Double A stand at the PaperWorld Show at Dubai World Trade Centre.
Dubai - Shift towards sustainable products may help increase in annual turnover
Published: Wed 2 Mar 2016, 10:55 AM
Last updated: Wed 2 Mar 2016, 2:17 PM
The future for the Middle East's paper industry looks very promising amid considering steady growth in paper consumption in the region, say experts.
Speaking to Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the Paperworld Middle East exhibition, industry players say consumption of paper in the Middle East is expected to grow by three per cent annually that will help generate good demand for production of different products.
Track your paper's originThirawit Leetavorn, senior executive vice-president of Double A, highlighted the importance of innovation in the paper industry and said the company's customers can trace the paper's background with the help of a tracking system.
"Double A has introduced Geo-Tracking system to find the origin of the paper. The system uses global positioning system (GPS) to trace the paper's history-where its trees come from and the farmers who planted the trees," he said.
"This system also stores all information such as records of contract farmers and their location. You can trace our paper all the way to the farmer who planted the trees," he said.
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Thirawit Leetavorn, senior executive vice-president of Double A, said that one of the trends in the industry today is the shift towards sustainable products.
Referring to a study conducted by Nielsen in 2014, he said that the brands with sustainable claims on packaging saw an average annual increase in sales of two per cent, while those that promoted sustainability through marketing programmes saw a lift of year-on-year five per cent jump in sales. This is in comparison to a one per cent growth for brands that do not promote sustainability credentials, he said.
"Consumers are becoming well aware of their impact to the environment and this has triggered their growing preference towards environmental-friendly products. We believe that sustainability and paper go hand in hand; sustainability has been fundamental to our business since our inception in 1991 - it is part of our DNA," Leetavorn told Khaleej Times.
"We recognised that a successful paper brand must co-exist with the environment. The key was the source of raw material. We quickly identified that without a sustainable source of fibre, we would not be able to build a sustainable business platform for Double A," he added.
Exhibition's popular featuresPaperworld Middle East 2016 returns with its full line-up of popular features, ensuring that important business meetings are interspersed with a creative showcase of inspirational products, ideas, talents and minds.
Returning features include the Green Office Area, a dedicated section that showcases sustainably produced office supplies and stationery; Wrapstar - the UAE's only gift wrapping competition; and the Paperworld Recycling Competition, an inspirational showcase of sculptures and artworks created by UAE school children and made entirely from recycled school stationery.
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With 305 exhibitors from 36 countries spanning more than 5,000sqm, the annual three-day event features seven country pavilions spearheaded by European heavyweights Germany, Italy, and Portugal. About 31 exhibitors from the UAE are also participating in the event.
"Our customers in the Middle East have steadily supported our brand and range of high quality copy paper products, and exhibited strong loyalty. I have to say that the region is one of our biggest markets for Double A 80 GSM," he said.
"We are expanding to cover more B2B segments, with our committed channel partners to cover new trade channels such as copy centre and corporate contracts. Moreover, we are expanding our line for stationery products and we are expecting to launch it soon in the region," he added.
Ergonomic office equipment
Rahmqvist, Europe's market leader for specialized office and school products, is also participating in the exhibition. The Swedish company is turning the spotlight on ergonomic office equipment with its Vidamic Ergonomics range of lamps, mouse pads, fore arm rests, laptop stands, and back and leg supports.
Rahmqvist's regional director for the Middle East and Africa Zafar Faridi said the company's ergonomic office products will aid in preventing physical injury and user-stress in the workplace.
"Our products have the most unique features not available in other products within the same category, and we expect Vidamic to be a leader in office ergonomic equipment in the Middle East," he said.
"We plan to run awareness programmes to educate the society on how to improve and enhance their physical, mental and emotional levels and lower work related stresses in their daily lives leading to a healthy lifestyle," added Faridi. - rohma@khaleejtimes.com
Thirawit Leetavorn, senior executive vice-president of Double A
Different stalls like Pilot at the PaperWorld Show at Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai.
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