A SAUDI Build regular for the past three years, Corpotrade Saudi Arabia says it always draws a positive response from the trade at its busy stand, while making many new contacts at the exhibition.

This year, it returns in a bid to further its ambition of expanding its market reach and also to launch a new polyvinyl butyral (PVB) interlayer, besides displaying glass samples, machines, tools and accessories.

Elaborating on the use of the PVB interlayer, the company’s senior commercial officer Rita Jreijiry says: “Laminated glass, commonly used in the automotive and architectural fields, comprises a protective interlayer, usually polyvinyl butyral (PVB), bonded between two panels of glass.

“The bonding process takes place under heat and pressure. When laminated under these conditions, the PVB interlayer becomes optically clear and binds the two panes of glass together. Once sealed together, the glass sandwich (that is, laminate) behaves as a single unit and looks like normal glass. The polymer interlayer of PVB is tough and ductile, so brittle cracks will not pass from one side of the laminate to the other.

“The PVB interlayer can be purchased in coloured sheets, such as for the blue or green ‘shade band’ at the top edge of many automobile windshields. PVB interlayers can also be purchased in different colours for architectural laminated glass manufacture.”

The Lebanon-headquartered Corpotrade provides superior consulting services for managing and implementing plants related to the glass and aluminium industries. Its main activities cover turnkey glass processing plants; provision of complete solutions for the architecture, automotive, coating, solar and decorative sectors; glass production plants; software management; glass sheet services; utility provision; engineering studies; and tools and accessories supply.
Early this year, Corpotrade launched what it describes as two of the largest projects of their kind in the region. These include the Azin Solar project in Saudi Arabia, which is expected to be operational in 2012 and Smart Glass Company in Egypt.

Located in the Jubail’s second industrial area, Azin covers around 400,000 sq m and will house four major subdivisions, namely Azin Glass, a fully-automatic and robotic glass processing and coating facility; Azin Float, which incorporates the latest technology in solar float glass production; Azin Solar, which is dedicated to manufacturing thin-film modules for the BIPV (building integrated photovoltaics) and green building sector; and Azin Energy, a specialised module-mounting division focusing on providing the most appropriate clean energy integration.

Smart Glass Company will be one of the biggest glass processing factories in the region. This facility, which is totally designed and equipped by Corpotrade (Cyprus), is being built over an area of 40,000 sq m in the Al Fayoum province in Egypt. It features the latest technology in architectural flat glass processing for jumbo sheets. Currently managed by IGM Consulting, the project will be fully operational during the fourth quarter of this year.

“Smart Glass Company is a concept that takes into consideration the future and market development. All future upgrades were planned from day one in order to fully increase the productivity and service level without affecting the current factory capability and services,” says Jreijiry.

Corpotrade covers the Saudi market through its branch office in Riyadh. In addition, Corpotrade has a number of other branches located in Syria, the UAE, Algeria, Egypt, and Cyprus. “Corpotrade’s premium services have a great reach, extending to cover a significant portion of the world market including the Near East (Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan), the Gulf (the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Yemen) and North Africa (Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Sudan and Tunisia),” says Jreijiry.

Corpotrade has been particularly happy with Saudi Build, chiefly because the event is well organised, enjoys good publicity, receives a high volume of quality exhibitors and visitors, and provides many opportunities.

“Over the past three years, we have had many visitors and new contacts,” says Jreijiry.

Corpotrade is witnessing continuous growth in some markets while it is stable in others.

“We are planning to conquer more markets and benefit from the new opportunities. We also intend to open new representative offices to expand our work arena,” she says.

It recently opened a new representative office in Algeria besides increasing the number of employees.

Corpotrade, which was established in 1973, has 52 employees and generates an annual turnover of about €8 million ($10.37 million).

Corpotrade Saudi Arabia is exhibiting at Stand 435-1 at Saudi Build.