Sheikh Hamdan inaugurates new Ajmal Perfumes manufacturing facility in Dubai

Present at the inauguration of the new facility was Hamad Ahmad bin Sougat, Chairman, Ajmal Perfume Manufacturing who said: "We would like to thank His Highness Sheikh Hamdan for joining us in marking a very important milestone in Ajmal's history. We value the partnership we share with the UAE government and are confident it will continue to develop and grow as we will spare no efforts in playing an active role in promoting the success of the UAE."

Nazir Ajmal, Ajmal Perfumes' Marketing Director and Chief Perfumer said as one of the longest-established regional companies to be headquartered in Dubai, Ajmal is committed to contributing to the continued growth of the UAE economy.

The company's new 147,000-square foot facility includes a Research and Development (R&D) wing, manufacturing units, and a fully-automated packaging wing. Of the total AED 30 million investment, Ajmal has invested approximately AED 5 million in its R&D unit. Besides blending and testing, R&D must ensure fragrances meet Saudi Arabian Standards Organisation (SASO) criteria, the region's international quality authority.

Furthermore, the regional perfume manufacturer has also invested a further AED 7.5 million in additional machinery, involved in packaging and other key processes.

Mr Ajmal further commented that Ajmal's move to its new manufacturing plant reflects company strategy to consolidate its presence in the region.

"Increased demand in the GCC and export markets for our products year-on-year has compelled us to invest in new production space to boost our manufacturing capability."

"Besides meeting consumer demand, Research and Development is vital to Ajmal's future success. In the perfume industry, innovation is crucial and we constantly explore new techniques to produce creative, quality raw materials and fragrances to meet changing customer needs."

Ajmal's new plant, equipped with the latest European technology for key processes such as blending, filling and packaging, will meet the perfumery's growing consumer demand for fragrance products and will have a production capacity of 50,000 bottles of fragrance per day. Output has been growing at 25 per cent a year, necessitating the investment in a new manufacturing facility resulting in a 300 per cent rise in production capacity. Product demand is expected to increase with the company's participation in large retail initiatives such as DSF and DSS as well as other consumer promotions.

Since 1997, Ajmal Perfumes has been the only perfumery in the Middle East authorised to issue quality certificates on behalf of SASO. As part of this activity, Ajmal analyses perfume products of other regional and international manufacturers for compliance with SASO standards.