Abstract

The aim of this document is to prepare marketing plan for Sinai Manganese Company to
increase its sales /exposure in outer & interior markets during the following years by applying
all marketing knowledge principles acquired through the course of Marketing for managers.

1- Sinai manganese company history

Sinai Manganese Co. SMC was founded on May, 18th. 1957, to exploit the manganese
deposits in Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. The company succeeded to replace the British Sinai
Mining Company which ceased its operations in June 1960 the mandate of SMC was
 expanded to include exploration of other economic mineral sources such as Kaolin,
Gypsum, Bentonite, Silica Sand, Quartz & Manganese ore.

Sinai Manganese Co. is the first and the largest producer of manganese ore in Egypt.
SMC produces the high and low grades of manganese ore. SMC operates a 36000
MTPA electrical furnace at Abu-Zinima Sinai, Egypt, producing the high carbon Ferro
Manganese. There is no other competitor in the Middle East producing such
Ferroalloy. SMC has its own gas turbine power station producing 21 MW.

The plant uses latest technology and continues to strive hard for innovation and
employing the best techniques by interacting with world renowned companies.
Special efforts are being made for reduction in energy consumption. SMC shall be
connected with the national electricity grid by the end of 2010 that will impact
positively on the production costs. Since 1993, SMC was specialized in the high carbon
Ferro Manganese having 76% contents of Manganese. Considering the rising in
demand of Silico-Manganese, SMC has embarked upon an expansion plan to produce
both Ferro & Silico Manganese alloys. SMC has been awarded ISO 9000-2000 in the
year 2003.

Another industrial activity of SMC is the production of Gypsum Plaster (Calcined

Gypsum) that started in 1990 with capacity of 250,000 MTPA.

2- Situation analysis
2.1.Products portfolio
 High Carbon Ferro Manganese: SMC was the first producer of Ferro-Manganese in the
Middle East.  The plant was established in 1966 and unfortunately, didn’t start
production due to the Arab Israel war in 1967. Rehabilitation project took place after
 the withdrawal of the Israel forces from Sinai and in 1993, the project was completed
under the supervision of Elkem, the famous Norwegian Ferro-alloy producer. The plant
comprises one electric furnace of 21 MW and the power needed for the furnace is
insured by a power station using 3 gas turbines each of 7 MW. The power station was
commissioned by ABB of Switzerland. The capacity of the furnace is about 36,000 MTPA
of high carbon Ferro Manganese. 
 Calcined Gypsum: SMC established one of the modern plants in the Middle East to
produce Calcined Gypsum from Gypsum deposits at Ras Malaab, south Sinai. The plant
was contracted with the support of USAID with annual production of 250,000 tons and is
marked under the name of "Nejmet Sinai" that means the Star of Sinai.
 Silica Sand: Silica sand is exploited from south Sinai (500,000 MTPA) and from Zaafarana
along the red sea coast (60,000 MTPA). That Sand in particular is quite pure and used for
the manufacturing of glass sheets, crystal and different glass containers.
 Kaolin & White Clay The production of Kaolin from Sinai is up to 100,000 MTPA. It is
considered as one of the best Kaolin deposits in the Middle East. The most important
markets for Kaolin are refractory, cement, ceramic and paper industries. In addition to
the considerable portion needed for local demands of Kaolin, that ore is export to Spain,
Turkey and some Arabian countries, mainly for the white cement industry.
 Gypsum Ore used in building industry The Gypsum ore is exploited from Ras Malaab
south Sinai (400,000 MTPA). SMC owns a plant at the same area to produce Calcined
Gypsum. That plant consumes about 300,000 MTPA. The remaining ore are exported to
Japan, and some African countries.   

2.2.Current Financial Status

All numbers are from the official site of the company & received presentations.
 Figure 01

The above graph shows incremental increase in sales during the last 3 years leading to
Net profit to be more than 3 times the Planned Target in the year 2017-2018 although
the decline of exports at the same year.
2.3. Competitors: no Availble information for direct competitors of SMC inside
or outside of Egypt due to the particularity of SMC products and type of industry,
But SMC is the only producer of high carbon Ferro Manganese alloy giving the
company a competitive edge over any other companies

