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Mulk Holdings Eyes India, SE Asia; Ties Up with DACS Electrosystems

DUBAI — Ajman-based Mulk Holdings, a producer of aluminium cladding for buildings, took the latest step in an aggressive overseas expansion drive by signing a joint-venture agreement on Monday with DACS Electrosystems Pvt., Ltd., of India.

The new venture, called Alubond-India, will manufacture aluminium composite panels under Mulk’s Alubond brand in India. The venture will have distribution rights for the panels in India, Australia and seven other countries in Asia, the companies said.

The agreement comes one month after Mulk opened a factory in Belgrade, Serbia, where it will produce panels for sale in Eastern Europe and Russia. Mulk also is upgrading its facilities in the US and UAE. Together, these facilities should enable Mulk to generate annual revenues of Dh1 billion by 2011, Mulk Holdings Chairman Shaji Ul Mulk told Khaleej Times.

Mulk supplied aluminium panels for the interior of the Burj Dubai tower, and the UAE has accounted historically for as much as 40 per cent of its business. However, the UAE’s share of Mulk’s sales has fallen by half, and the company believes that its future growth lies largely overseas.

Alubond-India will produce up to two million square meters of panels annually at a factory in the city of Pune. The plant aims to begin operating next year, said DACS Electrosystems Chairman R.B. Lad.

The move cements Mulk’s presence in India’s fast-growing and potentially huge construction market. Mulk and Lad signed their joint-venture agreement at the Big 5 construction show.

Mulk also sees strong growth potential in Saudi Arabia and in Iran, which now contributes almost one-quarter of the company’s revenues.

Mulk has seen its revenues swell by an average of 60-70 per cent in each of the past six years. The recession has had an impact on its business, slowing its sales growth for this year to 20 per cent, Mulk said. Even so, 20 per cent is a respectable growth rate in almost any industry.

Operating from a base in the Ajman Free Zone, Mulk also makes Alubond panels in the Sharjah Hamriyah Free Zone and in Ajman outside the free zone, where it produces for export to other Arab countries.

Mulk owns 21 companies. Its biggest brand is Alubond, which accounts for 60 per cent of its business, the chairman said. — bruce@ @khaleejtimes.com