DuPont opens office in Abu Dhabi

07 November 2008

As a part of its continued growth strategy in emerging markets, DuPont announced the opening of its second office in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Abu Dhabi office will focus specifically on strengthening the company’s relationships with the oil and gas industry. Additional markets include building and construction, automotive coatings, agriculture and food.

DuPont opens office in Abu Dhabi

This investment adds to the strong presences the company has built in the region including long established offices in Istanbul, Turkey; Cairo, Egypt; Karachi, Pakistan; Dammam and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, and an additional office in Dubai, UAE. The first office, in Istanbul, opened in 1992 and remains the hub for DuPont in the region.

“The Middle East is one of the fastest growing markets for DuPont today,” said Ian Hudson, president – DuPont Europe, Middle East and Africa. “DuPont sales in the UAE have increased more than 50% since this time last year. In the area of oil and gas alone, we have grown 20% annually over the past five years. DuPont has a number of innovations that are critical to meeting customer needs in the region. This new office will help us leverage our technology and strengthen our market presence.”

The Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, and Eastern Europe and the Middle East, in particular, contain most of the oil and gas producing assets and more than 70% of known reserves in the world. Exploration in remote and technically challenging areas has increased. DuPont sells products totaling more than $30 million (USD) into this industry in EMEA alone and estimates that the total opportunity for DuPont in the region exceeds $1 billion (USD).

DuPont businesses serving the oil and gas industry include DuPont Powder Coatings, DuPont Titanium Technologies, DuPont Personal Protection, DuPont Chemical Solutions Enterprise, DuPont Nonwovens and DuPont Safety Resources. DuPont provides the oil and gas industry with solutions in anti-corrosion, safety productivity, protective coatings, blasting abrasives, personal protection solutions, industrial cleaning solutions, landscaping solutions, fire extinguishing solutions and safety consulting.

DuPont sales in emerging markets grew at a compounded annual growth rate of 16% to just under $8 billion (USD) between 2003 and 2007 and have grown to represent about 25% of total company sales. The company’s approach to growth in these markets focuses on three key development cycles used in a country or sub-region: securing and building market access; strengthening capabilities to serve local customers and upgrading routes to market; and optimizing its market presence. Looking to the future, the company expects our emerging markets footprint to continue to grow at double digit pace and provide above trend-line growth opportunities.