RAKEZ activity register
Industrial licence activities in RAKEZ
The short answer
RAKEZ issues the Industrial licence for manufacturing, processing, assembly and packaging, against a register of more than 1,200 named activities. RAKEZ pairs the licence with a facility in one of its three industrial zones — Al Hamra, Al Ghail or Al Hulaila — and will not approve it without premises matched to the process, the fact that most often decides whether this family fits. Selling directly into the UAE mainland needs a separate structure rather than the standard free-zone company.
Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone ([RAKEZ](https://rakez.com/)) runs its Industrial licence as its own family: a register of more than 1,200 named activities covering manufacturing, processing, assembly and packaging, from light work such as Adhesives Manufacturing and Aluminium Foils Manufacturing through to heavy production such as Aluminium Smelter and Agricultural Tractors Manufacturing.
An Industrial licence is tied to a facility RAKEZ approves for the specific process, not an office. RAKEZ pairs it with space in one of three zones — [Al Hamra](https://rakez.com/en/blog/details/article/213/industrial-licences-in-uae-requirements-for-manufacturing), for light-to-heavy production with warehouses it describes as 150 to 10,000 square metres; Al Ghail, the largest, for heavy manufacturing with a direct Etihad Rail link; and Al Hulaila, for heavy manufacturing near Saqr Port. RAKEZ's own guidance then lists further sign-off from the Ras Al Khaimah Environment Protection and Development Authority (EPDA), RAK Municipality and the Department of Civil Defence, plus RAKEZ's Health, Safety and Environment and Technical Support Service checks before production starts; RAKEZ and EPDA have [signed an agreement](https://rakez.com/en/media-centre/news-detail/articleid/1676/rakez-and-epda-partner-to-streamline-environmental-approvals-for-key-industrial-sectors) streamlining this for cement, chemical and general-industrial sectors.
A standard RAKEZ free-zone company built on this licence operates inside the zone or exports; selling into the UAE mainland instead needs RAKEZ's non-free-zone structure or a dual licence with the RAK Department of Economic Development — see RAKEZ's own note on [which free zone licence is the right one](https://rakez.com/en/blog/details/article/183/which-free-zone-licence-is-the-right-one). Velarozone sequences the licence, the zone and facility choice, and the approvals that follow; RAKEZ remains the body that issues and approves each one — see [how Velarozone works](/why-velarozone).
What the Industrial classification covers
Activities in this family describe making things: manufacturing, processing, assembly, and packaging. Each register entry names what is produced — foodstuffs, metals, building products, equipment — and the licence attaches to that production activity.
Industrial activities are the most premises-dependent category on any register. What the authority requires by way of facilities, and which environmental or safety approvals apply, is decided by the authority against the specific activity, and it shapes the whole engagement.
What a industrial licence here is structured for
A licence built from this family suits an operation that will physically produce, process, or assemble in the zone, with the workspace to match.
The premises conversation comes before the licence conversation. An industrial activity chosen without a facilities plan is a licence that cannot be operated, so the two are assessed together from the start.
From the register
Activities in this family, by name
A sample of the 1283 activities RAKEZ files under Industrial, exactly as the register names them. Activity names are the authority's own wording and are shown in English in every language; register codes are not published.
- 3D Printing Manufacturing (Additive Manufacturing)
- Access Cradles Manufacturing
- Activated Carbon, Auxiliary Agents and Anti Corrosions Chemicals Manufacturing
- Adhesive & Paper Slitting
- Adhesives Manufacturing
- Agarwood & Incense Manufacturing
- Agarwood and Incense Manufacturing
- Agricultural and Forestry Tractors Manufacturing
- Agricultural Dryers Manufacturing
- Agricultural Spraying Machinery Manufacturing
- Agricultural Tractors Manufacturing
- Air Conditioners Requisites Manufacturing
- Air Filters Manufacturing
- Air-Conditioning Machines Manufacturing
- Air-Conditioning Units Assembling
- Aircraft Cabin Simulators Repair, Maintenance and Modification
- Aircraft Seats Manufacturing
- Aircrafts Manufacturing
- Airplanes Manufacturing
- Albums Manufacturing
- Alkalis, Lyes and Other Inorganic Bases Manufacturing
- alternative energy Equipment Installation and Maintenance
- Aluminium -Tin- Foil Laminates Manufacturing
- Aluminium Foils Manufacturing
- Aluminium Smelter
- Aluminium Wrapping Foil Production
- Aluminum Extrusion
- Aluminum powder Production
- Aluminum Rolling
What this page does not decide
Decision factors
What changes the answer
Two manufacturers can describe themselves the same way and still need a different zone, a different approval list and a different trading structure — the facts that move the answer for an Industrial licence at RAKEZ.
