“We want to become a key supplier for the beverage industry”
Packaging solutions from a single source
Jeddah-based company and greenfield project 3P Gulf Packaging Systems, founded in 1992, is a market leader in plastic packaging and products in Saudi Arabia and the region, serving the beverage and food, pharmaceutical, personal care and home care sectors. Its most important products include preforms, closures, tubes, disposable plastic products, plastic tableware, films and labels.
Meeting with 3P Gulf Packaging System Co.
February 21, 2024
We met:
Mr Mohammed Najmuddin, VP Operations
Mr Ali Hashim, VC & CEO
Mrs Randa Hashim, Business Development Manager
Mr Vipin Vellipoyil, Tooling Workshop Manager
Mr Ahmed Salehi, PET Production Manager
Photo top: F.l.t.r.: Mohammed Najmuddin, Ali Hashim, Randa Hashim and Kay Barton
In the PET segment alone, the conversion volume in Jeddah for PET reaches 7,000 t per month. In comparison: the company started with 70 t when it was founded. A total of nine plants belong to the 3P Group in Jeddah involved in producing products in rigid and flexible packaging. Another plant in Riyadh became operational in 2023 processing around 3,000 t of PET per month in the preforms and closures segment. In addition to the MENA region, the customer base extends to over 40 countries, which is due in particular to the production of shrink and stretch film. In an interview with VP Operations, Mr Mohammed Najmuddin, VC & CEO Mr Ali Hashim and Business Development Manager Mrs Randa Hashim, we gained a comprehensive insight into the market giant’s business.
With his business idea in 1960, Mr Hashim Sr, the father of today’s CEO Mr Ali Hashim, wanted to support and serve pilgrims on their journey to Makkah in the south-western Saudi region of Hejaz. He began producing footwear for them and making jerry cans for carrying the holy water from the Zamzam well. Three years later, he started the first commercial factory in Jeddah for everyday household items under the name Arabian Gulf Manufacturers (AGM). The best-known brand that emerged from this, “Gulfmaid”, contributed significantly to the company’s success story over many years and Mr Hashim increasingly recognised the potential of plastics processing. 1992 marked the start of the Gulf Packaging System Company (GPS) that was later brought under the umbrella of Prime Plastic Products more popularly known as “3P”, which still adorns the company logo today.
The current CEO, Mr Ali Hashim already knew the markets and suppliers well from previous experience and so the idea was to be able to offer a complete solution from a single source in the field of packaging, mainly for bottles and closures, primary and secondary packaging – including printing and everything that goes with it. In the 1990s, the immense construction boom in many Gulf states ensured plenty of external investment, which favoured further growth and expansion of 3P. For example, the company’s subsidiary Gulf Manufacturers was established in Egypt to produce plastic pipes.
Mr Najmuddin, who has a master in Business Administration and is a Science Graduate, has been with the company since its inception in 1993. He has two daughters and a son, all of whom are currently in North America. “I’m probably the oldest employee here,” he said with a laugh at the small meeting table in his office. “My boss, Mr Ali Hashim, calls me the co-founder of the company because I’ve been here so long.” In fact, he is also something like the visionary backbone of the company. “When I started here, I quickly realised that PET had huge potential, but that it also needed some official qualifications if the company was to be recognised by the market leaders in the beverage industry. Just think of the high requirements of bottlers like Pepsi, for example. I then helped to drive the process of these qualifications forward and we sat down with PepsiCo and Coca-Cola to clarify what the quality requirements would be for a collaboration.”
The fact that feelers had already been put out in the direction of packaging for the pharmaceutical industry as a further parallel project benefited the requirements of the multinational drinks manufacturers, as the necessary high requirements could already be more than met here. Mr Najmuddin explained: “We already had a lot of experience in injection moulding and were able to secure our first deals with pharmaceutical manufacturers for the sophisticated closures that we produced. By the start of 1995, we were already fully qualified and approved which enabled us to start producing preforms on commercial basis for Pepsi, Coca-Cola and Nestlé. On the pharmaceutical side, the company supplied bottles and closures to the Saudi Pharmaceutical Industries & Medical Appliances Corporation (Spimaco) first, and then went on to supply several other pharma companies in the region.
Today, around 80% of the preforms and closures go into water applications, the rest into CSD, milk and juice. Working round the clock in day and night shifts, around 7 billion preforms and an equal number of closures are produced annually in Jeddah, and around 2 billion at the plant in Riyadh. 60% of the CSD closures are currently two-piece, but there is a shift towards more one-piece closures. For water, preforms can be produced for 200 ml, 250 ml, 330 ml (most represented), 500 ml, 600 ml, 650 ml and 1.5 l, for CSD for 250 ml, 400 ml, 500 ml, 1 l and 2.25 l. 25% of the products are exported mainly in the Middle East and North Africa region.
Keeping in view the circular economy, 3P is well equipped with the facilities to produce 100% rPET preforms or preforms blended with the vPET as per customer demand. Among the various support services, 3P group established an in-house inherent tooling workshop with CNC machines where prototype moulds and machine parts can be fabricated.
The films division, which belongs to 3P, is mainly active in wrap-around label production for the local as well as international brand beverages, but also produces shrink film for multipacks, plastic bags including printing and the Sufra rolls, a type of disposable tablecloth. The company mainly sources its raw materials from Sabic. In fact 3P claims to be one of the largest customers of Sabic worldwide. The turnover for the entire Group in 2022 totalled USD 533.3 million, of which around 20% was attributable to the 3P flexible division which employs about 250 people.
3P setup: Jeddah plant
3 x Husky HyPET 500HPP5e
14x Husky HyPET 400/HPP4
8 x Husky G-lines still active
5 x Husky HyCAP 4 400
6 x Husky Hylectric 400
4 x Sacmi CCM 64
1 x Sacmi CCM 24
2 x Sacmi 32 inactive/for sale
3 x Blow moulding EBM
4 x ASB 70 DPH ISBM
1 x Aisa for collapsible tubes
Riyadh plant
5 × Husky HyPET 500 HPP5e
3 × Husky HyCAP 4
