its design. It will incorporate a number of environmental measures, such as rainwater harvesting and recycling, energy efficient lighting, solar panels, low water use appliances and the use of FSC approved timber.

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About Gazeley

Gazeley is a global provider of sustainable logistics space. To date it has built over 60 million sq ft (5.6 million sq m) of quality warehouses and distribution parks across the globe.

The company is part of Economics Zones World (EZW), a Dubai World company; Gazeley is integrated into EZW’s vision of being the leading global provider of sustainable industrial and logistics infrastructure. Gazeley has a global reach, giving them the opportunity to serve customers both locally and globally.

The company provides state of the art buildings to accommodate some of the world’s largest companies and third party logistics operators. Customers come from across the retail, manufacturing and pharmaceutical sectors including Asda/Wal*Mart, BT, John Lewis, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, Volkswagen, Morrisons and DHL, Geodis, Norbert Dentressangle.

Gazeley has consistently built efficient, sustainable warehouse space reducing considerably its customers operating costs and improving the performance of their facilities. The recent development for Wm Morrisons Supermarket PLC at Sittingbourne will deliver carbon savings of 585,830kg per year through a range of eco-friendly technologies including solar heating, a grey water system, vertical wind turbines and efficient lighting control systems.

In 2009 Gazeley has won a multitude of Sustainability Awards including the ‘Best Sustainable Development’ at the LEAF Awards, Industrial Agents Society Awards, UK Commercial Property Awards and HANSE Global.

For further information please visit www.gazeley.com

About Butcher’s Pet Care

Butcher’s is the second largest player in the UK dog food market.

It is a family owned British business from the heart of the farming and meat industries in the Rugby area. Since 1987 the company, famous for its strapline, ‘Fit as a Butcher’s Dog’ has built a turnover of £65m and a staff of 200 people by feeding generations of British pets.

Butcher’s products are stocked by all major multiples including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons as well as suppliers in the independent marketplace.

Jafza-based Firstpress Middle East FZE, a manufacturer of quality blow moulded plastic containers and wholly owned subsidiary of UK-based Firstpress Ltd said that it has posted total revenue in excess of AED 10 million at the end of 2009, a 49 per cent growth on its 2008 revenues (AED 6.75 million).

The company attributed its growth last year to an increase in local and regional demand, its strategic location, innovation and its recent addition of two more machines, which led to 50% increase in its production capacity. Spread on an area of 7,000 square metres, Firstpress Middle East’s 3,000 square metre blow moulding facility in the Jebel Ali Free Zone has a current capacity of 90,000 units per day. The company is currently producing 1.8 to 5 litre jerry cans.

Shaf Ali, General Manager, Firstpress Middle East explained that the company had to expand its production capacity twice  since its commencement of operations in 2007 to accommodate growing local and regional demand. “With substantially enhanced production capacity, we are confident of increasing our revenues several fold in the coming years,” Shaf Ali said.

“The growth achieved this year, reaffirms Firstpress Middle East’s strong fundamentals and regional strategy. Despite challenges facing the global financial markets worldwide, the company has continued to demonstrate consistent growth by focusing on its core competencies. We have not only successfully expanded production capacity by 50% last year but also diversified our production from edible oil to manufacturing products for global giant BP. Our focus on quality and service has won us an ISO 9001 accreditation. 2010 will see us consolidate our strengths as we innovate and expand our product and service base to reach a wider base of clients,” he further added.

Jafza based Firstpress Middle East started production in the first half of December, 2007. In less than six months Firstpress could achieve almost 80% of its installed capacity.

Firstpress Middle East’s well-equipped manufacturing facility includes injection moulding, blow moulding machines as well as a state-of-the-art tool room capable of developing precision moulds.

The Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) has announced the introduction of online licence renewal, a service that enables customers to complete transactions online without visiting Jafza offices. The option, which went online on January 24, is available on Dubai Trade portal.

The new service allows customers to access the list of licences for renewal on the portal. On submission of licence renewal application system automatically aligns the licence renewal date with lease contract renewal date.  The system, based on new date, does prorated licence sublease fee and late fee (if applicable) calculations online. The License Department can communicate with clients online at any stage of the renewal process, via online feedback comments. In addition, customers can now track the history of their licence renewal requests online.

System generated reminders are enabled to alert the client on their licence renewal date 90, 60 and 30 days before and on the expiry date itself by sms, fax and e-mail channels.

Saji Mathew, SVP & Chief Information Officer for Corporate Information Technology, EZW commenting on the initiative said: “The online licence renewal service is a two-way traffic easer as it helps customers carry out the transaction without visiting our counters while at the same time improving Jafza’s administrative efficiency,”

“The service is comprehensive, offering several options, and very user-friendly on the popular Dubai Trade portal. Through innovation, Jafza constantly finds new ways to support its valued customers,” he added.

