A state-of-the-art industrial battery manufacturing plant has been set up with an investment of Dh200 million ($54.45 million) at the Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (Rakia) Industrial Park.

The Eternity Technologies plant, inaugurated by Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, is owned by the UAE- based Al Dobowi Group, and is the Gulf region’s largest industrial battery plant.
It will design and develop motive power batteries for use in electric fork lift trucks, industrial cleaning machines, access platforms and personnel transport.

With an annual production capacity of one million 2-volt cells, the company plans to export 85 per cent of its output to global markets including US, Europe and Asia, apart from servicing the UAE and GCC countries.

“The opening of this advanced plant is a high point in the development of the industrial sector of Ras Al Khaimah and we are delighted to see that Eternity Technologies have brought in most modern R&D technologies to their plant,’ said Sheikh Saud.

He added that UAE has the geographical advantage of being a gateway to a market of over two billion people which presents a great opportunity for companies to base their operations here.

“We have created entities like Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA) to provide optimum conditions for entrepreneurs to invest and succeed by adopting business- friendly laws and regulations, one- stop shop licensing procedures and excellent logistics infrastructure.”

Surender Singh Kandhari, chairman of Al Dobowi Group, said that the new plant features state- of- the- art product and manufacturing technologies and has a strong research focus.

The company has invested heavily in product development and design and has set up advanced chemical laboratories and electrical test laboratories. It incorporates latest manufacturing equipment from Germany, Austria. Italy, US and UK, he added.

Dr J Mark Stevenson, CEO of Eternity Technologies, said that the global motive power market for the electric truck industry has been growing at over 10 per cent per annum with a growing demand for new and innovative products with high performance and quality standards.

“The new plant will have a unit capacity of 400,000 units this year which will grow to 600,000 units in 2012 and will touch one million units by 2013, which would make it one of the largest product- specific battery plants in the world,” he said. – TradeArabia News Service