Ashraf EM
Areej Vegetable Oils and Derivatives SAOC
Combining four decades of peerless service in the Sultanate and excellence, Ashraf EM legacy in the entrepreneurialmanagement world is there for all to see.
After a stellar performance as the Director of Areej Oils, this veteran among NRIs is now serving as a Consultant of for the same organization. He stands tall as a towering testimony of what resilience, hard work and unmatched dedication can achieve over a span of time.
From Padanilam to the Sultanate
Born in Padanilam in Kollam district, Kerala, to Ibrahimkutty, a businessman, and Ayisha, a housewife, Ashraf bagged a degree in Mechanical Engineering from TKM College of Engineering in his home district. The young engineering graduate began his career in ALIND, a Hyderabad-headquartered company specialised in manufacturing wire drawing machines, serving as Assistant Engineer. He worked there for three years for a salary of Rs 600 after which he went to Kozhikode to join Kerala Soaps and Oils Ltd as a Factory Maintenance Engineer.
Over the years, his hard work, honesty and meticulousness saw him go up the ranks to become Works Manager, General Manager and eventually the Managing Director of the company. He held these three positions from 1973 to 1985.
The year 1985 was really lucky for Ashraf as it gave him a chance to go abroad.
In 1985, he happened to see a job advertisement of Oman-based Areej Vegetable Oils and Derivatives in the Times of India daily and applied for the post. After attending the interview held at then Bombay, he was selected. He joined the company owned by the Zawawi Group as a Factory Manager. From that year onwards, he played a key role in raising the prospects of the firm and fueling its phenomenal growth.
Fuelling Growth
When Ashraf joined Areej, it was a small company with a modest factory. Thanks to his dedicated efforts and relentless pursuit of success, the prospects of the firm changed for the better as years passed and it went on an expansion spree to scale greater heights. From a capacity to produce 10,000 tonnes of refining and packing oil products in a year ,and an employ strength of100 persons ,the company has grown to 200,000 tonnes capacity in a year in32 years and 700 employees under his total technical management.
His efforts were crowned when he became the Director of the organisation.
Even after stepping down from that position, he was asked to continue as a Consultant for four companies under the Zawawi Group. This speaks volumes of the legacy and goodwill he has left behind over a span of forty years.
Under Ashraf’s stewardship, Areej has become a household name in the Sultanate and other GCC nations when it comes to top-quality cooking oils, ghee, butter, shortenings, specialty fats and mayonnaise. Its top brands comprise Minara, Sohar, Khafeef, Jabal Akhdar and Muscat Margarine along with a variant of their cooking oil range named Areej, which is a unique blend of sunflower oil and palmolein enriched with vitamins A and D.
Areej products are marketed in 30 countries, including Canada, the USA, New Zealand and Uzbekistan to name a few. The strategic location of the factory helps the products reach the global markets in a short span of time.
Family and Passion
Ashraf is married to Nadhira, a homemaker and the couple hashave two children. Their son Ajeesh is working in Singapore. He is a graduate of Computer Science from REC Tiruchirappalli and has a Master’s in Business Administration from France . Their daughter Nazleen is a graduate of Electronics Engineering from REC Tiruchirappalli and a fellow of the Society of Actuaries. She is currently working in the USA with her husband Aadil Nasser ,a businessman.
They have a daughter named Eva, who is a budding artist.
The veteran businessman is also good at drawing and he Ashraf was the former president and board member of Indian School Muscat. He was also the founder of TKM Alumni and Kerala Engineers family Alumni Organisations.
He also served as president of the MES Oman unit.
Contact Information
Ashraf EM
Areej Vegetable Oils and Derivatives SAOC
PO Box: 22, Rusayl,
Postal Code: 124
Sultanate of Oman
GSM: +968 99345310; +91 8129279952
