Automation vital for Oman’s manufacturing industry, says minister

Muscat: Manufacturing industries in Oman needs to bring down its cost of production by adopting automation in order to develop the industrial sector in the country, the Minister of Commerce and Industry said.
Speaking to the Times of Oman at the launch of Jotun’s new facility in Rusayl Industrial Estate, Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidy said that Oman cannot compete with low labour costs, which are prevalent in many Asian countries, and therefore must focus on alternatives to produce more for less.
“Manufacturing sector in Oman cannot compete with low cost products that are coming out of countries in Asia. The only way to go forward is by producing more for less,” he said.
According to Sunaidy, Omani manufacturers must set sights on automation technology to increase production while containing the costs.
Highlighting local contribution in the manufacturing sector, Al Sunaidy said that Jotun exemplifies local contribution to the sector by having a high rate of Omanisation and using Omani raw materials for finished goods.
“Jotun is an excellent example of an Omani manufacturing company. They have doubled their capacity, used state-of-art technology, boast nearly 50 per cent Omanisation and 50 per cent of their raw materials are locally produced,” he said. He added that having state of art labs can create a trail of innovation, which the sector is in dire need of.
He further emphasised on the importance of work environment to showcase manufacturing industry as a lucrative sector to Omanis.
“The environment plays a very important role and what we are seeing here is a highly automated state of art facility driven by lifestyle,” he said praising the commitment of the management to setup such an initiative whose returns are tangible only in long-term and hoped that many other organisations would follow this example.
Al Sunaidy advised manufacturers to look towards automation technology to boost production and look at savings in costs gained by an increased level of production. He also said that companies must look beyond Oman’s economy and become more attractive for Omanis to join.
Sales growth
“The industry this year has clearly stalled a bit but there is certainly a lot of potential in the future. We have reported 16 per cent growth in sales since last year and although there is a slowdown, we expect it to get back on track soon,” Odd Gleditsch, chairman of board at Jotun in Norway said.