Johns Manville eyes Mideast markets.

(From Gulf Construction)

Johns Manville, a global leader of premium-quality building insulation, commercial roofing, roof insulation, and specialty products for commercial, industrial, and residential applications, are looking for new opportunities for its innovative technologies in the Middle East region. Senior leaders of the US-based giant - which has a global presence - are eyeing the UAE to either establish the firm's operations or find new partners in the region. "We are still exploring and evaluating the market. We have been doing business in the region for the past 20 years but the scale of our business compared to what we do in the Americas, and Europe, is relatively small," Zain Mahmood, Johns Manville's vice president and general manager construction materials told Gulf Construction during his recent visit to Dubai

Mahmood - who held a series of meetings in the city with top developers and key specialists in roofing sectors - is convinced about the growth potential of the market. "We know there has been immense growth in the recent past and by the looks of things, it's going to continue for a while. Now it's only a question of whether Johns Manville should launch its independent operations or it should licence the technology to local partners," he points out. "Already we are conducting macro-level studies and are looking at the market more minutely at the micro level. This visit is basically aimed at finding enough evidence to convince the top management to establish a presence in the region." Johns Manville, a Berkshire Hataway Company, is continuously innovating its range of roofing reinforcement, thermoplastics/thermoset reinforcements, wallboard reinforcements, glassfibre non-wovens, polyester non-wovens, and glass textile wall covering etc. Johns Manville claims to be the leader in a number of fields: it is the number one manufacturer in formaldehyde-free building insulation, ultra-fine fibres for air filters, insulation for HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) systems, glass and polyester non-wovens, glass textile wall-coverings, says Mahmood

"We are at the premium end of building materials that provide the exceptional quality which is necessary for lasting protection and the long life of a building," he adds

"We develop products which suit a particular environment of a region. Already we are at the final stages of developing a waterproofing membrane that meets high temperature and humidity climate requirements and is ideally suited for Middle Eastern region. We hope that this new product would be launched in the market by the end of summer," he points out. The company with 147 years of history has an annual turnover in excess of $2 ...