00:00My journey to the Middle East started in December 1969. It actually started from Kabul, then
00:16Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Beirut, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE and Oman. Finally, we decided to
00:30set up a project in Dubai because of the warmth and friendly atmosphere created by Sheikh
00:44Rashid for business people. We established a gas cylinder project with Sheikh Rashid
00:56as a major partner and we also established a chemical unit to manufacture sulphuric acid.
01:11With these two projects, we were one of the first businessmen to start an organized manufacturing
01:20activity in Dubai in 1974. The production started in 1976 for both the units. One was
01:36established on the Dubai Creek where presently Dubai Civil Court and Creek Park are established.
01:47With Sheikh Rashid, the venture was known as Cylind Gas Company Limited and the other
01:58venture was Falcon Chemicals Limited which was at Jabal Ali. We started manufacturing
02:12gas cylinders and pressure vessels in Cylind Gas and in Falcon, we started manufacturing
02:22sulphuric acid. Both these units had to shift their locations. Cylind Gas was in 1990 to make
02:37way for the Dubai Civil Court and Creek Park and we shifted to Algos industrial area. Falcon
02:50Chemicals had to shift from Jabal Ali to make way for Dubai Marina and we have come to this
03:01present location. In 1999, we shifted here. In 2009, we sold our interest to Enoch in
03:21Cylind Gas. So, we are no more involved in that company. In Falcon, we started with one
03:35product that is sulphuric acid but now are producing around 400 products. Actually, we
03:44thought of Cylind Gas Company to be established in Dubai because we saw that gas was being
03:53imported in cylinders from Bahrain. After the gas was consumed in the cylinders, cylinders
04:02were sent back to Bahrain for refilling and this operation was being done in the house.
04:09So, we thought of a bottling plant for gas cylinders and then Sheikh Rashid jointly
04:22with Caltex established the Cal Gas Company to bottle gas into cylinders, fill gas into
04:33cylinders and so we then thought of manufacturing cylinders here with Sheikh Rashid as the major
04:44partner and that's how we established Cylind Gas Company. Sheikh Rashid liked the idea and he
04:56visited our factory in India on 28th of June 1974 and spent a good four hours looking at the
05:08facility there. We then established the company to manufacture also pressure vessels and general
05:20fabrication and it was a great achievement to manufacture in this area these items which
05:33were imported and I still recollect the biggest pressure vessel we built about 120 feet long
05:48and 12 feet diameter and passing near the trade center roundabout with the trade center in the
05:58background and it was a real great sight to see the police controlling the traffic and this vessel
06:10passing through on what is presently known as Sheikh Zaid Road. It was transported to Jabal Ali.
06:19Sulfuric acid also we observed was being imported and it was very risky to transport and handle
06:32sulfuric acid. So we thought of manufacturing the acid here and WED Abu Dhabi that is Water
06:43and Electricity Department Abu Dhabi was the major user of sulfuric acid. So we set up the plant in
06:53Jabal Ali and transported by road to Abu Dhabi. In three years time we lost the contract to supply
07:05to Abu Dhabi to a foreign supplier who could not supply. So we got the contract back within three
07:17months but in the meantime it set our minds thinking that we should diversify and have
07:26more products so we are not dependent on one product. So that's how we then went into construction
07:36chemicals, adhesives, detergents etc. Dubai has enchanted everyone who has visited and then
07:52decided to stay because of the facilities, the safety, the cleanliness. It's a great place to be.
08:01I've spent more than half my life here and look forward to living till the last day.
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