Supporting Underground Cable Installation and System Hardening Efforts in the GCC.

A Polywater® roundtable discussion about the Gulf Cooperation Council region.

In February 2025, Polywater announced its renewed commitment to the Asia Pacific and Gulf Cooperation Council regions with a new global subsidiary and vice president, Imteyaz Siddiqui. As part of the announcement, key team members at Polywater sat down with the Polywater content marketing (PCM) team to discuss the company’s history in the region and what this renewed commitment means for the electrical and communications infrastructure sectors within the GCC. The following are highlights from that discussion.

The Polywater Team:

Erik Freyser, President Klaas Littooij, Executive Vice President EMEA Imteyaz Siddiqui, Vice President APAC and GCC Mohamad J. Medawar, Polywater Middle East Representative

PCM: Give us a brief overview of how Polywater entered into the GCC region and what are some of the key success milestones that Polywater has achieved.

Erik Freyser: The dedicated focus on the region began in 2007, shortly after I started with the company as general manager of our European subsidiary in The Netherlands. While Polywater had a history of some project-based business in the Middle East, we did not have a strong presence. The first steps were to build our network for distribution and find local partners. To accomplish this, Polywater began exhibiting at the local trade and industry shows to create some visibility and connect with local prospects. This is where I met Mohamed who came on as an agent to help us get our start.

Mohamad J. Medawar: At that time, the brand name of Polywater was not well known in the market. Like Erik said, we began participating in industry exhibitions, like the Middle East Energy show, promoting the products, and holding seminars to get people to know more about Polywater and to get more connections in the market. This led to opportunities to do some field trials with Polywater cable lubricants.

PCM: Tell us about these field trials. What was the reaction to Polywater lubricants compared to other lubricant options?

Mohamad J. Medawar: While there were other products being used for cable lubricants, like soap, there really wasn’t a good understanding of what is needed from a lubricant—other than to reduce friction—for the optimal cable installation. In talking with engineers, it became clear after they could see the value of what Polywater had to offer around performance and protecting the cable throughout its operational lifetime.

Polywater had been well established in the U.S., and instrumental in helping create standards there. At that time in the GCC, there weren’t too many local standards. Bigger projects in the gulf area would involve either some consultants from the U.S. or consultants that would follow U.S. standards. So, this also helped us get our lubricants specified since they were already specified in the U.S. That was a good start for us.

PCM: Can you tell us about any specific projects in the GCC region where Polywater had been an instrumental part of its success?

Klaas Littooij: We have a lot of project-based business in the area, where companies come to us with a challenge, and we help solve it. We’ve had a lot of successful projects that helped build our reputation and presence in the UAE, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. I can share a few examples.

In Kuwait, there was a large communications network that was experiencing ingress of water and dirt in the annular space between their ducts and duct banks. They had very large duct banks with many flexible cables so they needed a solution that would work with their system. We did some testing for them back at our lab in Stillwater, Minnesota, which we shared with them in order to provide them with the best solution. In the end, our Polywater® FST duct sealant was specified as the preferred solution for use by their service team because of its performance capabilities, ease of use, ability to last for many decades, and the fact that it is also re-enterable for future expansion or maintenance.

We’ve also achieved approval and specification from a large energy company in the UAE, for Polywater® J cable lubricant and their preferred cable-in-duct installation lubricant. Getting approved takes a long time but now our lubricant is used with all of their installation projects.

For aging transformers with active oil leaks, our PowerPatch™ leak repair system has become that standard for in-field transformer leak repairs for several large electrical companies in the region.

So, by providing testing, samples, technical support, and third-party recommendations we’ve gained the confidence of many infrastructure companies in the region. And by introducing our specification-grade solutions, these projects were executed with the anticipated results. Also, with the guarantee that the network will be uninterrupted with the use of our tested, field-based solutions. We are tested and approved by energy companies worldwide, but now, these local entities know first-hand how Polywater can help their operation. But there’s still more opportunity for more companies, by design and planning engineers, as well as contractors, to learn about Polywater.

PCM: Tell us about the unique requirements in the GCC electrical and communications markets. What makes this region’s needs unique?

Klaas Littooij: Right now, the telecommunications networks are pretty well up to date in places like the UAE, with all the fiber optic that has been installed. Of course, this is always growing and expanding. However, there’s a lot of movement and expansion in the electrical infrastructure with the gulf region.

Imteyaz Siddiqui: I think the requirements today for electrical are even more important because of the need for sustainable systems to meet growing demand. With a lot of these large projects, with the massive investments, there’s a need to make these systems last, even beyond their expected lifetime. So, there’s a lot of investigation by planners of material compatibility and so forth.

There’s a lot of overhead transmission and distribution in these regions, but I believe this is changing. Undergrounding cable into duct, like in other places of the world, is becoming more of an option because of the ability to meet sustainability goals and the other benefits that come with undergrounding cable, like system stability and even beautification.

