Mulk Holdings inaugurates P1 of Dhs73m aluminium industry in Europe

Vojvodinian Prime Minister Dr. Bojan Pajtić officially opened the factory at a grand opening ceremony held recently in the presence of company officials from the UAE.

This facility will be the Mulk Holdings' European headquarters and Global Design Centre as well as the manufacturing base for composite panels, Aluminium Coil Coating products and solar technology products.

Another 10 acres facility have been acquired with the potential of developing an Aeronautics Research and Development centre.

"Our Investments in Serbia, East Europe, were a bold decision amidst the peak of recession back in 2010.The rationale behind this investment was multifold: A. Assets could be picked up at a very low cost in Serbia and Coast of operations is economical in terms of low Human Resources cost. B. Serbia was and still the only country in Europe to have Free Trade Agreements with both Russia and European Union. Russia had just announced a 100% duty for Chinese products and we decided to set up the manufacturing base in Serbia. C. The govt of Serbia is Investor friendly and provided us condusive conditions with Tax exemptions and subsidies," Nawab Shaji Ul Mulk, Chairman of Mulk Holdings, said.

"The government of Serbia has provided Mulk Holdings favourable conditions with tax exemptions and subsidies," he added.

Mulk Holdings, a Dhs2.8bn ($762m) annual turnover company, has diversified business interests in manufacturing aluminium composite panels, solar panels, development of solar power plants as well as a wide network of high end diagnostic centres with telemedicine capability.

Mulk Holdings owns exclusive manufacturing and distribution rights of US-based Alubond USA R aluminium composite panels. As a progression to the successful start of business operations in Europe, this development is expected to take Alubond U.S.A R brand and its business operations to the next level.

This also marks a key strategic investment for Alubond U.S.AR in the Republic of Serbia, as a result of its thriving economic conditions and favourable business support from the regulatory authorities.

Brand Alubond USA R belongs to American Building Technologies Inc (ABTI) located in Rockford Illinois,USA and is completely owned by Mullk Holdings. It is marketed in UAE by Eurocon Building Industries (A subsidiary of Mulk Holdings).

Alubond USA R has, over the years, emerged as the world's largest metal composite brand with production bases in Europe, Middle East, and India. The New Production bases in Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia increased the installed production capacity of metal composite panels to over 15,000,000 square metres and coil coating capacity to over 20,000 tonnes per annum.

Mulk Holdings is also a major player in interiors and furnishing businesses. It has a network of operations in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, India, Europe, the United States, India, Sri Lanka and China.

The company started off on a leased land in Serbia in late 2010 and had begun building the new factory premises which took two years to complete.

"We built up the market in two years from rented premises before moving productions to the new factory," he said.

"Serbia was and still the only country in Europe to have Free Trade Agreements with both Russia and European Union. Russia had just announced a 100% duty for Chinese products and we decided to set up the manufacturing base in Serbia," Shaji Ul Mulk - one of the most successful non-resident Indian businessmen in the UAE, said.

"The strategy behind this investment is to have a low cost production centre with duty exemptions to feed the European and Russian Markets. This has proved to give us a competitive edge," he added.