In line with Jafza’s policy to constantly upgrade its integrated customer services, the latest step has already proven to be a success. More than 20 customers carried out their licence renewal online in the first week of launch itself. Over 7,000 such transactions were done at the free zone’s Customer Service counters in 2009, 80 per cent of which is expected to move to the portal this year.

Jafza currently has over 100 services available online, making it easy for its increasing number of customers to conduct their business transactions with Jafza in an efficient manner.

Jafza’s approach to enhance its services through the use of information technology, has won it the CIO Top 20 award last year for excellence in delivering business value through innovative use of information technology.  

Bridgestone Middle East and Africa FZE, Jafza based regional strategic business unit of Bridgestone Corporation, the world’s largest Tyre and Rubber Company, has said that it has maintained a steady growth in 2009, despite tougher market conditions by continuously expanding its reach in the region.

In 2008, Bridgestone MEA expanded into the Middle East and African markets focusing on Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Algeria and Iran, which led to more than triple growth in its overall sales rising from AED 656 million in 2007 to AED 2.4 billion in 2008.

Shoichi Sakuma, President, Bridgestone Middle East and Africa FZE said: “In 2009 we have focused our energies on building on our strengths, providing the best quality products and services to our diverse customer base in the Middle East and Africa. This has enabled us to maintain growth despite slump in the regional markets.  Moving forward, Bridgestone will work to further increase the market share all while striving to improve our current offerings and customer services.”

Last year saw Bridgestone launch its B250 tyre range. Because of its quality, cutting-edge engineering and specifications, B250 has become the brand’s most technically advanced basic performance tyre.

Also in 2009, the Formula One (F1) Motor Sports Race fans witnessed the first ever F1 Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi. During this occasion Bridgestone Corporation supplied tyres to all the F1 teams. These tyres had circular green markings on their sidewalls. These markings signify Bridgestone’s strong commitment to Make Cars Green drive, an environmental campaign aimed at reducing the negative impact of motoring on our planet.

Bridgestone MEA has over 23,000 square-meter state-of-the-art facility in the Free Zone which stores Bridgestone & Firestone brand tires for all kinds of vehicles. The facility also includes a regional training center which has lecture halls and houses fully-equipped 5-garage service bays for cars and two bays for trucks. All year round, training courses are being conducted by Bridgestone engineers to trainees from all over Middle East & Africa.

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About Bridgestone Corporation

Bridgestone Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, is the world’s largest tyre and rubber company. In addition to tyres for use in a wide variety of applications, it manufactures a broad range of diversified products, which include industrial rubber and chemical products and sporting goods. Its products are sold in over150 nations and territories around the world.

Danube Building Materials FZCO, a leading Jafza-based construction, building materials and shop fitting company,  posted more than four times growth in the last 5 years and reported an AED 1 billion sales turnover in 2009, despite the slump in the regional and global real estate and construction sectors last year.

Danube has grown into one of the largest building materials company in the region, since it started operations in 1993 and established a base in Jafza in 2001. With eight branches in the UAE, two in Oman, one in Bahrain, two in China and one in India, the company operates from its head offices - a 285,000 square foot facility in Jafza north and a 365,000 square feet base in Jafza south, which houses its logistics centre, kiln drying facility, factory and warehouses. 

Commenting on the company’s performance in 2009, Rizwan Sajan, Chairman of Danube Building Materials said: “2009 as we all know has been a challenging year for companies in the real estate and construction industry in general. Despite that, Danube has managed to maintain its growth momentum by being involved in several construction jobs in a number of high-profile projects around Dubai.  2010 is projected to be a better year. Dubai real estate prices and development are already rebounding and we expect to expand our presence in the region with the establishment of more retail outlets and a more extensive regional network.” 

Danube operates a retail chain of ‘Building Materials Mart’ a new one-stop-shop concept that features over 15,000 products under one roof classified under 20 sections, including kitchens, bathrooms, tiles, shower rooms, Jacuzzis, flooring for ceramic and wood, ceilings, doors, wallpapers, designed glasses, marble, granite, wall panelling, different finishes of laminates, veneers, mouldings, paints and luxury paints. The complex also features a ‘Design Centre’, where customers can get expert advice on the best products and other design-related inquires.

Danube has a team of 1000 people working from strategic locations across the UAE including Jebel Ali, Deira and Abu Dhabi. The company has been and is currently involved in major projects across the UAE, Oman and Bahrain, including Emirates Hills, the Burj Al Arab, Shangri-La Hotel, Grand Hyatt, Motor City, Burj Khalifa, Dubai Airport Terminal 3, Yas Island, Reem Island, Saadiyat Island, and Al Raha Beach Hotel, among others.

