National Aluminium Products Company has decided to double its capacity as the company has been operating and selling at very close to its existing capacity for the first time in many years, says Chairman, Sayyid Wasfi bin Jamshid Al Said in an interview with Oommen John.
NAPCO is undertaking an expansion at a crucial time? What does it mean for the company and the country in general?
In early 2014, we put in place measures, including critically a new CEO and management team, in order to significantly expand our sales and marketing activities, rejuvenate our brand and improve operational efficiencies. We are very satisfied with the progress we have made which is evidenced by a broadening of the customer base, an increase in our market share in our home market, a very substantial overall appreciation in our sales growth and a greater understanding by our customers of what NAPCO stands for and our values. We are operating and selling at very close to existing capacity for the first time in many years as per plan, and it is in this context that we decided to double our capacity. NAPCO products are differentiated by their superior quality and quality is always appreciated and in demand. We also believe in transparency as transparency builds trust which is another NAPCO hallmark. We are the only publicly listed aluminium extrusion company in the GCC and although that sometimes presents competitive challenges due to the asymmetry of competitive information, overall it demonstrates our maturity and confidence and this has contributed to building strong sustainable relationships with all our stakeholders. There is no denying that market conditions are difficult but they have not been easy for several years. Despite this, we have grown and moved forward as a company and increased market share and customer loyalty. This bodes well for the future and I am confident we will thrive.
For the country, our capacity expansion will put us among the top 10 extruders in the GCC and this can only help enhance the perception of the Omani brand with quality, trust and customer focus being at the centre of the brand promise. Closer to home, as NAPCO grows, we are able to create further employment and training opportunities, support career growth and increase funding for CSR activities. NAPCO is a true child of the Blessed Renaissance, proud to be a leading Omani brand and we involve ourselves at the heart of the Omani community on multiple fronts. That is good for NAPCO, good for our stakeholders, good for the community and good for our country.
Doubling of capacity is a huge step forward. How confident are you of its success?
I am hugely confident it is the right thing to do. Challenges are always present and I can think of no time when things have been easy. We cannot pretend that the market and macro environment do not play an important role but we will compete aggressively and increase market share by being better than our competitors at serving our customers. These are exciting times for NAPCO and our long term prospects are excellent.
What is the investment planned for the expansion?
The total expansion budget is RO7mn.
How many more jobs will the expansion create?
In early 2014, NAPCO had a headcount of roughly 225 and we have increased that to 314 with an additional 31 planned in the near term to bring the total to 345. We are cautious on further hiring for the time being but we are able to execute with excellence as our productivity has risen substantially over the period mentioned. We are fully committed to providing further career opportunities to Omani nationals going forward and we look forward to increasing Omanisation yet further as we grow and as we enhance our training and mentoring infrastructure internally. Not only do we want to hire more but we are focused on retaining top talent who believe in our values and are proud to be part of the NAPCO way.
Ideally, what further support can be afforded by the government to assist NAPCO in achieving this success?
The government could help enormously by ensuring that NAPCO products are given priority in local projects as long as we can demonstrate our competitiveness in terms of quality and service delivery which of course we can. The benefits for the country are obvious, especially in the current climate, as such policies increase shareholder value, enhance the brand of the company and the country and creates conditions for further employment and services to the community.
More generally, we must be aware as a country that we are competing head on with our neighbouring countries so all aspects of policy and regulation must be geared towards helping Oman Inc towards becoming the most flexible and competitive in the region. We are clearly not yet there however I am very confident that we will move further in the right direction. Importantly this necessitates a much more intense and focused level of dialogue between the public and private sectors so that business and economic policy is guided increasingly after taking into account and tapping into the experience, energy and brainpower available within the entire country. NAPCO is fully prepared to contribute to this dialogue and we look forward to the opportunity for the benefit of NAPCO stakeholders and the country at large.