New Bonar nonwoven production unit to be built in Saudi-Arabia

02/02/2011

Low and Bonar Plc has announced a further step in the development of its Bonar Technical Fabrics Division into a global leader in the geotextile market.

On January 31 2011 an agreement has been concluded between Low & Bonar PLC and the Saudi  company Natpet,  to establish a joint venture in Saudi Arabia,  with the aim to start up a factory for the production and sales 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..  Alujain is 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 our know-how in geotextiles, with a strong local partner producing the  raw material, offers a number of unrivalled advantages versus competition. 

The factory will be located next to the Natpet factory in Yanbu.  The start up is foreseen for the second quarter of 2012.

This project fits in our strategy to start up  or acquire production units in emerging  markets with sufficient volume potential,  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 L&B, 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”.