UAE QATAR OMAN BAHRAIN SAUDI STEEL PRODUCTS MANUFACTURER- DANA STEEL

EUROASIA INDUSTRY | 3
STRENGTH IN STEELAs a first generation family owned business, DANA Group is the leading stockist of flat
steel products in the Middle East, and is well on its way to fulfilling its vision of becoming
the world’s most reliable and reputable steel manufacturer, service and solution provider.
Leonard Owen talks with Dr Ruchi Dana, Board Member, about the company’s diversified
operations – encompassing steel and water heater production, as well as healthcare
and trading services – alongside its imminent future plans for expansion.
Written by Georgina Cutler. ‡

The founder, chairman, and
Managing Director of DANA Group, Dr
Birbal Singh Dana, is a General Surgeon
by profession. Following almost 20 years
of successful surgical practice, he decided
to venture into the field of entrepreneur-
ship in 1991, and founded the DANA
Group under the sound principles of
honesty, hard work and patience. The
company started out as a trading group,
but Dr Dana outlines how the business
quickly implemented a strategy of diver-
sification. “In 1998, we made the major
leap into manufacturing and established
our own facility, which consisted of an
assembly workshop for the production
of water heaters. In 2001, the company
moved to a new state-of-the-art manu-
facturing plant in Dubai and since then,
we have been a one-stop steel manufac-
turer, providing solutions in trading, man-
ufacturing, value adding, and retail,” Dr
Dana elaborates. Since 2001, the com-
pany has experienced a period of consid-
erable growth, which has been largely
facilitated by a number of strategic
acquisitions, resulting in the birth of
DANA Group’s various subsidiaries
over the years.
Fulfilling a lifelong dream
As a UAE-based multinational conglom-
erate, DANA Group is made up of seven
subsidiary divisions – the cornerstone
of which is Seven Eagles International
Trading. As the maiden company of the
business, which started off dealing exclu-
sively with the trading of medical equip-
ment, it has diversified over the years to
become one of the biggest importers and
stockists of a diverse range of long and flat
steel materials. “Our Dana Water Heater
& Cooler division operates out of a factory
located in the Al-Quoz Industrial Area of
Dubai, and undertakes the manufacture
of heaters and coolers, water chambers,
ammonia chambers, and cold rooms,”
Dr Dana details. “In 2011, we acquired
another factory in Libya, following the
government’s nationwide initiative to
privatise the majority of the region’s
companies, which now houses Dana
Steel Processing Industry. Working
alongside Fana Dana Steel Industry,
which operates out of the company’s
10,000-square-metre facility in the Jebel
Ali Free Zone, both of these manufacturing
companies are responsible for the produc-
tion of profiles, sandwich panels, cable
trays, fencing, tubes, pipes, and many other
steel related solutions,” she details.
As part of a detailed expansion
project, the company recently made
its first foray into the retail sector via its
subsidiary Dana Mart. Spread across a
10,000-square-foot area inAjmun, the site
was carefully chosen to exploit the high
footfall of customers in the area, coupled
with the lack of organised retail chains.
However, the company’s recent diver-
gence into the medical sector is arguably
DANA Group’s most important achieve-
ment to date. Dr Birbal Singh Dana has
long dreamed of making healthcare avail-
able to every member of the community,
irrespective of financial or social preju-
dices. Dana Hospital consists of 200 beds,
three operating theatres, 50 ICU beds, a
full range of state-of-the-art diagnostic
laboratories, and comprehensive yoga and
rehabilitation facilities.Although Dr Birbal
Singh Dana left a medical profession to
pursue his entrepreneurial ambitions, the
wide availability of medical care is an issue
that has remained close to his heart. He
can now say that he is one step closer to
making his dream of bringing world-class
medicine within the reach of the common
man a reality.
Local production
for the international market
DANA Group has operations in over
60 countries, spanning five continents –
Europe,Africa, North and SouthAmerica,
and Asia. In a geographical sense, more
than 75 per cent of the company’s total
business derives from the Middle East and
Africa, and whilst it occasionally exports
to countries such as Italy and the UK,
the greatest demand is experienced in
the domestic market. Dr Dana outlines
the company’s impressive range of clien-
tele: “We count a number of the major
players in the oil industry amongst our
most loyal customers – big names such
as Shell, Petroleum, PDO, Transco, and
Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation are
but a few of our most influential clients.
Other than those within the oil industry,
we also supply materials to manufacturers,
small trading companies who purchase
our steel for their own stock or to facili-
tate back-to-back orders, and to various
4 | EUROASIA INDUSTRY
‡

