Gulf Construction Online - Tapping market potential

The Big 5 - Saudi Arabia

Wickham’s stall at last year’s The Big 5 in Dubai.

Tapping market potential

01 February 2012

THERE is a lack of quality hardwood flooring available in the regional markets, says Wickham Hardwood Flooring of Canada, which is looking at exploring the huge potential offered by these markets from the floor of The Big 5 Saudi next month.

The leading Canadian manufacturer makes quality hardwood flooring using only the best local hardwoods such as Red Oak, Maple, Ash, Cherry and Walnut. At the Jeddah show, the company plans to exhibit its flooring collections, which include solid, engineered and hand scrapped hardwood flooring.

Wickham has always placed a strong emphasis on developing its export markets throughout the world and has made remarkable inroads, especially in Europe, the US, Mexico and parts of Asia. The company has recently being focusing on the Middle East and over the past few years, has started to conduct several market studies in the region.

“We all know the tremendous growth the region has witnessed, which is expected to continue with several large-scale projects,” says Ibrahim Chaaban, vice-president sales Middle East.

There is a gap in the market for quality hardwood flooring, which the company is looking at addressing, hence its decision to exhibit in Saudi Arabia. “Wickham Hardwood Flooring would like to contribute to Saudi Arabia’s growth and we believe The Big 5 Saudi is a great vehicle to meet several potential partners in the kingdom,” he states.

Chaaban says that although hardwood flooring has been available in the region for quite some time, the trend is growing. “We’ve been shipping to the area for some time now. We hope to meet potential distributors for our flooring in Saudi Arabia,” he says.

The company is currently in negotiations to supply flooring to several large and iconic projects in the region.

Giving his views on the GCC’s construction industry, Chaaban says as a whole the region looks extremely promising over the coming years. “We regularly hear about large investments both by the private sector as well as the public sector. We believe that Saudi Arabia is the largest market in the GCC and that other markets such as the UAE and Qatar, continue to show significant growth.”

While Canada remains Wickham’s largest market where it is working with some of the most reputable distributors across the country, the company is actively scouting for business opportunities across the globe. This strategy has ensured its regular growth year on year, especially since 2009. Wickham is currently upgrading its production line with new and advanced technologies, such as moulders, and optimisers, in order to increase production and quality. The investments this year alone will be over $4 million, says Chaaban.

“With these investments, we hope to increase our capacity by about 25 per cent and ensure our competitive edge in the market. We have also started to appoint approved distributors in the region who will stock and install our products for both commercial and residential projects. Finally, to ensure full support to our customers, we are also planning to open a regional office and showroom in the area before the end of this year,” he elaborates.

In addition, Chaaban says that the company is committed to:

• Ensuring the uniform quality of its products and wood grading practices;

• Purchasing wood from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified suppliers;

• Offering competitive prices;

• Maintaining defined time frames for product delivery;

• Hiring and training qualified, skilled human resources who take pride in their work; and

• Supporting the purchase of leading-edge technology for its equipment.

Wickham was founded in 1989 in Wickham (Quebec) Canada. It employs 125 people with an annual turnover of about $25 million. Wickham can be visited at the Canada Stand, Hall One, 1A31-37, at The Big 5 Saudi.