AL KIFAH Building Materials Company (AKBMC) has witnessed tremendous growth and expansion in the past five years, making it one of the GCC’s top companies in the concrete sector.

The Saudi-based company has now set its sights on becoming the Number One concrete company in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Arab world over the next decade.

Within a span of five years, the company has seen a threefold increase in the number of its factories – from eight in 2006 located in Al Ahsa (Hofuf, Salwa, Batha and Altaraf), Dammam, Jubail Industrial District, Al Kharasaniya and Hail to the current 27 concrete plants across the kingdom.

“The company has made development and expansion its top priority in order to maintain its leadership status and help further the development of Saudi Arabia. In line with this strategy, AKBMC has seen major changes over the past five years,” says Rami Adra, marketing manager at AKBMC.

To realise AKBMC’s vision of spreading its network of factories throughout the country, the company’s board drew up a five-year plan for expansion, based on a careful study of the Saudi market in order to keep pace with the country’s rapid expansion and demand for concrete. This plan is being closely followed up by AKBMC chairman Sulaiman bin Hassan Afaleq, who has identified a long-term strategy focused on growth.

One of the first challenges faced by AKBMC in 2006, recalls Adra, was in establishing a concrete factory at Shaybah field in Rub’ Al Khali, a Saudi Aramco project. Through this project, the company was successful in gaining the confidence of all contractors and officials of Aramco, despite the difficulties and problems of the remote location.

AKBMC has supplied readymix concrete to various projects.

Another challenging project was a concrete factory in Ras Laffan, Qatar, carried out in the same year in cooperation with Saudi company Al Hajri.

Today, the company has concrete plants located in the various regions and governorates of the kingdom, which speaks volumes of AKBMC’s success in achieving its targets.

The firm has to date executed expansive projects, such as universities, residential compounds and industrial facilities, in Saudi Arabia.

Over the past year, AKBMC’s readymix and block factories have carried out a number of major projects in the Eastern Province, particularly in Al Ahsa, which has witnessed significant urban development in the past few years.
“A number of large government agencies in the region have chosen AKBMC to be the supplier for their projects,” says Adra.

Among the latest of such projects is a staff accommodation complex for the faculty at the King Faisal University. This project, being implemented by Al Fozan Contracting, requires more than 130,000 cu m of concrete for the construction of 500 villas.

In Dammam too, AKBMC has executed many major projects including a 100-villa residential complex being built by Kabbani Construction Company. More than 40,000 cu m of concrete was supplied for this project by the company.

Other major projects include an airbase in Dammam, being built in cooperation with Alsagheer Contracting Company and two tunnels, with Derbas Company.

In Jubail Industrial City, AKBMC is involved in the Jubail Export Refinery project, being set up by Saudi Aramco and Total for Refining and Petrochemicals. The contractors on the project include Kenana Contracting Company, Al Nassar Company and others. Another important development is the Manifa gas facilities project located in Khursaniyah – about 50 km northwest of Jubail – which requires 180,000 cu m of readymix concrete.

AKBMC has also proven its credibility and reputation for on-time delivery in the capital Riyadh, which is developing a host of mega projects. Here, the company is currently working on the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Centre (Kapsarc) by Saudi Aramco. This project, which is being implemented by Mohammad Al Mojil Group (MMG), Khathlan Company and others, requires almost 200,000 cu m of concrete.

The firm has also supplied more than 54,000 cu m of readymix concrete for the Financial Gate Mall project, which is being constructed by Bader bin Saeed Construction Company.

Another major development in Riyadh is the headquarters of the Institute of Public Administration – being built by Hadim Company – which requires more than 100,000 cu m of concrete. The project also included a housing complex, which was undertaken by Argan Housing Contracting Company, where AKBMC has supplied more than 13,000 cu m
of concrete.

Amongst the projects completed by AKBMC last year was a computer college in Al Mazroiyya, Riyadh, where the firm supplied more than 20,000 cu m of concrete.

“These large projects in almost all important regions of Saudi Arabia have reinforced AKBMC’s reputation as an important partner in urban development, which is under way in the country,” Adra says.

He attributes AKBMC’s success to the fact that it has gained the confidence of its clients over more than 32 years in the business, and also because of its credibility in dealings, the company’s eagerness to attract top talent in its field of work, as well as its application of high quality standards.

Manifa development ... a key project supplied by Al Kifah.

“The significant growth achieved by AKBMC in terms of output levels, the number of clients and its reputation in the market has placed greater responsibility on the company and its new plans are aimed at maintaining these levels,”
Adra says.

“Towards this end, AKBMC is trying to get closer to its clients, by putting mechanisms in place to ensure their satisfaction, increasing awareness about the company and its standards. In addition to the efforts being made to grow the company, emphasis is also being placed on training and development of staff and updating them on new technologies. For this purpose, a training centre has been established at its headquarters in Al Ahsa.”

This apart, the company is focusing on refurbishing fixed and mobile equipment, integrating technology in its production lines and controlling its product quality and boosting the speed of service delivery to the customer.

At the administrative level, the company is working on plans to improve the performance of its factories and reorganisation of the organisational structure in order to assimilate its new strategies and ensure that its goals are met.

With its domestic market – where demand continues to remain high – being large enough to offer ample opportunities for growth, the company is currently not looking at expanding beyond the Saudi horizons.

“The future is bright and promising in the kingdom, especially with the government’s development plans which are ably supported by those of local investors and businessmen,” Adra concludes.