Cable crunch

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What are the biggest challenges and drivers for change in the region's cabling sector? MEP Middle East investigates.

Keeping pace with the Middle East's construction sector and changing safety regulations has meant significant changes in operation and output for cabling manufacturers.

The growth of the region's cities is bringing both challenges and opportunities for those operating in the cabling sector.

An ever expanding number of building and power infrastructure projects are creating a healthy markets, while regulation changes require new product developments. So how are the manufacturers adapting to meet the market needs?

One of the primary issues for cable manufacturers is the sheer volumes that are being ordered.

"The big issue is still supply and demand in terms of getting the right cable to a project at the right time," stresses Jeremy Hodge, British Approvals Service for Cables (BASEC) chief executive.

"There is a huge demand for cables and manufacturers cannot cope," states Nakheel electrical engineer Karim Chaaban, formerly with National Cables Industry.

"There is always a demand for infrastructure, especially for medium and high voltage cables, but the demand has become unbelievable and now all the GCC countries are announcing huge projects, huge volumes [of cabling] are needed," he adds.

"The demand in the UAE picked up more quickly than anyone expected and it's taken the industry a while to respond," agrees Ducab managing director Andrew Shaw.

Consultants and contractors can play their part in easing the burden on manufacturers while ensuring they have the products they need on schedule.

With demand high, product supply lead times are inevitably also longer, so the earlier the materials needed for a project are ordered, the better for all parties.

"One of the problems is that a lot of the detailed design doesn't take place until late in the process; designers have to give the procurement people more time," states Hodge.

"The moment the contract is awarded the materials should be booked, then the price is fixed and you can give the required delivery schedule and with long lead times [manufacturers] can usually guarantee delivery schedules," adds Chaaban.

The problem does not lie solely with power cables; the demand for data cabling is also rising dramatically.

Again, gaining the supplies needed can be tackled by early ordering. Laurent Amestoy, R&M, regional md, ME and India with Swiss-based Reichle & De-Massari (R&M) comments: "Questions should be asked at the beginning...the earlier that you plan the better it is and you can save costs." "For contractors, it's all about giving as much warning as possible about the demand as we can often mitigate problems," adds Shaw.

"This is something that contractors are now doing better - it's all about good communications," he states.

Several manufacturers have responded to the continuing growth in demand by expanding their operations. Ducab has already expanded its UAE-based manufacturing plants and is undertaking further expansions.

Its strategic plan to 2015 involves more than tripling its current capacity, under an US $540-820 million (AED2-3 billion) investment.

"Our lv cable production in the Abu Dhabi factory is being increased by 50%," states Shaw, "the mv production is also increasing to satisfy the market as we see it," he adds.

Ducab is also building a dedicated HV cable factory and a copper rod facility to enable backwards integration, whereby the firm will make its own copper rod for use in its cables.

National Cable Industries is also planning an expansion, with a focus on the mv and hv product lines reports Chaaban.

The firm has bought land adjacent to its existing Sharjah facility and plans to add one production line, increasing its existing capacity by 15%.

Middle East Specialised Cables Company (MESC) has undergone several expansions, including the recent opening of a new manufacturing firm in Jordan for LV and MV power cables.

MESC-Fujikura Cable Company has been established as a joint venture between MESC (Saudi Arabia) and Japanese firm Fujikura. Commercial production from the facility is due to begin in Q3 of 2008.

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