Mabani Steel is to proceed with construction of a new factory in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, despite the present business slowdown in the GCC.
Based in the UAE, Mabani Steel is premier designer, manufacturer and erector of pre-engineered buildings (PEBs) and hot rolled structural steel (HRSS).
The new factory will double Mabani Steel’s capacity, raising total monthly production capacity to 12,000 tonnes of PEBs and 4,000 tonnes of HRSS.
The company has already purchased most of the primary equipment and machinery, fabricated the factory buildings, graded and compacted the 70,000 sq m Yanbu site, and awarded the turnkey construction contract.
Says president Muayyad Khudairi: “The completion of our Saudi factory will raise our total PEB and HRSS capacity in the GCC to the same level as our largest competitor. Though we expect the market for PEBs in the GCC to be soft in the next three years, we plan to use 50 per cent of our Saudi factory production for exports outside the GCC. We are confident that during the next three years our business model will lead to the doubling of our market share in the GCC.”
Mabani Steel has 12 sales offices of which only two are located outside the GCC. The company plans to open six new sales offices during 2009, all of which will be located outside the GCC. It also plans to appoint authorised builders in the GCC and in countries where it does not have sales offices.
Elaborating on the strict standards employed while appointing authorised dealers, Khudairi says: “Authorised builders are independent general contractors who will undertake the supply and erection or the turnkey construction of Mabani Steel PEB and HRSS. They are selected on the basis of skills and ethics. Their status is evaluated annually and their buildership agreements are renewed only if they meet sales targets and demonstrate ethical conduct and competence in dealing with their customers who are, indirectly, Mabani Steel’s customers.”
Mabani Steel is now seeking contractors who would qualify as authorised builders throughout Africa, Khudairi adds.