- Which industrial zone fits the process — Al Hamra for light-to-heavy production, Al Ghail for heavy or large-scale manufacturing with an Etihad Rail link, or Al Hulaila for heavy manufacturing near Saqr Port.
- Which approvals the process triggers beyond RAKEZ's own licence: RAKEZ's guidance names RAK EPDA, RAK Municipality and the Department of Civil Defence, plus RAKEZ's Health, Safety and Environment and Technical Support Service checks before production starts.
- Whether the activity sits in the cement, chemical or general-industry sectors that RAKEZ and EPDA now run through a dedicated, faster approval track under their own agreement.
- Whether the business needs to sell into the UAE mainland as well as export — a standard free-zone company does not carry that permission alone, so RAKEZ's non-free-zone structure or a RAK DED dual licence has to be added.
Where this family is a strong fit
- Light manufacturers and assemblers — furniture, metal fabrication, plastics, packaging — that need warehouse space rather than an office, sized to fit Al Hamra's smaller units.
- Heavy or large-scale processors, including cement, chemical and bulk-material production, prepared for RAKEZ's and EPDA's dedicated approval track and for Al Ghail's or Al Hulaila's larger plots.
- Manufacturers that export or move goods through Saqr Port, or that have already planned a non-free-zone or dual-licence structure for mainland sales.
Where it is the wrong family
- Businesses that buy finished goods and resell them without processing them — that is a Trading licence at RAKEZ, not an Industrial one.
- Anyone assuming an office or flexi-desk unit will serve as the production facility; RAKEZ licenses the activity against an approved warehouse or plot, not a desk.
- Manufacturers planning to sell mainly to UAE mainland customers who have not yet compared a standard free-zone entity against a non-free-zone structure or dual licence.
About this listing
Questions
Frequently asked
- Does Velarozone issue the Industrial licence?
- No. RAKEZ issues the licence and runs the approvals around it; Velarozone prepares and manages the application, and the facility and zone choice, on the client's behalf.
- Which RAKEZ industrial zone does a manufacturer use?
- RAKEZ pairs the licence with one of three zones: Al Hamra, for light-to-heavy production with warehouses it describes as 150 to 10,000 square metres; Al Ghail, the largest, for heavy manufacturing with an Etihad Rail link; and Al Hulaila, for heavy manufacturing near Saqr Port. Which one fits depends on the process.
- What approvals come after the licence is issued?
- RAKEZ's own guidance names RAK EPDA, RAK Municipality and the Department of Civil Defence, plus RAKEZ's Health, Safety and Environment and Technical Support Service checks before production starts. RAKEZ and EPDA now run cement, chemical and general-industry activities through a faster track under their own agreement.
- Can a company with this licence sell into the UAE mainland?
- Not automatically. A standard free-zone company is built for activity inside the zone and for export; reaching UAE mainland customers directly needs RAKEZ's non-free-zone structure or a dual licence with the RAK Department of Economic Development instead.
Check where this activity can be licensed
Velarozone works through which RAKEZ industrial zone, facility and approval list fit an actual manufacturing plan, and whether mainland sales need a non-free-zone or dual-licence structure.
This page is general information about UAE business setup, not legal, tax, immigration, or banking advice. Rules, fees, permitted activities, and bank policies can change. Final eligibility depends on your facts and the applicable rules at the time of application.