History 2005: Universal Disc one and only Writable CD/DVD Manufacturer in Africa

There are writable CD or DVD plants in all the biggest continents of the world, although none that we could find in Oceania and only one in Africa, Universal Disc, North Africa, to be more specific, in the industrial region of Oued Smar outside Alger, in Algeria.

Founded in November 2003 with an investment of roughly €30 million, the company began producing CD-Rs on 3 production lines, now expanded to 8. And it is now readying the debut of 4 more for the manufacture of DVD+R, production of which should begin initially at a rhythm of 80,000 to 100,000 units per day, with a forecasted 30 million for 2005, 80% of which are destined for export through a Swiss sales office.

The company also has manufacturing processes for pressed CDs and DVDs, with jackets and plastic jewel cases.

Universal Disc estimates that its market share in Algeria grew from 5-10% in 2003 to 60-70% in 2004.

“We have successfully handled the costs and prices, and now we have a marketing strategy that aims to eliminate all imports,” explains sales director Brahim Yazid to Olivia Marsaud, a journalist with Jeune Afrique L’intelligent.com, an online periodical whose title is French for Young Africa the Intelligent.com. “What we produce locally doesn’t as a rule inspire much confidence on the part of consumers, who generally prefer to buy from abroad. We want to show that they’re wrong.”

The company also expects to conquer the rest of the Maghreb market (Tunisia, where it has a branch, as well as Morocco and Libya), estimated at 100 million pieces, compared to 50 to 80 million for Algeria alone.

“There’s enormous consumption of burned CDs, accounting for 80% of CD sales in Algeria,” Yazid explains, “Since the market is not regulated, and the CD-R is mainly used for piracy, given that there’s no culture of pressed CDs, as in Europe.“

Another factor in favor of the CD in the future: audio and VHS cassettes are still very much in use, in countries where DVD drives are still considered too expensive.

One of the founders of the company, incidentally, Khaled Rouabah, formerly in charge of sales and marketing, died in October 2003. 

This article is an abstract of news published on issue 208 on May 2005 from the former paper version of Computer Data  Storage Newsletter.