Gulf Construction Online - Boosting presence

Manufacturers & Procurement

One of Pi Machinery’s facilities.

Boosting presence

01 May 2014

PI MACHINERY of Turkey is looking to reinforce its presence in the Saudi market, where it has had a presence for about two decades.

The company is well known for its concrete batching plants, crushing and screening equipment, concrete pumps and tower cranes manufactured in accordance with international standards using welding robot technology, oven-drying enamel paints, CNC (computerised numerical control) machines, plasma cutting apparatus and sandblasting facilities in private workshops. It has a factory covering 250,000 sq m of land area which employs a workforce of 850 employees.

“Pi Machinery considers Saudi Arabia one of the biggest markets in the Middle East,” says a spokesman for the company.

The Turkish company has provided concrete batching plants and concrete pumps for some of the biggest names in the concrete and contracting sectors of the region, especially in the early 2000s when there were no other domestic suppliers in the market. These include ETE Readymix Concrete Division, Eastern Trading and Contracting, Mohammed Hamed Al Manei Establishment for Trading, Saudi Services for Electro Mechanic Works (SSEM), the spokesman points out.

“The company has established plants for contracting companies including Chaddad Group, Al Nuaimi Group, Al Shebib Company in different cities of Saudi Arabia such as Riyadh, Jeddah and Makkah. These plants and pumps have been used in the construction of universities, stadiums, mass housing and tower projects,” says the spokesman.

The company’s presence in the Middle East dates back to about 40 years ago and currently Iraq is among its largest markets in the region, where it supplies an average of 10 concrete batching plant per year.

The spokesman says the main reason why Pi Machinery is seen as a respected brand in the Middle East is because of the reputation and loyalty it enjoys among its customers for the quality of its products.

“There is increasing demand for our products because of the use of first-class materials in our concrete batching plants and concrete pumps, selection of international components, long product life and high performance,” he says.

“Today, the fact that we as a Turkish company are a preferred supplier of plant and machinery raises the image of the company immensely,” he adds.

Pi Machinery continues to innovate and keep abreast of the latest technology. The spokesman points out that the company can quickly respond to all demands and expectations of the Middle East market with top quality products and the services of 44 research and development (R&D) and production development (P&D) engineers.

It also believes in working closely with its local customers and providing service in the market by establishing its maintenance and spare parts facilities, which are available in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam for both the Gulf region and Saudi Arabia through a partnership agreement with Kuwait-headquartered Gulf Group.

“This important measure has strengthened Pi Machinery’s status in the Gulf region and has helped promote brand awareness,” he says.

In addition, the company has exerted efforts to create brand awareness by participating in events such as The Big 5 in Dubai, UAE, as well as other exhibitions held in Jeddah and Riyadh. At these events, its mobile concrete batching plants and mobile concrete pumps have drawn special interest, according to the spokesman.

Its compact concrete batching plant with a capacity of 100 to 120 cu m per hour have become popular, thanks to the ease of assembling and disassembling them, and easy and cheap transportation, he adds.

Commenting on Pi Machinery’s plans for the region, the spokesman says: “The company will continue its efforts to raise its profile in the area. Today, its crushing and screening plant continue to operate especially in Oman. The company also aims to serve customers in Qatar through a dealership agreement to be signed in the near future.”

The company has also supplied to other markets in the region including Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, where it established four concrete batching plants last year.