QIMC Signs Memorandum of Understanding with GLASSGLOBAL of Germany

September 09, 2018

Qatar Industrial Manufacturing Co. (QIMC) announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with GLASSGLOBAL, a German consulting firm specialized in providing technical and advisory services to the glass industry worldwide.

On the sidelines of the Qatar-Germany Business & Investment Forum held in the German capital of Berlin from September 6th to 7th, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on Friday, September 7^th, and the agreement was signed on behalf of QIMC by its CEO Mr. Abdul Rahman Abdullah Al-Ansari and on behalf of GLASSGLOBAL, its CEO, Mr. Andre Ommer.

The agreement aims to establish a general framework for technical cooperation between the two companies to complete the evaluation of the feasibility of a project to produce glass containers in Qatar and to provide technical advice to the project through reviewing and evaluating the technical offers from the equipment suppliers and then participate in supervising the implementation of the project throughout commissioning and start-up. The project has already obtained preliminary approvals and necessary official licenses and currently work is being done to obtain the final approvals required for its implementation. The project is the result of cooperation between QIMC and the Gulf Glass Factory Co. which includes a number of Qatari and foreign investors and businessmen.

It is worth mentioning that QIMC has already cooperated with GLASSGLOBAL in a number of glass containers and float glass projects. These services included studying the markets for these products and the possibilities of exporting to select Arab countries, neighboring states and other countries of the world. GLASSGLOBAL also provided other technical services including reviewing and evaluating technical offers from equipment suppliers. In addition, QIMC commissioned GLASSGLOBAL to perform the necessary technical analysis on samples of local sand to determine the possibility of using it to produce glass through specialized technical laboratories for this purpose. The results of these studies were positive and encouraging, which is expected to be reflected on the ground through numerous projects in the near future.

The project aims to produce glass bottles and various containers used in the packaging of food products (oils, pickles, jams, honey) and beverages (drinking water, soft drinks, juices, and dairy). The design capacity of the project is 200 tons per day and is expected to cost about QR230 million.  The project utilizes local sand as the main raw material and will need natural gas to melt sand and other raw materials.

This project is important and will serve the strategic vision in the State of Qatar and contributes to the development of the national economy and diversification of the industrial base in the country. The project is the first of its kind in Qatar and will meet the needs of the ongoing growth and development through the provision of glass containers to a number of downstream projects, especially food industries, in addition to supporting the national economy by exporting its products to the world markets. The project will provide jobs for about 140 staff from various disciplines.

The State of Qatar is an ideal place to build this project because of the support and facilities provided by the government and the easy access to finance on concessional terms as well as the availability of basic utilities for the project at a competitive cost such as natural gas and electric power in addition to the use of local sand available in large quantities as raw material.