Abu Dhabi-based Talah Board has announced plans to build a factory in the KIZAD industrial zone with the capacity to recycle 50,000 tonnes of palm waste – 10% of the UAE’s annual output – and produce 75,000m3 of wooden board for building applications.
The durability and strength of the fibre in palm tree waste (from fronds and fruit stems) is both an industrial opportunity and an environmental hindrance for the UAE, which alone generates more than 500,000 tonnes of palm waste annually.
Dried palm waste typically gets sent to landfills or is composted where it can take a long time to biodegrade. In some cases the palm waste gets burned, an illegal practise that is also hazardous for the environment and creates a health and safety burden for agricultural businesses.
Talah Board’s sustainable business model will contribute to a reduction in imports of wooden board products into the UAE, which, in 2015, stood at 1.25 million cubic metres and a cost of $435.6m.
The company’s chairman, Hatem Farah, noted: “Talah Board’s business supports the UAE Vision 2021 and the Abu Dhabi Vision 2030. By sourcing our raw materials locally and manufacturing locally, we are contributing to a circular economy through sustainable resource recovery.
“Our business model is one in which there is a ‘triple bottom line’ – meaning that there is benefit in three major aspects of sustainability: economic, environmental, and community.”
Farah started his company after he realised the inherent value of the structural durability of palm tree waste, and subsequently employed the services of Germany-based BINOS, a leading plant processing company to develop the technology to make the product.
The company is participating in this year’s Liwa Date Festival, a 20,000m2 exhibition that each year hosts many companies related to the date palm industry. Farah commented: “As a longtime resident in the UAE, I am proud of Talah Board’s participation at the Liwa Date Festival.
“Partnering with the UAE community, we are demonstrating how we can bring modern day economic relevance to the tradition and heritage of living off the date palm.”
Talah Board’s 56,000m2 factory is expected to be completed by Q3 2017.
