MUSCAT, MAY 17 - Raysut Cement Company (RCC), the Sultanate’s biggest cement manufacturer, says it is gearing up to export its products to the European Union (EU) countries. It follows the receipt of CE and NF certifications, two stringent global quality norms.
The certifications come at a time when RCC is expanding exports to newer global markets. Currently, 50 per cent of the company’s output is exported to East Africa, India, Maldives, South Africa and Indian Ocean islands.
“We consider CE and NF certifications as a testimony to our commitment to constantly improve product quality and processes in line with rigorous global safety, quality and environmental regulations’’, said Group CEO, Joey Ghose.
The CE (Conformité Européenne) mark, formerly EC mark, is mandatory for selling certain products in the European Economic Area (EEA) since 1985. The NF Mark from AFNOR certification entity is a French compliance norm that ensures product safety, quality, usage ability and performance.
‘The certifications fit into our export strategy for newer geographies as the CE Mark that endorses compliance with EU’s health, safety and green regulations allows us to market our products in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway’’, said Ghose.
Winning the certifications also coincided with RCC clinching a new export order from the Reunion Islands in the western Indian Ocean, and an annual contract has already been signed with Enterprise Audemard Group of the French island to ship 8,000 MT cement every month. The first shipment has been received by the party.
RCC is also looking at setting up a grinding unit in Madagascar to leverage the 7-8 per cent Y-o-Y growth in that country’s market.
Salim bin Ahmed bin Alawi al Ibrahim, Acting Deputy Group CEO of RCC said: “The cement now produced at RCC’s Salalah plant has accomplished the strictest environmental criterion of Hexavalent Chromium (Cr6+) content of less than two parts per million. The NF certification also opens up new market opportunities and we are now introducing a superior quality cement brand to the French colonies in the Indian Ocean Reunion Islands.”
RCC has a current output of 6 million metric tonnes of cement, slated to increase to 10 million by 2022, and later to 22 million tonnes.
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