Muscat: Nuhas Oman Cables and Wires, the only 100 per cent Omani-owned and managed cable company in the Sultanate, is on a blazing trail. The company has achieved a 29 per cent increase in turnover for the year ended 2015.
The highlight of the performance has been its ability to bag project orders from global clients against stiff competition for a wide range of specialty and custom cables. This is testimony to the growing strengths of the company, which has been at the forefront of technological innovation and new product launches since it commenced production at the facility in Rusayl Industrial Estate, said a company release.
The company has set itself stiff targets for new product development which serve as import substitutes for Oman and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). This gains importance in the current economic environment where it is necessary for every country to conserve foreign exchange reserves by sourcing raw materials from within, reducing terminal product imports and increasing exports.
Nuhas Oman has been active on all these fronts, as it is an integrated producer by sourcing refined copper from within the country (Government-owned Oman Mining Company), selling 95 per cent of the production in Oman and introducing new products for the indigenous and export markets.
The revenues generated are ploughed back into operations for adding capacity through additional investments in plant and machinery, thereby further reducing dependency on imports and increasing employment opportunities. This has led to the doubling of medium voltage cable capacity and tripling low voltage (LV) cable capacity within seven years of commencing cable production. A formidable task achieved from 2009 to 2015, a period when the world was faced with the worst recession with industries facing closure.
Since its inception in 2004, the company has been on a blazing a trail. Initially as suppliers to the global cable industry and after commissioning of the in-house cable manufacturing facility as suppliers of low voltage and medium voltage cables targeting and bridging the shortages in the domestic market which were affecting project schedules.
The distribution segment companies under EHCO – Mazoon, Majan, Muscat Electricity Distribution Company, Rural Areas Electricity Company and Dhofar Power Company as also the various contractors breathed a sigh of relief with the launch of Nuhas Oman Cables. They could now reap the benefits of competition – attractive prices, lower lead times, consistency and focus on quality, viable alternative source of supply,
Simultaneously, Nuhas Cables was working on development of new products – low smoke halogen-free wires and cables, fire resistant, offshore and marine cables — for the global markets. These new product lines have been launched by Nuhas in GCC, Far East (Korea, Singapore, India, Vietnam, Malaysia), Iran, central Asia – former Commonwealth of Independent (CIS) countries and Europe.
All products are manufactured within the plant in Rusayl and undergo rigorous testing and quality assurance prior to dispatch to the clients. The quality management systems is ISO 9001 2008 compliant as certified by British Approval Services for Cables, UK. The growing list of prestigious clients is testimony to the quality of product and services rendered by Nuhas.
The major customers include BP, Shell, Occidental Oman, Petroleum Develpment Oman, Ministry of Defence, EHCO, Mazoon, Muscat Electricity Distribution Company, Majan, Rural Areas Electricity Company, Dhofar Power, Larsen & Toubro, Petrofac, Doosan, Samsung, Voltas, Hyundai, Daleel Petroleum, Royal Oman Police, Ministry of Health, Duqm Port and Dry Dock.
The company also lays equal importance on health and safety as also environmental protection being certified to ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001. Nuhas is a responsible corporate citizen and various corporate social responsibility initiatives taken by the company have contributed to various segments of the society – education, sports, religious institutions and health care.