Klaas Littooij: So, what we see over here in Europe and in the US, in terms of undergrounding, is not what you see in in this region, apart from the cities of course, because there you have some underground. So, yes there is a trend of undergrounding cable and also a trend of putting cable into duct. At the same time, there’s a lot of knowledge and experience to be shared about achieving longer cable pulls. What we’ve come across in the Gulf Region is the understanding that a cable pull only has a maximum length of 250 meters to 500 meters. This is way lower than we see in in other parts of the world. Education, and knowledge sharing, will be an important part of our commitment to this area.

Imteyaz Siddiqui: I agree. Education and knowledge will be of great importance. Specifically, because the GCC is quite unique for several reasons. First, the climate is very hot. Even in the winter it’s not very cold. This presents a unique set of climate challenges for construction. Polywater has experience developing solutions in a range of climates. Also, the area is experiencing growth in a big way. So, there is a concentration of global manufacturing companies on this region because of the expansion, to provide their products and services. Some of these products or services may not have a proven track record working in these conditions which makes it difficult to be specified. There is a need to have local references. In some cases, a product or solution will have to had worked in the region for at least three years before it can be specified. This can pose challenges for manufacturers, like Polywater, to gain a foothold. Lastly, because of the growth in this region, there is a lot of movement with the workforce. A majority of the workforce are expats. Unlike Europe, the U.S., or even parts of Aisa Pacific, there are more expats than local workers. The consistency or continuity of the workforce poses a unique challenge as well. Someone who may have known who Polywater is today may not be there tomorrow.

Even with these challenges, I believe Polywater is well positioned to address them. First, by the great foundational work that Erik, Klaas, and Mohamad have done in this region. Polywater is already specified and approved at many utilities. I feel very lucky to enter into my role as executive vice president of this region with this advantage. Second, we will have a local presence to be able to support the business with our office in Dubai. We will be very close to all these countries, and being closer to a customer means we are more proactive with our approach towards them, and we are also more accessible to them. I have been in this region for quite some time now. So, I have developed a personal relationship with many of the decision makers within these utilities. We understand that there are three important stakeholders on a project that will need to be engaged about Polywater: the asset owner, the consultant, and the contractor. We will need to educate and explain our advantage to them and share our knowledge about optimal cable installations and protecting critical infrastructure assets. Each of these three stakeholders has different logic or rationale for needing a solution. For example, the asset owner will want to see the long-term benefit and know that a solution maximizes the life of the asset and protects their investment. The consultant will adopt a solution knowing that it gives them an advantage to their customer (the asset owner), by being able to offer the best technology and engineering design. Lastly, the contractor has to be convinced that by implementing the solution, it will save them time and money. So, it has to be a win-win situation for all of them.

Mohamad Medawar: These are very good points, Imteyaz. One thing I would add about the dynamic of those stakeholders is that you have very good consultants and very strong-minded contractors. The contractor can have a big influence on the materials that are used on a job. On some projects they may even specify the material. In some cases, the contractor’s influence is so strong that they can change what is specified by the consultant, to benefit their own business. I have seen this a lot. However, as long as we can continue to educate on the value and advantage to all stakeholders, through data and technical support, we can help ensure that Polywater is present to help them with their field-challenges, job requirements, and cost efficiencies.

PCM: Tell us what customers in the GCC can expect from Polywater now and into the future.

Mohamad Medawar: We have been able to build trust overtime with our existing customers, through technical support, data, and third-party recommendations. This is how we’ve been able to get our products approved and specified. I think customers are going to continue to rely on and look for expertise. There are many competitors, but they are unable to provide the level of support that we can. It’s what our customers appreciate. It’s an important factor of our business.

Klaas Littooij: I agree. It will be about education and sharing our expertise. There is a growing need of sustainable solutions that requires a product that meets high-level standards, is tested, and approved. Polywater solutions have been developed to protect and guarantee the long life of assets. That by itself is already a sustainable goal.

Imteyaz Siddiqui: In addition to what has been mentioned, I would add access and availability. Having the local presence in the region creates a new expectation. Definitely being local will help with product availability when you talk about lead times. Also, we are not only a traditional chemical solution provider for our customers, but we will be their partner in comprehensive infrastructure resilience building and we are here to help the market together.

Erik Freyser: Well said everyone. I would emphasize the collaboration aspect. More and more around the world, we are being brought into projects to help with very specific needs. Whether its testing materials in our lab or calculating the feasibility of a cable installation with our Pull-Planner® software, we are given a seat at the table. For the GCC region I believe this will also be the case that this capability will continue to grow, now that we have a local presence. We invite and welcome that level or collaboration and involvement for underground cable installation, system hardening efforts, and maximizing the life of critical assets.