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Nishad Azeem

CEO, Coastal Qatar

Mohammed A. Rahman Hijji

General Manager, Qatar Plastic Products Co. (QPPC) and Qatar Wooden Products Co. (QWPC)

How do you assess your contributions to the industries you supply in Qatar? NISHAD AZEEM As a local company, we have always believed that we have an obligation to contribute […]

How do you assess your contributions to the industries you supply in Qatar?

NISHAD AZEEM As a local company, we have always believed that we have an obligation to contribute to the growth of the nation. With that in mind, we have started a number of projects that aim to put Qatar in the spotlight as a manufacturing hub. Right now, our focus is on the production of stadium seats for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Recently, the Supreme Committee awarded us the contract to manufacture a total of 140,000 seats for three of the venues. Coastal will supply, install, and maintain the seats, and fans will see the label “Made in Qatar“ on the chairs. We explored the manufacturing option and identified that the raw materials required were available regionally, leading to our decision to produce the seats locally. We wanted it to be an example of a local and sustainable product that could supply the Qatari economy as well as the region, and we started production in Qatar in April 2017. The local authorities welcomed the idea, as it was aligned with the Qatar National Vision 2030 and the World Cup’s objective of stimulating the local economy in a sustainable manner.

MOHAMMED A. RAHMAN HIJJI QPPC is a plastic packaging producer that was established in 1998 to cater the needs of Qatar Petrochemical Company (QAPCO) for FFS bags and shrinkable film. After some years of operations we started working also for Q-Chem as a polythene producer. In this regard, around 95% of QPPC’s production is being sold to the local market, while the rest is exported in the GCC and Europe. We started as an SME with only four machines and have become the leading plastic converter in the country in less than 20 years, growing in parallel with the growth of the petrochemical sector in Qatar. There is a relation between our production and the growing use of petrochemicals. Therefore, when general productivity increases our production increases as well. This has required us to increase our capacity to 16,000 metric tons. Up until recently we were producing 12,000 metric tons, but we added a further 4,000 metric tons to cater to the demand of petrochemical producers. The idea of creating QWPC came as a proposal of QAPCO in order to cater to its demand of wooden products. Same as QPPC, our focus will remain in the local market.

How are you looking to increase your contributions to industries outside of Qatar?

NA We have a positive outlook in the steel division and other construction-related areas. We are focusing strongly on the post-World Cup era. After 2022, there may not be many construction projects. Therefore, our objective is to develop our manufacturing capabilities with an emphasis on exports. The cost of production in Europe is much higher than in Qatar, so here we have a competitive advantage. We are looking for partners around the world, especially in the petrochemical industries, where Qatar is well positioned. We have access to petroleum-based raw materials, and if we have the right technology partner we can establish ourselves as a strong player for value-added products in the global market. The first market we would like to penetrate is the MENA region, where similar products are in high demand. Initially, we want to look at the local and regional markets; however, eventually we will expand across the world.

MARH Though neighboring markets like Saudi Arabia, with a petrochemical production of 40-50 million tons of polymer per annum, and the UAE, with 4.5 million tons, are producing the packaging in their own countries, Qatar is a small market, and we have to look overseas. The first thing we will focus on is cost reduction. Secondly, our mission is to export FFS bags to markets like the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Oman. However, the most important for us this year is to market wood plastic composite in Qatar and abroad. We see many opportunities within Qatar and across the GCC.

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