ALTAISEER Aluminium Company, a leading manufacturer of aluminium extrusions in the Gulf, is planning an extensive expansion which is designed to position it as the second largest aluminium extrusion producer in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.

Altaiseer currently has four extrusion lines and four verticl and two horizontal powder coating lines.

Altaiseer is currently working with four aluminium extrusion lines that have a capacity to produce more than 40,000 tonnes annually in facilities spread over 65,000 sq m in the Second Industrial Area of Riyadh. The presses are equipped with state-of-the-art technology from Europe.

The company is now planning to expand its production facilities by adding two more extrusion presses. The new units will be operational in the first quarter of 2014.

“Altaiseer is now looking forward to adding new extrusion facilities as demand for its products has increased in the market,” says a spokesman for the company.

The firm can provide aluminium extruded profiles in different shapes and sizes to meet market demands and in compliance with international standards and specifications such as EN755 and EN12020. It serves major aluminium system manufacturers in the region such as Reynaers Middle East, Euro Facade, Schuco, Profil and Sapa in addition to a number of other international profile systems providers.

The Saudi extrusion pioneer offers a range of value-added services to support its products. It provides a choice of surface decorative finishes for aluminium architectural works like powder coating, anodising, wood finishes and others. Altaiseer currently has four vertical powder coating lines and two horizontal ones capable of applying polyester powder, super durable polyester powder, and metallic-finish polyester powder coatings in different finishes.

“To facilitate customers in the region, we have established a powder coating plant in Jeddah’s Second Industrial Area. This plant is equipped with all the facilities required to coat polyester powder and for wood finishing,” says the spokesman.

To complete the range of decorative surface finishes it offers, the company has decided to add a new horizontal powder coating line with a capacity to process up to 9.7-m-long profiles in polyester powder coating, super durable powder coating and PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) Kynar coating.

Furthermore, the spokesman says: “Altaiseer is committed to providing latest technologies and all the services under a single roof. In this connection, the company has introduced the first coating plant that has facilities for flush anodised powder coating. This is a unique operation to protect surfaces from humidity and saline conditions. Globally, this is the third plant of its kind. The production process conforms to Qualicoat’s standard for coastal areas.”

Altaiseer has added an anodising line to complete the range of surface protection finishes. These finishes are manufactured under the Alco brand name.

“The equipment for this anodising line has been obtained from the best manufacturers in Europe to guarantee quality and consistency,” says the spokesman, adding that Altaiseer’s main concern is to ensure product quality and reliability for its customers.

“We have the latest technology in surface finishes. The line is fully computerised to guarantee consistency in coating thickness and electro colouring within +/- delta E, and is capable of anodising aluminium profiles or sheets up to 7.5 m long and 1.5 mm wide,” he adds.

Meanwhile, the company’s wood finishing range comprises three products:

• Aludecor, produced using the sublimation process or film transfer, which is suitable for interior decoration and kitchen cabinets. The system provides a very smooth and elegant surface of a high quality, uniformly transferring the design from film onto the powder-coated substrate;

• Effecta, a vertical wood finish for aluminium systems involving powder-on-powder technology using equipment from Trevisan of Italy; and

• Real Wood, a powder-over-powder wood finish, where the aluminium extrusion is initially powder coated and transferred to another equipment to provide wood grains using a special process design.

Altaiseer also provides profiles with thermal break technology, where the aluminium extruded profiles are joined by polyamide strips to prevent the transmission of heat and cold into the building, thus saving energy. “The polyamide strip joins two aluminium extrusions to form a single profile, crimped by a special rolling machine to give it strength and stability,” the spokesman explains. “The maximum width of polyamide strip used is 30 mm to meet the architect’s design and construction requirements. The thermal break profiles can be provided for doors and windows in two different finishes to match the interior and exterior finish.”

The spokesman points out that it is essential in the GCC to use thermal break extrusions for architectural needs and glazing on the buildings to save energy and cut down on air-conditioning cost. The UAE and Bahrain have already made the use of thermal breaks mandatory for new building construction.

Altaiseer Aluminium Company is the largest aluminium extrusion plant in Riyadh and the second plant in Saudi Arabia. It was initially established in 1972, and launched production of its extrusions in June 1994. Today, it is considered to be the leading and one of the best equipped extruders in the region.

The company has gained a reputation for maintaining the quality of its products. It conforms to international standards and European norms such as the ISO 9001-2008 quality management system from BSI; and has been certified by Qualicoat for maintaining international standards in powder coating, Qualanod for anodising quality, and Saso (Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization) for extrusion quality. Additional quality recognitions have come from Jotun, Akzo Nobel, and Sapa.

In addition, its process and quality management system design adheres strictly to TQM (total quality management) principles. “All our products are well accepted by consumers in different industries locally and internationally,” says the spokesman.

Altaiseer has a customer base in Saudi Arabia, other GCC markets and the wider Middle East region, Africa, Asia Europe, Australia and other parts of the globe. It employs about 600 skilled personnel.