TRENDS: FILLING STATIONS AND STEEL INDUSTRY A GULF NEWS SPONSORED SUPPLEMENT
MONDAY, AUGUST 13, 2018
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A one-stop shop for your fuel and daily retail ENOC
hat do you look for when you roll into one of the 119 ENOC service stations in Dubai? Whether it is fuel, food, beverages, a quick tyre check-up, or a last-minute oil change, ENOC’s unique value creates a one-stop shop for all of their customers’ fuel and everyday retail needs.
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Green ethos
ENOC integrates a low-carbon culture into daily operations as a means of supporting the UAE’s bid to making low-carbon energy account for 50 per cent of the country’s energy mix by 2050. The Vapour Recovery Systems (VRS) installed at its service stations, for instance capture vapour released from the petrol dispensers and storage tanks and condense it back into fuel form. Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) air-conditioning units have also been integrated into the operations, while motion sensors ensure power is only used when required. “Creating solar-powered service stations supports DEWA’s capacity growth at a time of rising demand; an expected 25 million visitors in Dubai for Expo2020 and residential doubling to 5 million by 2030,” says Zaid Alqufaidi, Managing Director, ENOC Retail. The success of ENOC’s inau-
Through technology such as Vapour Recovery Systems and more, ENOC integrates a low-carbon culture into its daily operations in support of the UAE’s bid to make low-carbon energy account for 50 per cent of the country’s total energy mix by 2050
gural zero-carbon solar-powered service station at Dubai Internet City (DIC) has enabled their plans to advance. This includes setting up solar photovoltaic (PV) panels at all future stations leading up to 2020, helping generate a total of 6.5 megawatts of power per hour – the equivalent of powering
1,700 homes in Dubai and preventing 16,000 tons of CO2 emissions in one year. We’ve recently celebrated the opening of the UAE’s 4th solar powered service station in the UAE, located Al Barsha First.
Non-fuel offerings evolve
ENOC’s operations extends
beyond its fuel offering. Its nonfuel retail offering, ZOOM has become the largest convenience store operator in the UAE. With continuous improvement and innovation, ZOOM has gone a long way from being a traditional convenience store subsumed within a petrol station to an upmarket concept with
varying contemporary formats across different location categories – from transit systems to commercial and residential communities even to the most iconic developments in the UAE. The upgraded ZOOM service counters now also allow customers to pay their credit card, phone and DEWA bills and even
pay for airline and event tickets. ENOC prides itself in offering its customers a ‘friendly neighbour pop in’ sense of convenience through their 227 ZOOM stores in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain. That includes standalone stores in residential and commercial communities. ZOOM has developed stores in some iconic developments in the UAE such as: Burj Khalifa, Cayan tower, Sheraton Grand complex, Sofitel Down Town complex, and Sustainable City – the first fully green and sustainable development in the UAE. ZOOM stores quickly adapt to local trends and serve the market with innovative smart solutions. “We are evolving as a true convenience store player and taking ZOOM beyond its original concept as a service station convenience store,” says Alqufaidi. “We are redefining customer expectations and experience by changing our merchandise mix and exploring newer format.” Redefining customer expectations does not just end with their convenience stores. ENOC’s automotive services brand AutoPro lets customers benefit from a range of services including tyre and battery change, mechanical repair and detailing services including car wash facilities across its 34 branded stores.
TRENDS: FILLING STATIONS AND STEEL INDUSTRY
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AL MASAOOD TBA
Industry leaders in car maintenance services S
alah Adib, the General Manager of Al Masaood TBA, talks about the company’s growth strategy. What does the new partnership with Adnoc Distribution and Abu Dhabi Police entail for Al Masaood TBA? Al Masaood has maintained strong ties with Adnoc, the country’s leading retail fuel service station, for more than ten years now. The new partnership that we have entered into with them is a clear demonstration of the strength of our ties. Al Masaood is both confident and honoured to manage and operate Adnoc Distribution’s Autoserv car care centres in Abu Dhabi, reflecting our leading position as an excellent service provider, resulting in high customer satisfaction ratings.