Swedish State Secretary and Deputy Minister of Enterprise and Energy Ola Altera, Swedish Ambassador to the UAE HE Bruno Beijer, and UAE Ambassador to Sweden HE Shaikha Najlaa Al Qassimi visited Swedish truck and bus manufacturer Scania’s new Green industrial facility in the Jebel Ali Free Zone recently.

The Swedish Delegation, in the UAE to participate in the World Future Energy Summit that concluded in Abu Dhabi recently, met with Fabio Castello, General Manager, Scania Middle East and Dr. Mohammed Al Banna, VP Commercial Sales - Jafza.

The delegation was taken on a tour of the facility and briefed on the energy-saving aspects of the assembly plant in Jafza. The Scania Assembly plant is the Swedish auto giant’s first such facility in the region.

Located in a 20,000 square metre industrial site, the facility meets the highest environmental standards and is a Green Building, Gold LEED certified. The facility uses recycled water, in a system that reduces consumption of fresh water by 85%. Moreover, the use of solar panels and special materials reduce result in 25% less energy consumption.

The facility has the capacity for customisation of about 1,400 vehicles per year. Operations include vehicles for construction haulage, such as tipper and concrete trucks, but the facility will also be adapted for bus chassis assembly in the future.

Commenting on the green building, Fabio Castello stated: “We strongly believe in sustainable and green technology and its application in our daily lives and in our operations. Globally, our product range that includes buses, trucks and engines complies with the sustainable city concept. We hope to improve our energy efficiency each year. Scania believes that corporations have a responsibility towards the environment and communities they operate in.”

Dr. Mohammad Al Banna said: “Jafza is proud to play host to a globally respected and socially responsible company such as Scania. The company’s policies mirror our own. Over the years, Jafza and its parent company Economic Zones World has been increasingly prioritising sustainable practices and CSR in its operations worldwide.  Jafza has initiated several green campaigns to encourage Free Zone tenants to be more environmentally aware and also houses green warehouses and LEED certified green buildings.”

Scania has operated in the region for more than 30 years.  Scania is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of trucks and buses for heavy transport applications, and of industrial and marine engines. Scania’s network consists of more than 1000 sales outlets and almost 1500 service workshops across the globe. Scania has 35,000 employees, of which 15,000 work in the company’s sales and service companies.

The new facility is designed to serve Essar’s expanding regional client base in consumer sectors, such as automotive, white goods, construction, engineering and shipbuilding. Through innovative downstream solutions like service centres and customer care centres, as well as a global network of retail outlets branded Essar Hypermarts, the company has already enhanced operational efficiency and turned around the traditional concept of the steel value chain.

Welcoming Essar Steel to the Free Zone, Dr. Mohammed Al Banna said: “Essar Steel is a widely respected global company and its expertise, know-how and innovative solutions will be of immense benefit to the region. We are very pleased to welcome them to the Jafza community. To create a successful business model means offering customers and clients the best of everything in one place and Jafza has grown steadily to accommodate and nourish the growth of the businesses based in the Free Zone. We hope the new base will help the company to continue the pursuit of its vision and effectively reach out to more businesses and markets across MENA region.”

B. Sivakumar said: “With the global financial crisis taking it’s toll in the form of tighter lending and lower credit availability, Essar Steel’s latest offering promises to change the landscape of steel usage in Middle East through swifter turnarounds, lower wastages, better productivity, lower working capital requirements and consequently a leaner and more profitable supply chain in the region. Establishing a base in the Jebel Ali Free Zone, the one of the region’s oldest and largest business hubs gives us a strategic platform to implement our growth plans in the region”

The inauguration was attended by Salma Hareb, CEO of Economic Zones World, Pat McGillycuddy, COO- Economic Zones World (EZW), Shehab S. Al Mesmar, SVP, Commercial Sales, EZW-UAE Region, HE Pasan Teparak, Consul General of the Kingdom of Thailand, Director General, Department of Export Promotion, Thailand, President, PWO and senior officials from Thailand.

Commenting on the opening of the facility, Shehab Al Mesmar, Senior Vice President, Commercial Sales, EZW-UAE Region said: “We are very pleased to play host to a distribution hub for such a recognized and quality Thai product. We are very confident that this facility will facilitate Royal Industries operations and businesses and help the company effectively reach customers across the Middle East, Europe and Africa.  In their efforts to generate value added services for the global markets, Royal Industries has the continuous quality support of Jafza.”