Features

An Italian Job

By MECN Adminstrator

Posted on January 14, 2011

Italian manufacturer of sealants and adhesives, IBS-Mapei, says a lack of industry standards is undermining consumer confidence

Since establishing in the region three years ago, IBS-Mapei has expanded production capacity fivefold to meet a demand for “certified, quality products and services.” Now showcasing a catalogue of 15 adhesives and sealants products, the company reports a strong market demand in tile fitting and installation systems for ceramic tiles, marble, stone, glass and mosaics; with new requests for wooden, PVC and sports flooring, as well as sound-proofing installation.

Founded in Milan in 1937, Mapei began its international expansion in the 1960s. The group now incorporates 63 subsidiaries, with 57 production facilities in operation across 26 countries and five continents.

Mapei’s UAE subsidiary trades as Innovative Building Solutions LLC (IBS-Mapei). As part of its long-term commitment to the Middle East, the company commenced production in February 2009 at a 40,000m2 facility at Dubai Investments Park.

“The company has grown from strength to strength and we have only been here as an operating company for three years. We have had a very ambitious expansion programme since we first started the business,” says business development director Laith Haboubi.

“There has been a shift in the market and finishes are being installed which are more consumer orientated. A few years ago developers weren’t so bothered about differentiating their products to the end user, where as now the people purchasing properties are end users rather than investors, so those finishes have really grown in importance,” he explains.

Around 80% of the products Mapei produces are manufactured in Dubai, and the company has supplied a number of high-profile projects in the emirate, including: the Armani Hotel at the Burj Khalifa, Emirates Palace Hotel, the Atlantis Hotel on Palm Jumeirah, the Burj Al Arab and Terminals 1,2, and 3 at Dubai International Airport. In addition, 18 of the company’s products were specified for use at Abu Dhabi’s recently completed Ferrari World on Yas Island, including a number of waterproof cementitious coatings, an alkali-resistant fibre glass mesh, branded Mapenet 150, and a range of adhesives and grouts.

Traditionally the market in this region is not driven by quality and service; it is driven by price”

“Our concrete admixtures line is designed to improve the performance and characteristics of concrete,” explains Haboubi.

Such products are the result of a strong focus on research and development; 12% of the company’s total work-force and 5% of its turnover are invested in such projects and 70% of these are developed to meet LEED requirements.

Conducting the research from three laboratories, Mapei also operates the region’s only climatic-controlled facility, allowing researchers to control temperature and humidity during testing; a point Haboubi says is “very significant” in this industry.

“We are one of the few companies that can comply with the latest international standards and test our products to those standards to prove it,” he explains.

However, Haboubi says that there is still a lack of industry-wide benchmarks and demand for quality.

“We are driven by quality and technology. We take a line of quality and service and the only way you can do that is to ensure you have the products and people who can deliver.

“Traditionally, the market in this region is not driven by quality and service; it is driven by price,” he observes.

It is this focus which, according to Haboubi, results in low customer expectations and few industry standards.

“The lack of standards and certification is one of the biggest problems as there are different perceptions of quality.

“Consumers know if they have a problem, but they don’t realise that the problems arise from a lack of standards.

“We have tried very hard to raise standards in the market; as a company and through associations such as MEDMA and governmental bodies like Dubai Municipality and Dubai Central Laboratories.”

Through a product catalogue that conforms to European and worldwide benchmarks, Mapei’s next objective is to raise the expectations of its Middle East clients, in the hope competitors will follow.

“We are seeing a few companies now starting to produce products that comply with a few of those international standards, but they are an exception rather than the norm. You need to have some sort of legislation to drive standards, but in the meantime it falls to companies like ours to take the initiative.”

Commenting that the company has a reputation to be the “number one or two player by value,” Haboubi concludes: “Where we go from here is trying to emulate the position and reputation in our other product lines; such as building materials, which include repair materials and mortars.”