2.4. PESTEL ANALYSIS:

 Political: as government owned company and in light Egyptian government
is willing to increase industrial investments in Egypt to increase the GDP and
flow of hard currency, the opportunity is more than appropriate to increase
investments taking into considerations all facilities from Egyptian authorities
regarding permits, facilities for credit, export laws.
 Economic: Egypt entered new era of free floating of the Egyptian pound all
products exported from Egypt have a competitive advantage over any
products from another regions due to this economy reform in addition to
facilities for investors in the industrial area.
 Sociocultural: the presence of manufacturing/mining facilities of the
company in the peninsula of Sinai have a great social & cultural effect in the
decrease of the employment and bonding the Sinai residents with Egypt
main land trough economic activities and also the participation of the
company of social activities affecting the inhabitants directly.
 Technological: manufacturing /mining activities uses the latest technologies
to decrease waste, increase quality of products, decrease effect of any
emissions on the surrounding environment.
 Environmental: as the nature of industrial activities including ore extraction
or mining the environment impact might impact the surrounding
environment but since the mining locations are distant from populated areas
thus the effect will be minimum.
2.5. SWOT ANALYSIS:
 Strengths:
o Strong background of mining activities for more than 40 years.
o Owning dedicated ports for export to foreign companies.
o Government Support with all related permits.
o Mines near the local highways & ports decreasing the cost of
transportation.
 Weakness :
o Technological out dated equipment.
o Increase of US dollars leading to delay expected refurbishment of
equipment.
o Old labor laws supporting that their wages are related to production
not quality.
o No Research & development department
o No dedicated Marketing teams
 Opportunities :
o Increase of demand on company products epically from China & India
due to expansion of steel production.
o Support of the country to new technologies by adding value to silica
produced from Egypt to be used in complex industries instead of
directly exporting to outside of Egypt.
o Expansion in building activities leading to expansion in request for
Gypsum products produced by the company.

 Threats:
 Instability in Sinai Peninsula due to some terrors attacks noting the
decay of these attacks because of the strong presence of army &
police in the area.
  Commercial war between USA & China since China have the largest %
of exports from the company production.
 Cold war between USA and Iran might threat the marine transport
routes to India & China.

3- Marketing strategy
The key to marketing strategy is to concentrate on Business to Business companies
inside of Egypt & increase exports with current countries, open new markets for
company products. Sinai Manganese Company can serve different segments due to its
wide array of products.

3.1.Mission:
Sinai Manganese company mission is to provide customers with end of the line
technology products that add value to both parties, sustain long term relationships with
current customers and extend its services to new customers/markets. Maintain its
position as leader manufacturer.

3.2.Marketing objectives:
 Maintain 100 % increase in sales for the next year.
 Achieve a steady increase in market penetration.
 Open new markets for company existing products..
 Introduce new products to the market.

3.3.Financial Objectives
 Increase the profit margin by 1 percent per quarter through
 Efficiency and economy-of-scale gains.
 Maintain a significant research and development budget (as a percentage relative to
sales) to spur future product Developments.
 Achieve a double- to triple-digit growth rate for the first three Years.
3.4.Target Markets:
 Steel manufacturing companies (inside & outside Egypt ) Especially Far east
Countries- expansion to new markets should include Europe & North America
 Building industry either companies or direct customers.
 Cement Factories
 Ceramic Tile production companies
 Glass Manufacturing companies (inside & outside Egypt )

3.5.Positioning/Differentiation:
Sinai Manganese Company will position itself as market leader in the field of mineral
production & mining the positioning will be achieved by Technological competitive edge,
industry experience and dedication towards adding value to their customers. Innovative
products, continuous R&D to improve the quality of its products and comes out with
new products.

4- Marketing Tactics (Mix)

The single objective of the marketing program is to position Sinai Manganese Company
as leading industrial/mining production at the domestic market as well as the
international market. The marketing program will seek to first create customer
awareness concerning the offered products and then develop the customer base.

Specifically, Sinai Manganese Company program is composed of the following

approaches to product, pricing, distribution, and communications.

4.1. Product
Several of Sinai Manganese developed products are unique in the market production
and local market research indicates that there is great demand for these products. Sinai
Company will achieve fast, significant market penetration through a solid business
model, long-range planning, and a strong management team that is able to execute this
exciting opportunity. The management team have more than 30 years of combined
empirical information as well as the personal and industry experience. This extensive
 experience provides Sinai Company with the passion to provide the industrial market
with much-needed products.

4.2. Pricing
This will be based on a per-product retail price. Because of the advantages of selling
directly, higher margins can be achieved with premium pricing that will still appeal to
customer segments.in light of new Egyptian pound price in front of US dollar products
originating from Egypt and exported to other countries will have a competitive edge.

4.3. Place
Sinai Company will sell its products initially through its Sales Team direct to interested
customers this direct-to-the-consumer approach will allow Sinai Company to maintain a
close relationship with customers, which is essential for producing products that have a
true market demand. By the end of the year, Sinai Company also will have developed
relationships with different exporters and will begin to sell some of its products through
them to outside interested clients.

4.4. Promotions
The message Sinai company will seek to communicate is that it offers the state of the art
materials manufactured with highest quality to serve the requirements of their clients
inside and outside Egypt. The main channel this message will be convoyed through is a
high performance web site which is a critical tool for building visibility. Potential clients
search online to find service providers, and they need to be able to find company’s
website in order to have a chance at winning their business. Plus, website enables the
company to demonstrate their expertise and become well-known throughout the
marketplace. Second Channel will be advertising through famous economic publications
targeted in the areas needed to be penetrated within.

Another very important channel will be (SEO) Search engine optimizations, target
audience has to be able to find company site for it to be effective. That’s where search
engine optimization comes in.
Participations in well-known conferences where target customers will be available is a
very important channel to reach targeted customers and spread within planned area.