albatha

Dubai, UAE, November 14th, 2013: Colep, with headquarters in Europe, and Scitra, a United Arab Emirates based company, part of the Albatha Group, are proud to announce a joint venture agreement to create an aerosol contract manufacturing operation in the UAE. The Joint Venture (JV) will operate under the name of Colep Scitra Aerosols.

Colep, a RAR Group company is a global leader in the consumer goods packaging and contract manufacturing industries. With a turnover of 543 million euro in 2012, Colep employs around 3,600 people in Portugal, Brazil, Germany, Poland, Spain, Mexico and the United Kingdom.

Both the companies will invest in the expansion and improvement of the existing Scitra aerosol filling plant in Sharjah UAE, aligning it with international standards required by multi-national brands within the personal care and home care industries.

The parties will bring their respective expertise and knowledge of the regional and international markets to the new venture. This JV will thus create a first class operation that will serve the PAFTA (Pan Arab Free Trade Area) and COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) countries of the Middle East and Africa.

Speaking about the establishment of this JV, Peter Ingelse, Managing Director of the Consumer Products Division of Colep said, "This new venture with our partners in the Middle East further extends Colep's ability to serve our customers across the globe and offer supply nearer to their markets."

Robin Smythe, Managing Director of Albatha Home and Personal Care stated, "In joining forces with Colep, we will be able to offer current and future customers with world class manufacturing closer to the market, improved supply chain, shorter lead-times, reduced inventory and improved reaction times to changing demands among other benefits."

Albatha Group, one of the largest conglomerates in UAE, comprises of 25 group companies spread across seven industry sectors i.e. automotive, consumer, engineering, home products, real estate, healthcare, household and personal care. Albatha business is spread across the Middle East and North Africa region with a distribution network that expands from the Indian sub continent to Europe. Albatha represents over 200 international corporations serving them with their business and branding needs in the most effective and professional manner.

Albatha manages its companies according to the highest international standards, independently accredited to ISO 9001: 2008 Quality Management Systems, certified by Lloyds Register Quality Assurance Management whereas IT systems are certified to ISO 270001 standards. Across Albatha, relevant businesses also adhere to ISO 14001: 2004 Environmental Management System standards, ISO 22000 & HACCP – the world's highest food safety standards.