Hesse opens new warehouse in Jebel Ali Free Zone

Hesse has opened a new warehouse.

Hesse Lignal, a German specialist in the production of surface treatments, lacquers and stains, celebrated the official launch of its ‘Middle East hub’, a workshop and warehouse facility in Jebel Ali Free Zone South, yesterday.

The new facility, which was inaugurated by Tareq bin Ghalaita, vice president of commercial sales for the Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority, integrates office and warehouse facilities, and also features extensive schooling and training areas.

The company does not plan to establish manufacturing facilities in the region, explained Beate Hesse, CEO of Hesse Lignal, believing that clients are still more likely to trust products that bear the ‘Made in Germany’ tag than those produced locally.

“In many countries, we have figured out that the people don’t like products that are produced locally. ‘Made in Germany’ is still a name which is trusted and accepted,” Hesse said.

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Finding suppliers that can consistently deliver raw materials of a certain standard is also a challenge in certain markets, Hesse noted. “I have the problem that if I start production in a country like India, for example, I struggle to find the raw materials or suppliers that I need.

“In Germany, we have 100 people in the laboratory and some of them are there just to check raw materials. And if the raw materials are not of the right quality, we will send them back. To set up something like this represents an investment of half a million Euros, just to get the machines to check the raw materials. I cannot do this in each country,” she said.

Hesse Lignal, which was established in 1910 and produces 100 tonnes of lacquer a day, has been doing business in the GCC for five years. “We found out that this was a huge market for interiors – and not just the interiors of buildings but for boats also, and we knew that we had a variety of products to suit the market,” Hesse noted.

The Dubai market trends towards high-gloss lacquers, Hesse explained, “even though not everybody knows how to produce high-gloss lacquers. We started five years ago with normal solvent based products but now more and more companies, even here in Dubai, have switched to modern UV lines and UV products.

“If I use PUR lacquers (which can be distinguished as acrylic formulations and alkyd-combinations), they are easy to work with, but need two or three days of drying before I can send them out. UV lacquer can be packed the same day – but it requires a lot of experience to work with, so you have to find the right solution for the right customer.”