WITH its eyes firmly set on boosting output and sales and gaining new customers while maintaining the loyalty of existing ones, Canam Asia is highly optimistic about prospects for the coming year.

“The prospects for Canam Asia are high, and the construction markets in the oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia are very promising, with an increasing number of clients realising the benefits of using our flooring and roofing of open-web joists and decking in their projects,” says Dr Wafik Ajam, technical and marketing manager for the Dammam-based specialist in roofing and flooring systems.
Canam Asia claims to be the only company in the region that custom designs, fabricates and supplies open-web steel joists as well as composite floor decks and roof decks. These open-web joists, said to be ideal for floors and roofs in all types of buildings whether steel or concrete, offer substantial savings in weight and cost due to their high load-bearing-capacity-to-weight ratio.

“When utilising Canam open web joists, large column-free areas can be provided allowing increased flexibility for laying out floor plans. In addition, the mechanical and electrical systems can be routed through the open web steel joists, thereby eliminating the need for extra height inside the buildings and reducing the overall cost,” says Dr Wafik Ajam, Canam Asia’s technical and marketing manager.
 “We are proud to be the only company in the region having a UL (Underwriters Laboratory) certification for our steel decks,” he adds.
Canam Asia offers a full range of composite steel decks and non-composite roof decks. The company has made steady progress since it started operations in 2002, says Dr Ajam. However last year, due to the global economical crisis, it managed to maintain the same results as those of 2008.

Commenting on the construction scene in the region, he says: “Overall business in the Gulf region was good, with the only affected area having been Dubai. However the measures adopted by our staff at all times focused on having good quality products, on-time delivery and customer satisfaction, produce results under all situations.”
“Saudi Arabia has remained almost unaffected by the economical crisis and construction activity here is in constant growth and the demand for the construction of high-rise towers, schools and universities has increased.”
Due to the superior quality of its products, Canam Asia has been involved in many interesting projects such as aircraft hangars, malls, universities and towers. Some of these include Thuraya School, Jeddah; the Sumitomo project in Rabigh; Dareen Mall, Dammam; aircraft hangars in Riyadh and Jeddah; and several other projects in Riyadh including Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud University, Princess Nora University, CITC Tower, ITCC Tower and National Guard projects.

In addition to the local Saudi market, the company also has to its credit numerous projects around the GCC, including the Dubai International Airport; Abu Dhabi Financial Centre; Logistic Stores, Sharjah; New Doha International Airport; Royal Opera House, Muscat; and US Navy Milcon, Bahrain. It has also completed several other projects in the UAE, Bangladesh, Romania, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain. It plans to open new sales offices in the GCC to enhance its reach and service to customers.
Canam Asia is a joint venture between Zamil Industrial of Saudi Arabia and Steel Plus, an affiliate of the Canadian Canam Group. It has factories in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and Ras Al Khaimah (RAK), UAE, which started production in November 2002 and January 2007 respectively.
The RAK factory has provision to increase production as needed at short notice. The total area of both factories is around 17,000 sq m, with a combined annual capacity of 14,000 tonnes of joists, and 10,000 tonnes of metal deck panels per shift of operation and an approximate turnover of $20 million.
Canam Asia products are manufactured over a total area of 6,350 sq m in three independent areas – joist and girder (3,400 sq m), Hambro (1,200 sq m) and decking (1,750 sq m).
The joist and girder area comprises two lines, one for short and long span and one for girders. The average capacity for each line is 15 tonnes and 20 tonnes respectively per shift per working day (s/wd), with a dip tank for red oxide paint measuring 35 m in length, 0.75 m in width and a depth of 2 m, plus a sandblast area and special paint zone.
The Hambro line has a capacity of around 600 sq m, equivalent to 9 tonnes per s/wd. The decking line’s capacity is 70 tonnes per s/wd and it is equipped with two overhead cranes of 30 and 5 tonnes capacities, respectively.
The company also has six sales offices in Dammam, Riyadh, Jeddah, Qatar, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and intends to open additional offices. It employs more than 150 people.
“Canam Asia products meet the steel building needs and are manufactured in our plants to ensure consistently high quality standards at a competitive price,” concludes Dr Ajam.