KTI Saudi Arabia, a manufacturer of turnkey solutions for special industrial refrigeration plants, expects a significant growth in sales of its concrete cooling systems given the boom in the construction industry in the kingdom.

Having witnessed a 20 per cent increase in business last year, the company anticipates even better results this year, according to Othman Al Hawas, general manager of KTI Saudi Arabia.

Some 30 of KTI’s ice factories and 40 water chillers were sold to the Saudi market in 2012 compared to 50 units in 2011, he says. “The year 2012 was very promising with a sudden surge in construction business following the award of new projects by the government. While the trend has continued during the first quarter of 2013, we expect that the momentum will increase,” Al Hawas says.

Established in 2005, KTI Saudi Arabia is a division of Hamad S Al Hawas and Partner Company and a strategic partner of parent company KTI-Plersch Kaeltetechnik of Germany, which has been operating for the past 25 years.  Over the past decades, KTI has pioneered concrete cooling technologies and developed new techniques to become the number one player in the concrete cooling sector worldwide. To maintain its market leadership, the firm continues to focus on innovations and new technological developments.

A total of 368 KTI’s cooling plants have been delivered to the kingdom.

The company offers a range of concrete cooling systems for the readymix industry and for mass concrete for hydro power dam projects. These comprise the following components: water chilling plant for the mixing water; cold water tanks with pumping stations; flake ice plant; and various systems for flake ice storage with fully automatic ice rake and discharge systems, flake ice delivery and weighing, aggregate cooling by water and by air, sand cooling and post-cooling of the concrete after pouring.

Its most popular cooling systems in the Saudi market include prefabricated containerised and mobile plants for cold water and flake ice productions.

“Our latest containerised chillers are specially designed for cooling the mixing water for batching plant from 45 deg C down to less than 1 deg C.  These new containerised chillers, which use four-stage cooling system, are superior to common water chillers available in the world,” says Peter Kulczycki, export manager of KTI-Plersch Kaltetechnik.

Containerised ice water plants are equipped with special ice bank systems to produce a cold water temperature of less than 1 deg C. The company offers 20-ft container-chillers for a daily concrete production of between 200 and 1,400 cu m; and 40-ft container-chillers for cooling 1,400 to 2,800 cu m concrete per day, depending on the requirement of water.

Meanwhile, the most important application of KTI flake ice plants is in the concrete industry, where flake ice is used to control the concrete temperature, particularly in hot climates.

Citing some of the advantages of using flake ice in concrete production, KTI Saudi’s marketing and operations manager Gilbert R says: “Flake ice has the highest surface area per tonne of ice, providing a greater cooling efficiency than any other ice.  It has a short melting time and also shortest mixing times of the batching plant compared to any other ice. This extends the lifespan of the batching plant equipment and offers cost savings.  The latent heat, the principal source of the cooling energy, is 100 per cent or even higher as the flake ice is sub-cooled (-7 deg C). Due to the dryness, the cooling input of flake ice can be accurately calculated and its effects on the temperature of the mixture are quickly apparent.  Also, flake ice is free flowing and the flakes remain crisp and do not stick together nor form blocks.  In addition, they are easy to store and level inside a refrigerated ice storage with a fully automatic ice rake system and are also easy to transport via screw conveyors or a blowing system to any location required.”

A total of 368 KTI’s cooling plants have been delivered to the kingdom including 162 containerised ice water and chilled water units and 206 flake ice plants, among others.  Some 541 cooling plants are in operation in the UAE, 239 in Qatar, 180 in Oman, 37 in Bahrain and 40 in Kuwait.

“The company is now looking at introducing new products such as cooling plants for aggregates, sand and cement on the market,” says Kulczycki.

KTI Saudi Arabia has carried out numerous projects in the country including Princess Nora University in Riyadh and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust) in Thuwal near Jeddah. The company’s ongoing projects include the King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah where 11 ice factories and 12 ice water chillers have been installed for four readymix suppliers. These units allow a total ice production of 1,000 tonnes per day.

“KTI Saudi Arabia, with its strategic partnership with KTI-Plersch Kaeltetechnik, always looks to the future growth of Saudi Arabia and its economy. Having 90 per cent market share in our area of business, we strive to offer better quality services to our esteemed customers. Our engineering team is always developing new ideas that will further enhance our plants,” Al Hawas says.

The company’s key clients in the Saudi market include Saudi Readymix Company and ETE Readymix Company in Al Khobar; Al Tawi Company, Premco Readymix Company, Saudi Binladin Group (SBG), Qanbar Readymix, Qanbar Dywidag, Arabian Cement Company, ICC and SBM Readymix in Jeddah; Al Houssain and Al Afaliq Company in Al Ahsa; Al Falwa Establishment and Al Swailem in Riyadh; Al Hasa Readymix, Al Hasa and Ali Al Masaad Institution in Jeddah and Yanbu, among others.

KTI Saudi Arabia has branches in all the key provinces of the country including in Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah and three warehouses for spare parts in these cities. It employs 12 highly trained and experienced service personnel to provide after-sales services under the supervision of a resident German service engineer.

The company is currently boosting its technical staff to enhance its after-sales services, and plans to increase sales and after-sales activities not only in the main areas of the kingdom, but in remote regions as well. KTI-Saudi Arabia is also offering maintenance contracts for its equipment while training staff of its clients to undertake maintenance works.