Gulf Construction Online - Alrajhi keen to meet uPVC pipe demand

Pipes

uPVC pipes account for 45 per cent of Alrajhi’s sales.

Alrajhi keen to meet uPVC pipe demand

01 August 2011

ALRAJHI Foam and Plastic Factories Company, part of the Alrajhi Industrial Group, is planning to expand its production capacity of unplasticised polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) pipe to meet the growing regional demand for the product.

The company will begin work by the end of this year or early 2012 on a new uPVC line at its Riyadh plant to raise its output capability of the pipes by 10 to 15 per cent from the current level of 15,000 to 20,000 tonnes annually.

“uPVC pipes account for 45 per cent of the company’s sales,” says Amer A Alardhi, its sales and marketing manager.
In addition to uPVC, the company makes electric hoses, polyethylene pipes, greenhouse film, crates, stretch film, shrink film and bags, among other products.

Although the total capacity of Alrajhi Foam and Plastic Factories Company is 24,000 tonnes, the actual production in 2010 was 19,000 tonnes against 17,000 tonnes in the previous year. “The company expects to produce more than 22,000 tonnes this year,” says Alardhi.

While Alrajhi Foam and Plastic Factories is preparing for a surge in demand in the Gulf states, it is currently busy meeting requirements from a very substantial increase in Saudi projects.

The recent global economic recession had thankfully a low impact on the Gulf states, particularly Saudi Arabia, because of government support and government projects, says Alardhi.

As much as 75 per cent of Alrajhi Foam and Plastic Factories’ business is linked to contracting and infrastructure, he says.

The company follows high standards in production and quality control in line with the requirements of ISO 9001, he adds.

Alardhi says the company’s growth strategy is to invest from time to time to cover requirements in current markets and penetrate new ones. The company’s current overseas markets are Qatar, Iraq and Yemen. Additional capacity planned for the near future will see more volumes of uPVC pipes going outside Saudi Arabia.

Alrajhi Foam and Plastic Factories sources its raw materials from large firms within the Gulf including Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic), Qatar Petrochemical Company (Qapco), Borouge, Harco and Petro Rabigh.

The company reports a steady growth in sales. In 2010, it registered total sales of SR98 million ($26.1 million) against SR85 million in the previous year. Exports have moved up from SR20 million ($5.3 million) in 2009 to SR35 million ($9.3 million) last year.

The company continued to register growth in the first quarter of this year, reporting more than SR30 million ($8 million) in total sales and exports of over SR8 million ($2.13 million).

Alrajhi Foam and Plastic Factories has been producing PVC pipes, tubes and trunking since 1995.

These products which are manufactured using the latest technology, have found wide application in the kingdom’s infrastructure projects such as water and sewage networks, irrigation, electric and telephone installation. It produces PVC pipes according to German standard DIN 8002 and Saudi standards 14-15-1396 H SAS. The company has five key divisions: agricultural products, pipes, films, injection and PVC compounds.

The shareholders of Alrajhi Foam and Plastic Factories are Sheikh Abdullah Abdulaziz Alrajhi and his sons.