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What maintenance ser2 vices will be undertaken by Al Masaood TBA at its Autoserv branch at Sea Palace? The Autoserv Sea Palace branch, to be managed by our Al Masaood TBA division will be promoted as a onestop-shop for various car care needs. We provide key offerings like vehicle inspection, maintenance and insurance services. Our maintenance services will include tyre
change, car wash, oil, battery or brakes replacement and air-conditioning repair or thermal insulators installation. In addition, Autoserv allows you to watch your vehicle as it passes through every stage at the maintenance workshop. Our premium maintenance services include everything from tyre change and car wash to oil, battery and brakes replacement, AC repair and thermal insulators installation. Under the terms of the joint servicing agreement we signed with Adnoc Distribution and Abu Dhabi Police, Al Masaood TBA will also take charge in managing the new vehicle inspection bays at the Sea Palace branch, helping customers gain easier access to vehicle inspection services in the area. What are the premium services being offered at the Autoserv Sea Palace branch? A visit to the Autoserv Sea Palace Branch is an experience. Offering quick and hassle-free service in a comfortable and peaceful environment, the highly advanced facility gives customers a premium VIP experience, complete with facilities like a ladies’ waiting room, kids’ play area and a cafe. We also offer a full range of prod-
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ucts and services through our partnership with global leading brands such as First Stop, a tyre care concept by Bridgestone, offering multiband wheels, batteries, oil change spare parts and tyre changing services; and Car Dip, a franchise of Auto Care company, providing window tinting, ceramic coating and wheel protection services. What are the future initiatives planned for the partnership? As part of the agreement, Al Masaood TBA will sponsor the visit of specialists and engineers from Japan to conduct training workshops in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Police. These lectures and workshops are aimed at helping drivers gain a better understanding about the importance of regular tyre checking and ensure the quality and efficiency of nitrogen in accordance with global standards, to reduce cases of tyres explosion. We have also participated in the annual traffic campaign called Summer without Accidents across Abu Dhabi to raise community awareness about tyre safety and the importance of following speed limits. The company is also planning to expand areas of joint cooperation with the Abu Dhabi police, in the near future.
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MONDAY, AUGUST 13, 2018
TRENDS: FILLING STATIONS AND STEEL INDUSTRY
MONDAY, AUGUST 13, 2018
he huge demand for steel in the UAE has made it among the largest consumers in the region. With the number of projects initiated by the UAE government for Expo 2020, as well the rapid rate at which generic infrastructure is growing, has contributed towards the regional sector experiencing a boom. A report published by global research firm, Research and Markets in 2016 titled UAE Steel Industry Outlook 2020 predicts the sector to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8 per cent during the period 20162020. Growth in the sector is boosting the fortunes of industrial conglomerates such as the Abu-Dhabi-based, governmentowned entity Senaat that saw revenues jump 18 per cent in 2017 to Dh16 billion. It earned revenues of Dh13.4 billion in 2016. Senaat’s company portfolio includes Emirates Steel, the National Petroleum Construction Company or NPCC, Arkaan and Agthia among others.
