Overview
TopGlass Pte Ltd is one of the leading glassware producers in the United Arab Emirates. Established in Mussafah in 2006 to operate at a local scale, it soon became one of the most visible suppliers of industrial packaging for pharmaceutical and F&B industries.
Products
The main product line of TopGlass is glassware intended for packaging beverages for a consumer market. The first product manufactured by the company from 2006 onwards was a glass bottle for non-alcoholic beverages. Since then, the product line has expanded to include bottles for alcoholic beverages, bottles and cans for various foods, e.g. seafood produce, and containers for medications. A notable addition to the product line is the premium foods and beverages segment, which requires a unique bottle design to underline the luxurious qualities of the product. Finally, starting in 2013, TopGlass initiated the production of glass containers for cosmetic products.
Raw Materials
Two main raw materials required for glass production are silica sand and soda ash. The former is supplied to the company directly from the company-owned refinery outside Abu Dhabi. The latter is widely available locally and is currently obtained from the UAE-based soda ash manufacturer Nasco Chemsol International.
Financial Information
The company was experiencing a steady growth in revenues and shareholders’ equity for seven consecutive years since its founding, with a peak in 2014, when the total revenue reached AED 37 million, a four percent increase over the previous year’s number, and the trading profit rises to AED 12 million, a 1.5 percent improvement over 2013. The total shareholders’ equity was highest by that time at AED 82 million. In the last two years, however, the situation changed dramatically. The sales of F&B packaging, the main source of its profits, went down. As a result, revenues declined to AED 31 million in 2015 and AED 26 million in 2016, with trading profit reduced to AED 4 million and AED 0.5 million, respectively. As a reaction to such developments, the equity income diminished to AED 31 million.
Competitive Advantage
One of the most prominent competitive advantages of the company is its assets, more specifically, its equipment base. Upon its formation, the company purchased a top-quality production line. While ten years is a significant amount of time for the technology, the industrial packaging industry is developing relatively slowly, so the equipment in question is far from outdated and even considered top-rate by most standards.
The premium packaging segment, for which the company currently produces bottles of unique design, requires fairly sophisticated machinery and a high level of automatization, but since it was launched in late 2008, it is currently superior to that of competitors. Another advantage is the proximity to raw materials and their availability. The silica sand supply is controlled by the company-owned subsidiary, and soda ash is widely available from several suppliers in UAE, which guarantees its competitive price and availability.
Recently, the company was approached by Coca-Cola, a global leader in the F&B industry, and signed a contract to become its local supplier of bottles for its iconic product, which can be deemed among its biggest advantages.
Locations and Distribution Method
Currently, the company has two production lines in Mussafah and Jebel Ali. The main office of the company is in Abu Dhabi with another one in Dubai. Up until now, the company relied mostly on direct sales without using distributors. It managed to approach several buyers directly, most notably Agthia Group PJSC, one of UAE’s biggest F&B groups.