UAE-Based Trident Trackway Is Recycling Plastic Waste To Create Temporary Roadway Solutions Trident Trackway makes heavy duty portable flooring products made from recycled plastic in the UAE, enabling the construction of temporary roadways, staging areas, and storage pads.
By Aalia Mehreen Ahmed Edited by Aby Thomas
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The recycling of plastic waste and building of paved roads are perhaps two topics that are seldom spoken of in the same breath. But for UAE-based tech startup Trident Trackway, both issues lie at the very crux of what its services provide: roadway solutions made from recycled plastic. "Trident Trackway makes heavy duty portable flooring products made from recycled plastic in the UAE, enabling the construction of temporary roadways, staging areas, and storage pads, and they also ease the movement of large vehicles and machinery over surfaces that require ground stabilization or protection," explains Theresa Wernery, co-founder of Trident Trackway. "The primary aim of our technology, Tridentech, is to recycle as much plastic waste as possible into long-lasting sustainable products for the construction and events industries. We had been providing our customers with imported products from the USA or Europe, but decided in late 2019 to start manufacturing these products here in the UAE."
Trident Trackway's solution is one that is particularly interesting when you consider how it aims to seamlessly work across a series of sectors. For starters, with the UAE government's increased commitment to achieving sustainable development, the startup's offering is already contributing to the realization of that goal.
But with the country's construction and events industries in the midst of a post-pandemic resurrection even as Expo 2020 Dubai provides the starting point for expected further growth, Trident Trackway's temporary access roads and footpaths solutions have scope for more future demand. "We provided the surface protection for the entire Expo 2020 Dubai site during the construction phase, enabling all of the heavy site traffic to pass over the Expo site on a daily basis, without damaging the finished surfaces and pavements," Wernery notes.
David Wernery, founding partner and General Manager, Trident Trackway. Source: Trident Trackway
Having manufactured over 50,000 square meters of Trident Trackway products till date with the use of over 440 tons of recycled plastic, the startup has already generated over US$2 million in sales and rentals since the end of 2019. And Wernery believes her startup's performance is only going to peak in the months to come. "We anticipate sales to grow to $3.5 million in 2022, and our rentals business to generate revenue of approximately $500,000," she adds. "During 2022, Tridentech will invest in a plywood replacement facility, which will utilize 24 tons of low-quality mixed waste per day. With that, we aim to manufacture 125,000 plywood replacement boards per annum."
Cameron Cairns, founding partner, Trident Trackway. Source: Trident Trackway
Wernery and her team clearly have the confidence to gear up for big goals, but the co-founder also admits that gaining access to funding has been a major pain point when it comes to sustaining a startup in the UAE. Trident Trackway is currently self-funded by its team of three founding partners. "It would have been great to have had access to a grant system for our first mold, given the environmental and social benefits related to making new products from recycled plastic," reflects Wernery.
But the co-founder is also quick to point out the perks of operating in the country. "A key benefit of setting base in the UAE has been the availability of our main raw material, which includes recycled and segregated plastic," he says. "Other GCC markets currently have very limited availability of recycled plastic feedstock. Since we aim to have a low carbon footprint in the production of our products, importing this raw material from other markets, such as Europe, would not have been feasible."
Source: Trident Trackway
As the Trident Trackway team now looks to scale its operations, Wernery explains how being a part of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund (MBRIF) accelerator program has given her and her team the confidence to develop the startup's structure and business planning, and move to the next phase in their growth plan. "We felt we needed some external input to help us to refine our direction and strategy, and the MBRIF team has given us valuable input on key aspects, such as branding, pricing structures, presentation skills and intellectual property protection," adds Wernery. "Gaining access to debt via the MBRIF Guarantee Scheme also means we can take a huge step forward in the process of purchasing machinery to further develop our recycling processes."
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