Award winner Techno Plastic Industry committed to delivering quality products

Techno Plastic Industry has been awarded the ministry’s Shield of Excellence in a recently held virtual event to announce His Majesty the Sultan’s Award for Industrial Excellence 2020.

In an interview, Said Saleem Khawar al Kathiri, chairman of Techno Plastic Industry, spoke about Techno’s enriching journey since inception in 1998 and the company's expansion plans in Oman and overseas markets.

Techno Plastic Industry has won the ministry’s Shield of Excellence at His Majesty the Sultan’s Award for Industrial Excellence. What factors and strengths of the company would you attribute this success to?

The entire team and staff of Techno Plastic Industry are proud to achieve this success. Our experience of more than 20 years in plastic industry, our product innovation and technical know-how have helped us being on the top in this industry.

The company’s professional approach and customer-centric attitude of our staff help us in being connected with the market. We always give top priority to customer satisfaction by continuously improving the quality of our products. The company’s self-motivated employees strive to achieve efficiency in what we plan to ensure quality and customer satisfaction.

With over two decades of experience in Oman, Techno Plastic Industry today is one of the leading manufacturers of plastic piping systems in the region. Can you tell briefly how the company’s production capacity and operations have evolved over these years?

Techno started initial operations in 1998 with a single extruder machine and a capacity of 750 metric tonnes (MT) per annum. In 2007, we expanded the production capacity by 300MT by introducing new injection and extruders in Rusayl. We established a new factory in Sohar in 2012 with an additional capacity of 2,500MT per annum.

Furthermore, as part of our expansion strategy, we centralised the production capacity in Sohar and introduced new production lines to increase the total capacity to 8,000MT in 2015.

Last year we introduced new products like UV Piping System and Anti-Microbial products along with PP-RCT. And this year in 2021 we are in the process of introducing advanced technology by launching Multi-Layer Piping System in Oman for additional applications. Techno’s total capacity currently has reached up to 10,000MT per annum.

As an Omani company, how Techno Plastic Industry has been contributing to the sultanate’s economy in terms of creating incountry value and jobs and training for Omani youth?

Techno has been adding value in the country right from the beginning in 1998. The company has invested in Oman by setting up multiple plants for PPR pipes and fittings. It has been providing employment opportunities to the Omani nationals above the required Omanisation plan.

We source raw materials from local vendors wherever it is available. With regards to training, we provide plumbing training to the plumbers across Oman and GCC countries and conduct training programmes for young Omani nationals from the universities.

Can you tell briefly about Techno products and how are these products superior to compete in the regional and global markets? Techno provides a wide range of plastic pipe systems which comes in various sizes and layers. Our pipes come in the range of 20mm to 125mm, and fittings and valves. The products are made of different material types – PP-R products, PP-RCT products, UV products, Anti-Microbial products.

We keep on improving our products through advanced technologies and keep our products updated based on international standards. Techno products are considered equivalent to products manufactured in Europe which are of high quality. Holding all major international certifications is a proof of our high standard of quality.

The major reason why we succeed in any new international market is because of our quality and our market specific strategy. We plan ourselves based on market taste and preference. We invest in market research before actually introducing the products in the market.

Who are your major customers and clients, are they both residential and industrial?

Techno’s customers range from ministries to corporates and from hospitals to hotels and from villas to multi-storeyed building. Techno follows B2B concept and appoints ethical corporate customers for the distribution of Techno products across the globe.

Our major clientele are Ministry of National Economy, Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Housing, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Regional Municipalities, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, Ministry of Manpower, PDO, Sohar Refinery Project, Sohar Power and Desalination Plant, ROP, Royal Guard of Oman, Al Argan Towell Investment, Alfardan Group, Alkhalili Group, SQU, Al Futtaim

Group, Katerra Group, ShangriLa’s Resort’s, Saraya Bandar Jissah Residential Development, Qantab and BEC. Outside Oman, we serve the projects in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Sudan, Ethiopia, Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Qatar, Kuwait, etc.

Quality is an integral part in manufacturing of anything. How does Techno ensure to deliver quality assured products while maintaining international standards? As the company’s motto ‘Quality is Our Strength’ suggests, quality is the integral part in manufacturing of Techno products. At Techno Plastic Industry, we aim to deliver highest quality assured products with better durability and reliability while maintaining the high-quality standards.

Techno is having internal lab equipped with latest technologies, machines and equipment. Techno ensures to produce and deliver only high-class products, hence testing of products are conducted at two phases i.e., at the time of production and at the time of packaging. Techno holds all the major European and GCC quality certifications such as SKG, DVGW, ISO, SASO and Omani Mark. These are audited in regular intervals and based on it regular updating in quality checking methods are introduced.

Techno pipe systems are made of the highest quality raw materials i.e., Type 3 Polypropylene Random Copolymers (PPR), which are best suitable for hot and cold liquids at high pressure point. Techno’s pipe and fitting systems are manufactured under German Institute for Standardization (DIN) quality control measures.

Which are the overseas markets being served by Techno ? Do you have plans for capacity expansion and entry into new markets? At Techno, we formulate tenyear strategy and then convert the same into three-year short plans for concerting the strategy into reality. Our existing threeyear plan is to increase the production capacity to 15,000MT per annum in the next three years by fulfilling two most important objective:

(a) Expansion of geographies: Techno is having major plans to expand in African and European countries after successfully managing to have decent market coverage in Middle East.

(b) Expansion of product basket: The next three-years plan is to expand our product basket by introducing high-diameter products, gas pipes, fire fighting pipes, drainage pipes and low-pressure pipes.