Sultan bin Hamad al Amri was destined to do big things from childhood. He proved his prodigy by making a car at the age of 16.
Interestingly, the CEO of Nur Majan achieved this fete though he had no formal training in the science. Sultan, who claims to be the first watch manufacturer in the Gulf region, showed a newspaper clipping of an Arabic daily, featuring his rare achievement in his teens.
“I always wanted to set up a company which would work on new designs just like the Japanese and European companies do.”
This passion to come out with some thing new has taken Sultan to tread on a path, which is less travelled by others. If all goes well, the 41 year old watch maker will hit the stands with his new electric car by 2014.
“In 2008, I saw the Indian electric car Reva. I was not impressed with its design and the performance. At that point, I seriously thought of making a car and sought the help of a Jordanian engineer and visited car plants in Japan and the US.”
Since then there was no looking back for Sultan. He has already got the preliminary approvals for manufacturing the car from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs in Oman. He is now waiting for the green signal from the ROP, who will test-drive the car.
On his part, Sultan is progressing well with his dream car. “Most of the work for the car’s body and the engine is done. We will start the exterior design soon. The car will be ready for testing next year,” said Sultan. Nur Majan – the proposed name of the car and name of the company – will build ten cars initially.
Of which, three will be sent to Florida in the US for accident testing and three will be given to various ministries in Oman for testing. Once he secures the nod from concerned authorities, Sultan plans to gift a car to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Nur Majan plans to make 120 cars per year, costing RO30,000 to RO35,000.
In 1999, he started making watches under the company name Bar Majan. However, he rechristened it as Nur Majan in 2001 – the name of his youngest daughter. The first watch manufacturing company of the Gulf had the sultanate’s map as its design.
Currently, the company has copyrights for 157 watch designs. The price ranges from RO70 to RO3,000. Nur Majan has presence in the entire Gulf region and the company is currently making special watches catering to Kuwaiti customers with that country’s national landmarks in design.
When Sultan tried his hands in watch-making, there were many puritans who said that people will not accept a watch which bears a Gulf-origin tag. However, he proved them wrong by making Nur Majan a household name in the entire Middle East within 11 years. “I always wanted to come up with something new.” For the record, Sultan has come out with a solar-powered cell phone, but had to stop its production due to high cost of molding.
But Sultan is not one who gives up easily. He plans to take up the project again, when things turn to his advantage. Another first for Sultan is the production of land lines phone which resembles Oman’s geographical shape.
Sultan, who was born in Barka, went to India to study English language in 1981 and completed his secondary education from the well-known Kodaikanal International School. Sultan started his own business in Oman in 1999.
Sultan, who has two daughters and a son, keeps himself busy with his magnum opus and values time very much. “One should learn something every hour.” Sultan’s personal collection of cars includes a Ferrari, a Land Rover Sports and a Lamborghini Gerardo, which is his favourite.
Interestingly, he himself is designing his luxurious four-story house.
Sultan’s dream does not end with the electric car. He has already done the spadework to come out with a car which can fly. “I don’t know if you will believe it or not but I would like to make something which is not an aircraft but it would be something like a car which could fly.”
