The ‘Mulk’ effect

Ritika Sharma / EMIRATES BUSINESS

Run an eye around UAE and you will not go beyond a few seconds without spotting a sector where Mulk Holdings had not played a part.
Warehouses, power plants, sports stadium, shopping malls, diagnostic centres and the list goes on. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that Mulk Holdings has contributed in the development of the UAE in its own unique way — a contribution that is worth a mention.
Sharjah-based Mulk Holdings is a globally diversified conglomerate with significant business interests in various industries including manufacturing, healthcare infrastructure, renewable energy projects, building contracting and real estate.
The consolidated global turnover of the Mulk Holdings group in 2013 was at around US$1.8 billion. The core business areas of the company, including building and construction, healthcare, renewable energy, have grown at a staggering rate of 28 percent at the same period of time.
The company has grown organically by acquiring prestigious projects in above mentioned area. Mulk Holdings has also made a strategically significant contribution in the promising field of solid building surfaces — research and manufacturing — in USA and UAE.

Dedicated workforce
The company has a global workforce of more than 1050 people on direct payroll and is directly attributed to another 2500 people through its channel partners/distributor agents in different countries around the world.
A forward thinker, Nawab Shaji Ul Mulk, the founder and chairman of Mulk Holdings, told Emirates
Business, “I believe the strategies we are now adopting to expand our core building material business and diversifying into sectors like healthcare, plastics, energy generation and commodities will not only drive our business in the coming years with far reaching effects but also turn our company into one of the most sustainable firms in the world.”

Expanding presence
Headquartered in UAE, the parent company has 20 active branches or group companies in different parts of the world spread across the regions of US, Europe, Middle East, Africa, India, Malaysia, China and Sri Lanka. Countries of direct operation include — USA, Russia, Italy, Serbia, UAE, Saudi Arabia, UAE, India, Kenya, Ghana, Malaysia, Oman, China, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast.
In addition, it distributes its products through channel partners and has distributor agents in more than 90 countries around the world.
The company has pursued an
aggressive strategy of expansion by building infrastructure to develop aeronautics manufacturing, expand building materials manufacturing and spread brand reach and invest actively in developing innovative building materials and composite panel systems for interiors.
“Our vision 2020 is a bold and ambitious initiative involving serious
investment into both our existing businesses and diversification into sustainable industries. We will continue our global expansion strategy of setting up production and marketing bases inside the potential markets rather than supplying from a central base,” maintained Ul Mulk.

Alubond USA – The defining brand
The flagship brand of the group is Alubond USA, an aluminum composite cladding product developed in partnership with ABTI, Illinois in the US. Mulk Holdings is the sole owner and manufacturer of the brand Alubond US.
Alubond US is the largest
aluminum composite panel brand in the world, with an installed manufacturing capacity of 25 million square meters in UAE, Europe, Turkey, India, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Sri Lanka and China; and installations in more than 90 countries around the world.
In Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, Alubond USA is an unrivalled market leader with more than 80 percent market share.
It has been installed in the iconic properties of the region like Burj Khalifa, Address hotel, Dubai International Airport, JW Marriott Marcquis, City of Lights, ITCC in Saudi Arabia, Cairo International Airport, Dubai Metro and QIPCO tower, to name a few.

Contributing sustainability TO society
The company started the first of its kind parabolic troughs solar energy project in Harihara area in Bangalore for a 25 megawatt solar thermal project, costing US$100 million. The
project was the first grid connected solar thermal plant in India.
The company’s renewable energy arm is also working for 357 megawatt with the state of government of Karnataka and will be planning to execute the same as soon as the phase one is connected to the grid.
The company strongly believes in giving back to the society and has an established CSR programme. The chairman is leading UAE business houses delegations to interact with various heads of the states.
Company’s CSR team sponsors many local and international charity programmes. The group marriages sponsored by the group for the orphans in Kurnool (the native town of the chairman in Andhra Pradesh) is a huge hit and is now a yearly social event. Mulk also funds Ajman Cricket Council development and has developed flood light cricket grounds as part of the CSR activity of the company.