other contractors involved in airport expan-
sion projects, mining projects, fertiliser
plants, and sugar factories,” she denotes.
“In the case of some of the foreign coun-
tries within which we are operational, it is
necessary to establish a local presence, and
so we have a number of agents located
across the GCC countries of Qatar, Oman,
and Saudi Arabia. In such instances, we
collaborate with a local company that is
already recognised within the area, and
provide them with the goods to supply to
the intended contractor in the region.
Our partners are then readily available
to fulfil any after-sale services, guaran-
tees, annual maintenance contracts, and
claims,” outlines Dr Dana. Customers
appreciate a company’s physical pres-
ence within their country, for it makes
the entire sale and post-sale process as
easy as possible – a requirement that
DANA Group is well accustomed to.
Strategic investments
Since its inception in 1991, DANA Group
has remained committed in its endeav-
ours to provide the best possible service
to its valued customers – an unwavering
obligation that has been facilitated through
continual reinvestment in the company’s
resources. “Previously, our manufacturing
process for the production of cable trays
relied on our CNC machines, which were
used to punch the steel sheets, and a sep-
arate bending machine was used to mould
the trays. However, we recently invested
in a continuous roll forming machine – a
state-of-the-art piece of equipment that
enables us to increase our efficiency
levels and produce one tray every five
seconds,” comments Dr Dana. “We have
also installed a continuous sandwich panel
line – initially, we used to make the top
and bottom profiles separately and then
combine them to make sandwich panels.
However, thanks to this recent invest-
ment, we can simply feed the upper and
lower coils into the machine at one end
and the finished product comes out at the
other,” she clarifies. In the technology-
driven age that we live in, DANA Group’s
strategic implementation of a more auto-
mated system is precisely what the growing
market demand requires, for it not only
results in significant savings in labour but
also helps to maintain the company’s
stringent quality standards.
By utilising the latest technologies
in preventative manufacturing practices,
and holding the health and safety of its
employees in the highest regard, DANA
Group is proud to document a zero inci-
dent history with regards to both the com-
pany’s staff and property. Quality, health
and safety are all essential prerequisites
for any business operating within the man-
ufacturing industry, and it is via a winning
formula of daily diligence, adequate safety
training, and effective communication that
DANA Group is able to maintain high
standards throughout its operations. “We
have a very strict Quality Control policy
in place,” Dr Dana stresses. “We only suc-
ceed in attracting the big names within
the oil industry by passing regular audits
and inspections. Naturally, as an ISO cer-
tified corporation, we comply with all the
internationally held standards, however
we must also cater to the additional spec-
ifications of our high profile customers.
For example, before we were approved by
Shell, they inspected our facilities per-
sonally and were extremely impressed by
our implemented quality and safety pro-
cedures,” the Board Member elaborates.
However, the company’s tactical invest-
ments also extend to its human resources,
for Dr Dana reveals that several years ago
DANA Group hired an ex-HSE specialist
to radically improve the company’s health
and safety standards – a strategic move
that proved invaluable in the ensuing
acquisition of a succession of high pro-
file clients. Today, DANA Group is a family
of over 500 hard-working professionals,
all of whom are handpicked following an
exhaustive selection process. “We only
hire people who already have a great deal
of experience within this particular field.
For managerial positions, we only hire the
best – all our managerial staff can already
boast an impressive career within the steel
industry, normally spanning a minimum of
10 years. Generally, we require all engi-
neers and technicians to have a minimum
of five years experience, whilst even our
basic staff have been active within the
industry for at least two years previously,”
Dr Dana advises. DANA Group goes to
great lengths to secure the best possible
employees, believing people to be the
driving force in business. However, the
company also understands that staff reten-
tion is just as important, if not more so,
than initial recruitment. Therefore, DANA
Group offers slightly higher wages, in com-
parison to its competitors, in order to attract
and retain the highest quality personnel
in the industry.
Sustainable trends
Whilst DANA Group can boast an
established presence in several prof-
itable markets, continual growth never-
theless remains at the forefront of the
company’s long-term strategy. However,
such expansion is dependant upon the
effectual analysis of market trends – a
fundamental skill that the company has
perfected over the years. “In November
2013, it was announced that the UAE
will host the World Expo in Dubai in 2020,
creating a renewed buzz within the region.
As a result, a huge boom is expected
within the construction industry and we
are therefore focusing our attention on
this particular market, to ensure that we
are well positioned to take full advantage
of this predicted rise in demand,” stresses
Dr Dana.
Due to its close proximity to the Tropic
of Cancer, the UAE experiences a very
hot and arid desert-like climate all year
round, with temperatures averaging 40°C
6 | EUROASIA INDUSTRY
‡