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Challenges
Despite flourishing markets, the sector is experiencing its fair share of challenges. The UAE’s own production of steel was suffering in 2016 dues to the excessive amount of Chinese imports flooding the market. The open and free trade position in the Gulf exposes the market to Chinese imports. China, one of the largest producers of steel in the world was resorting to dumping excess inventory in its exports markets. Initiatives such as Magnet could help, a platform started by UAE steel manufacturers in 2016 to engage, discuss and generally press their case against the import of cheap value-added products into the country. Among other things, the grouping wished the government authorities to consider imposing higher
Rapid infrastructure growth makes the UAE among the largest consumers of steel in the region
Steel industry enjoys stable growth
Gulf News Archives
With global markets being buoyed by generic economic growth, the UAE industry is also expected to expand at 8 per cent for the period 2016-2020 Special Report duties on steel than the 5 per cent (including port handling and logistics) in place. Domestic manufacturers do need the help. Available data reports the import of steel rebars in 2016 was around 1 million tonnes. When putting up that number alongside the combined production of domestic steel makers, it is clear the UAE steel market was in surplus ter-
ritory with the commodity. The UAE had a combined capacity to produce up to five million tonnes of steel rebars annually in 2016, more than sufficient in meeting the country’s demands of 3.5 million tonnes annually. In a construction sector where activity is still subdued and operating margins tight, contractors will only prefer to look
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DANA STEEL
Dana Steel UAE to set up 250,000 tpa continuous galvanising line and 150,000 tpa colour coating line
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nder its expansion programme, Dana Steel UAE, a division of the Dana Group is setting up a state-of-the-art CRM complex in Dubai Industrial City, strategically situated just 35 kilometres from Jebel Ali Port. Work is progressing rapidly at the site and the facility will become fully operational by October, 2018. This will be a strategic move to strengthen Dana Steel’s position as a prominent player in the Middle Eastern flat steel market. Dana Steel is already equipped with four coil service centres across the UAE, and has a well-established distribution network across the Middle East and Africa. Established in 1991, the Dana Group today has a well-diversified portfolio with companies in the steel, oil, retail, healthcare and hospitality sectors. The key highlights of phase 1 of Dana Steel’s CRM Complex includes a continuous galvanising line (CGL), with the
Dr Birbal Singh, Chairman, Dana Steel
company being the only firm in the Middle East to offer Dual Pot Technology, enabling it to manufacture galvanised (GI) and Aluzinc (AZ) coils in the same production line. The line will also be equipped with the latest Vertical NOF (Non-Ox Furnace) technology to achieve online annealing and tempering to manufacture galvanised coils in commercial, lock forming quality (LFQ) structural grades. Also featured in the continuous manufacturing
line will be the Skin Pass Mill (SPM) and Tension Leveller (TL) to produce super-flat end products that can be used for various high precision applications such as home appliances, colour coating and the automobile body building sector. The installed production capacity will be 250,000 Mt/annum of hot dip GI and AZ coils. Dana Steel UAE’s continuous colour coating line or CCL is another first for the region, being the only one of its kind in the Middle East to have the latest Korean hot lamination technology for producing colour coated GI, AZ and aluminium coils in various patterns for precision end use in construction and home appliances. The installed production capacity will be 150,000 Mt/annum of pre-painted galvanised or PPGI coils, pre-painted Aluzinc (PPAZ) and pre-painted aluminum (PPAL) coils. For more information visit www.danagroups.com
to suppliers who can provide the commodity at the lowest possible pricing. Steel importers, according to regional manufacturers, are seen to have an unfair advantage in this instance. Since they do not have the overhead manufacturers to take on, the importers can slash their prices to do the deal,
whatever be the cost.
Global outlook
A report in Financial Express suggests global markets to be stable, with the downward trend in prices of iron ore, coking coal and scrap iron from current prices being good news for the steel industry as demand rises. The short range outlook by
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The generic rate of global economic growth is expected to increase and could lead to the generation of substantial demand for steel in varying proportions in various countries according to a report by the World Steel Association the World Steel Association forecasts 1.8 per cent growth in the consumption of global steel, led by India at 5.5 per cent, Turkey at 5 per cent and the US at 2.7 per cent. The generic higher global economic growth could also generate substantial demand for steel in varying proportions in various countries. The positive outlook could be vulnerable to market forces in China that controls nearly 50 per cent of global steel production and is a major exporter of steel (16 per cent of global exports in 2017). It also dominates iron ore prices (imported 1,075 MT of iron ore in 2017) and is a major influence on global coking coal and coke prices. Apart from these unpredictable events, the global market for steel in 2018 is poised for a stable growth when considering a reasonable margin and profitability for the industry is considered sufficient to attract more investment for creation of fresh capacities in the product range. Indigenous availability here remains a constraint to cater to the emerging requirements of the critical sectors. n