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| Qapco officials and guests at the inauguration of the company’s representative office in Cape Town, South Africa |
The event was held under the patronage of the Minister of Energy and Industry HE Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada and Qapco chairman Hamad bin Rashed al-Mohannadi.
Qapco vice chairman and CEO Dr Mohamed Yousef al-Mulla, Cape Town’s executive mayor Alderman Patricia de Lille, Qatar’s ambassador to South Africa Dr Bashir al-Sherawi and former ambassador of South Africa to Qatar Dr
Vincent Zulu.
Also present were African National Congress treasurer general Dr Mathew Phosa, Western Cape ministers Albert Fritz (social development) and Alan Winde (trade and finance) and senior South African government officials and a number of customers and
businessmen.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr al-Mulla stated that the new office is a continuation of the company’s quest to preserve its positioning as a leading exporter of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) in the Middle East and to translate the strategic importance of the South African market and region to Qapco.
“The establishment of dedicated self-operated offices devoted exclusively to identify the specific needs of customers in each market of strategic importance, and fulfilling these needs has earned Qapco a leadership status far ahead from other suppliers,” he said.
Dr al-Mulla said that Qapco has been supplying its LDPE products to a large number of South African customers for over 20 years.
“The new office will ultimately be a base not only for the polyethylene business in South Africa, but for the whole Southern African countries in the near future, in compliance with Qapco’s ambitious plans to be the local petrochemical supplier in the region,” he said.
Dr al-Mulla pointed out that Qapco’s products of LDPE are sold to over 8,000 customers spread over 145 countries worldwide and such a global exposure was designed to support and complement the expansion plans of the company.
Qatofin, a subsidiary of Qapco, with 450 KMT /annum linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), has already started production and work is under way to commission Qapco LDPE3 line which will increase its LDPE capacity form 400 KMT at present to 700 KMT per annum.
Qapco’s global marketing network comprises 28 self-operated overseas offices and six regional warehouses.
“Customers today expect and demand quality products at fair market value and top-notch services and Qapco is committed to meeting those demands,” Dr al-Mulla added.
Ambassador Dr al-Sherawi pointed out that Qapco’s global expansion and close customer positioning strategy comes in line with Qatar’s vision and directives for the optimum utilisation of the country’s hydrocarbon resources.