8 | EUROASIA INDUSTRY EUROASIA INDUSTRY | 9
in the summer months and rarely falling
below 20°C in the winter. The region
therefore receives an unprecedented
amount of sun throughout the course of
the year, which is ultimately responsible
for the growing trend towards solar energy
in Dubai. In 2008, Masdar City embarked
on an ambitious mission to construct the
world’s most sustainable eco-city, relying
solely on solar energy and other renewable
energy sources. It is within this context
that DANA Group identified an emerging
opportunity in the market. “Following the
announcement of this ground-breaking
project, our R&D team began developing
a revolutionary new form of water heater
– one that runs solely on solar energy. No
other company within the UAE is capable
of producing such a unique product, and
we therefore identified this gap in the
market early on, securing ourselves a sub-
stantial amount of new business in the
process,” notes Dr Dana. “On a similar
note, new regulations have recently been
implemented which state that all water
heaters in schools and hospitals must be
solar powered – this only augments the
current trend towards renewable solu-
tions and increases the demand for our
unique services,” she adds. Indeed, DANA
Group is the first tried and tested UAE-
based company in the expert field of
renewable energy steel solutions, thereby
demonstrating how it has earned its rep-
utation as a pioneer of innovation within
the business community.
Responsive to change
As DANA Group continues to grow, both
in terms of its product and customer port-
folio, so too do the opportunities for invest-
ment, and Dr Dana is eager to emphasise
that the company is also looking for ways
in which to optimise its operations. “On
reflection, I would say that one of our main
weaknesses is that we currently import
steel in a wide range of thicknesses, and
then manufacture our products from the
required depth,” admits Dr Dana. “There-
fore, in a move to increase the efficiency
of our operation, we are looking to estab-
lish our own CRM mill, thereby making it
possible to import steel of a single thick-
ness, 2mm. The CRM complex will have
a cold rolling mill, a galvanising line, and
a pre-painting line, enabling the company
to continue manufacturing all of its cur-
rent products using a single raw material.
This not only promotes maximum effi-
ciency, but also provides us with a great
deal of buying power,” she adds.
For several years, the industrial efforts
of the GCC region have been focused on
manufacturing as a way to diversify the
economy away from its heavy dependence
upon oil. In an effort to increase manu-
facturing activity in the area, a government
initiative was introduced that awards finan-
cial rebates to any company manufacturing
within the GCC. DANA Group is there-
fore hoping to take maximum advantage of
such a lucrative market and expand more
rapidly throughout the Middle East and
North Africa. “We already have a facility
in Libya, but we are planning to establish
an additional facility in Ethiopia in 2015.
Ethiopia is a country that remains of con-
siderable interest to us – it is one of the
most stable countries in the whole of
Africa, with a continuously rising popula-
tion, and is therefore a focal point of invest-
ment for the future,” details Dr Dana.
As a collective company, Dana Group
is incredibly quick at identifying changes
in demand, adapting to market trends, and
implementing the necessary changes to
garner a position at the forefront of the
steel industry. “A famous Darwinian
saying adorns our office walls – ‘It’s not
the strongest of the species that will sur-
vive, nor the most intelligent, but the one
most responsive to change’ – which forms
the philosophy behind our entire opera-
tion. We strive to remain at the forefront
of the market, whether it be as the first
company to install a new piece of high
tech machinery, or the first to enter a
certain market, we are constantly striving
to improve and maintain our position as
industry leader – a strategy that we are
hoping to uphold in the future,” con-
cludes Dr Dana. o

UAE QATAR OMAN BAHRAIN SAUDI STEEL PRODUCTS MANUFACTURER- DANA STEEL

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