Emirates Glass (EGL) has announced that work on its new Dh175 million ($48 million) state-of-the-art plant and headquarters, which will also house Lumiglass Industries, has begun at the Dubai Investments Park.

EGL is one of the leading processors of architectural flat glass in the Middle East and a subsidiary of Glass, wholly owned by Dubai Investments (DI).

Ziad Yazbeck, general manager, Emirates Glass and Lumiglass, said EGL and Lumiglass were both experiencing an unprecedented growth, and the expansion project was part of empowering and enabling the company to meet the burgeoning demand in the regional and global market.

'Expansion of our operations in the last few years and the EGL’s acquisition of a new coating plant have necessitated an upgrade of our facilities and this explains our carefully chosen decision to shift from our present location in Al Quoz Industrial Area,' he remarked.

Mirroring the construction boom in the Gulf region, Emirates Glass is now nursing global ambitions, and armed with savvy marketing strategy and investments in high-tech machinery and a highly skilled work force, the company is eyeing a bigger pie in the international market for architectural glass business.

The profit curve of Emirates Glass is shooting up, and this was reflected in a stunning increase of 106 per cent in its net profits for 2007 compared to the previous year, as well as a total of 30 per cent increase in overall productivity.

Emirates Glass had increased its coating capacity to 3.7 million sq m of flat glass products per annum by installing a new glass coating line at a cost of Dh100 million last year.

“Emirates Glass is now poised to maximise the return for our investors and repay their trust and confidence,' said Yazbeck highlighting the philosophy that shapes the transformation of the company.

'In the last few years, we had dedicated ourselves to upgrade and expand our product lines. Our rigorous approach to maintain high levels of quality has captured the imagination of designers and architects and has won us many major contracts,' he noted.

During the first phase of the expansion project, the coating plant will move to the Dubai Investments Park. The initial phase of the project began in the first week of June, 2008, and is expected to be completed by March next year.

In the second phase, Emirates Glass and Lumiglass will be heralded into a new zone of comfort and convenience in the Dubai Investments Park.

Spearheading the project, Access Engineering Consultancy is soon expected to start the work for the second phase.

EGL has added lustre to landmark structures such as Dubai International Airport, Etihad Airways Terminal at Abu Dhabi International Airport, London Heathrow's Terminal 5, Lancaster Airport in England and the 435-metre high Milad Telecom Tower in Iran, he added.-TradeArabia News Service