Scotland-based Low & Bonar have entered into a joint venture agreement with the Abu Dhabi Basic Industries Corporation, ADBIC, to establish a plant that will manufacture artificial grass yarns and other yarns. The JV will establish a manufacturing plant in the Abu Dhabi Polymers Park, an industryspecific economic zone being created by ADBIC in Abu Dhabi, and production is expected to begin next year.

Paul Forman, the Group Chief Executive of Low & Bonar, says that “the new venture will give us a strong position in one of the largest potential markets for artificial grass and allow us to satisfy the significant growth in global demand. The Middle East is also one of the fastest-growing areas for many of our other products, such as specialist textiles used in civil engineering, where Low and Bonar already enjoys a worldleading position. The local presence with such a high calibre partner will reinforce our position in these markets and create new business opportunities. It will also enable us to develop closer relationships with some of the world’s largest polymer producers.”

The deal has been welcomed by ADBIC’s Chief Operating Officer, Jim White, who says that “this investment with Low & Bonar … creates the first of several new businesses to be located in our recently-announced Polymers Park development. Low & Bonar’s choice to invest with us, and in Abu Dhabi, is a testament to the attractive offering that ADBIC has developed, and we expect to make further investments such as this in the future.”

Low & Bonar will have a 75 per cent economic share and operational control of the new venture. Initial investment is estimated at US $ 25 million (around Dh 90 million) and the new plant will manufacture products that are already part of Low & Bonar’s portfolio. The new facility will complement Low & Bonar’s existing manufacturing plants in Scotland, Belgium and China and will provide further capacity to support the anticipated growth in artificial grass yarns. The transaction will also allow the Group to benefit from additional sources of its principal raw materials and from ready access to new markets in the Gulf and Middle East region.