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Salalah Mills has grown 5 times in 22 years

06 October 20176 min reading

Ahmed Alawi AL DHAHAB , Salalah Mills : “The production capacity of the company is 1,500 tons per day. The company is equipped with a modern laboratory to ascertain the quality of incoming raw material and outgoing finished products. Incoming raw materials are carefully inspected, analyzed and stored separately as per category. The company has a silos storage capacity of 180,000 tons of wheat.”

salalahSalalah Mills Co. which is a joint stock company with a total investment of about USD 18 million, increases its capacity each day. The company which started its production with capacity of 300 tons before 22 years, produces 1,500 tons of wheat flour now.

Salalah Mills which use most modern state-or-the-art-technology milling equipment supplied by Buhler AG in its plant, has a silos storage capacity of 180,000 tons of wheat. Stated that they sell their products domestically as well as internationally to countries such as Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Qatar, Cameroon etc, CEO of Salalah Mills Co., Ahmed Alawi AL DHAHAB said that their domestic selling of flour is 65 % and export is 35%. Stating that they imported finest quality wheat from various countries such as Australia, Argentina, Canada, Germany and Russia, AL DHAHAB told his company’s production capacity, technology usage and targets for readers of Miller Magazine. We take the details from AL DHABAB…

Dear Ahmed Alawi AL DHAHAB, your company Salalah Mills is one of the leading flourmills of Oman. Firstly, could you give us some information about your company? When was it established and how did it come to these days? Salalah Mills Co. was established in 1995 with an objective of producing premium quality wheat flour. A joint stock company with a total investment of about USD 18 million, it is strategically located in Raysut Industrial Estate, near to Port of Salalah. Ever since it commenced its commercial production in January 1998, the company has been catering to the needs of society through its premium quality wheat products. The company is aimed at catering to the growing markets of Oman, Yemen and East Africa. The company has grown over the years. It started its production with capacity of 300 tons/day. Then it increased to 410 tons/day in 2002. Additional 50 tons of capacity per day was added in 2005. Another 90 tons per day production capacity for flour was added in 2008. The production capacity was further increased by 350 tons per day of flour and 250 tons per day of semolina in 2012. In 2014 the production capacity was further increased by 600 tons per day. Presently the company produces 1,500 tons of wheat flour products per day. One of the clear indicators of its success is that Salalah Mills Company has won the coveted His Majesty’s Cup Award for the Best Five Factories in 2012, Shield of Appreciation four times (2009, 2010, 2011 & 2013) and Certificate of Appreciation for best quality in 2008.

Could you give us some information about your facility, production capacity and technologies you use? Could you give information about the flour varieties you produce? The company has installed most modern state-or-the-art-technology milling equipment supplied by Buhler AG, Switzerland, and the world leader in grain processing industry. The production capacity of the company is 1,500 tons per day. The company is equipped with a modern laboratory to ascertain the quality of incoming raw material and outgoing finished products. Incoming raw materials are carefully inspected, analyzed and stored separately as per category. The company has a silos storage capacity of 180,000 tons of wheat.

In order to meet its own requirement and other customers the company has launched a new project for the manufacturing of p.p. bags in 2017 with a production capacity of 50 Million bags per year.

Our major flour products are Premium Bakers’s Flour, Home Baking Flour, Arabic Bread Flour, Chakki Atta, Premium Atta, Roller Atta, Harees, Jareesh & Semolina. Our products are sold under well-known brand name of ‘Al Khareef’.

Could you give us information on the consumption patterns of flour and bakery products in your country? For which products is the flour most used in your country? In Oman, 40% of the flour is used for Arabic Bread consumption (Kuboos, Rakak, Kak etc...), 30% of flour is used Pan Breads, Samoon and Buns and remaining 30% is used for biscuits, cakes, sweets and domestic consumption.

And which aspects do separate your company from your competitors in your country? What can you tell about your corporate culture and functioning? Stringent quality control at all levels by experienced and highly qualified staff ensures the product quality is maintained at all times. In addition to the above Quality Assurance, the company pays utmost importance to product development as per the requirements of customers as well as technical support to the customers as and when required. Apart from this our flour mill is the biggest flour mill in Oman as far as production capacity is concerned. Another aspect is our storage capacity of raw materials. With the present storage capacity of 180,000 tons the company can meet the national requirement of Oman for more than six months in the event of a food shortage. One more additional point that to be noted is our P.P. bags manufacturing division. None of our competitors has such facility in Oman.

Regarding corporate culture we value our employees as our greatest assets. Our corporate culture brings all our employees on a common platform irrespective of their nationality. The employees are treated equally and none feel neglected or left out in the workplace. The employees should well adjust in the organization culture to deliver their level best. We give greatest importance to employee engagement, customer loyalty, financial growth, trust and transparency.

Do you serve for only Omani market (domestic market)? Do you have any activity for exportation, or any goal regarding this? We sell our products domestically as well as internationally to countries such as Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Qatar, Cameroon etc. Our domestic selling of flour is 65 % and export is 35%.

What is your raw material outlook? How do you meet your demand for raw material? Our basic raw material is wheat. Finest quality wheat is imported from various countries such as Australia, Argentina, Canada, Germany and Russia. The selection of raw material supplier goes through stringent process to ensure quality and reliability.

What do you think about the future development of your country especially in terms of flour industry? And what are your future targets? Do you plan to make any investment in the future? The flour product is a basic food item and therefore the consumption is increasing on par with the increase in population. In order to meet such demands even our company has been increasing our production capacity right from its inception with a capacity of 300 tons in 1997. Our present production capacity is 1500 tons/day. Oman has witnessed strong economic growth and development under the wise and visionary leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said. In pace with the industrial development of Oman, our company, off course, has plans for investment in the future.

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