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Emaar Industries buys 60pc of MBS

DUBAI — Emaar Industries & Investments (EII), a member of Emaar Properties PJSC, has acquired a 60-per cent stake of Mammut Building Systems (MBS), a partnership that would increase Mammut's turnover to over Dh1 billion in less than a year from last year's Dh500 million, company officials yesterday said.

Behzad Daniel Ferdows, president and CEO of Mammut Group, said the new investment would allow MBS, a leading manufacturer of pre-engineered steel buildings (PEBs) in the Middle East, to increase production capacity in its 30,000-square metre factory in Sharjah to 12,000 tonnes per month from the present 6,000 tonnes per month.

'Our partnership with EII will further strengthen our competitive advantage,' he said, adding that this partnership would further increase Mammut's annual average growth of 100 per cent for the last seven years. EII bought the majority stake in Mammut last month, and has since been assisting the latter in its plan to raise production capacity of PEBs, and build a structural steel division. 'One of the things we pride ourselves...is that both parties will benefit from this,' said Mohammed Ali Al Hashemi, vice-chairman of EII, a private joint-stock company created in August 2005. 'We will also tie up with other companies that are good and solid.'

He said EII expects an average 200-per cent increase in its business beginning next year, as it is set to announce next month the acquisition of five more companies in the manufacturing industry and other non-oil-related sectors.

Dr Ahmad Khayyat, CEO of EII, said the company would be spending Dh800 million for new acquisitions until the end of this year. 'We're in our first two years and, in 2006, we started building up our portfolio,' he said. Officials said MBS, a division of Mammut Group, would maintain its present management and administration structure while EII would advise it on future strategies and expansion. 'EII will assist MBS in its regional expansion plans and strengthen its investment options,' Khayyat said. 'Our association also aims at strengthening MBS' presence in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and driving the company into new dynamic markets.'

Al Hashemi said EII's expansion is in line with the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015, which calls for the development of non-oil-related industries, which make up 20 per cent of the city's GDP, or the sum of products and services produced here in a given period. Ferdows said Mammut has offices throughout the region, and whose 60 per cent of production is being exported to Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia.