Leaders in Cold Chain Solutions

With three decades of expertise in the local market Al Furat Group has become the one-stop provider for temperature controlled storage and transport solutions

The cold storage facilities and transportation unit sector have undergone a huge transformation in the UAE over the last few decades. While the industry is evolving to keep up with the best global standards, Al Furat, a home-grown firm offering a range of products and services related to cold storage and transportation, has become a market leader in this space.

Headquartered in Umm Al Quwain, the rise of this family business reflects the ethics of its founder Varughese KC, who started this firm in a two-shutter shop in 1988. In three decades, the company has earned the trust of major retailers in the UAE and boasts of a shop floor and factory space spanning 400,000 square feet. It manufactures bodyworks of refrigerated trucks, insulated bodies, semi-trailers, etc., and has diversified and widened its horizons across the GCC.

Starting with the food and beverage industry, Al Furat now manufactures and modifies vehicles to suit the requirement of the pharmaceutical industry, transport and logistics, furniture, electronics equipment, supermarkets and general trading, e-commerce players such as Noon, and others which include flowers and ornamental plant, confectionary products, etc.

The firm also has several government associations. At a time when one-third of perishables is lost or wasted globally every year, i.e. a whopping 1.3 billion tonnes of food, the importance of robust cold chain storage cannot be stated enough.

“Al Furat has also diversified its expertise into a new wing under specialised modifications for heavy duty vehicles: Recovery with closed box and open types, Modified mobile truck conversions according to client requirement,” said Pribu John, Group Director at Al Furat.

The cold chain market in the UAE can be divided into: temperature controlled warehouses and temperature controlled transportation. The high demand for perishable products such as dairy, meat and seafood and pharmaceuticals have led to the growth of cold storage facilities in the country. The rise of temperature controlled transportation is fueled by the UAE’s strategic geographical position on the trans-continental trade route and multi-modal connectivity. Land freight dominates the market in terms of revenue followed by sea with air being least used due to its expensive prices.

The cold chain market is expected to expand further in terms of revenue in coming years. Talking about growth in the market, John attributes its rise in manufacturing activity in the pharmaceutical sector, growth in dairy industry and the evolving farming sector. “Improvement in infrastructure and entry of new players due to simplification of industry regulations and government initiatives to boost the logistics sector is expected to propel the growth of the market. Additionally, increasing adoption of warehouse automation technologies such as EDI, RFI and others are expected to improve operational efficiency in UAE cold chain market over the years; adds John.

Al Furat has earned its name and stripes in this industry through their unrelenting focus on customer satisfaction. “Our customers benefit from being able to access our consulting team and our quality certified product suite. Becoming a brand in a highly competitive field is not easy. We’ve built a client base of over 10,000 customers and the list ranges from venture-backed startups to Fortune 500 companies like DHL, UPS, Emirates and Al Rawabi Dairy company to name a few,” says Varughese.

The company has risen in this industry responsibly, adopting new technologies and ways that ensure energy efficiency for its clients.

Manufacturing specialty

•Refrigerated and dry trailers, and semi-trailers

•Refrigerated and dry trucks

•Refrigerated and dry vans

•Beverage carriers

•Grill structure

•Cargo body

•Heavy duty bodies: Recovery, Tankers, Tippers

•Specialised mobile trucks, vans and bodies customised as per customer requirement