INDIA-based Visaka Industries, a new entrant into the Saudi market, is planning to intensify its efforts at penetrating the market through extensive marketing techniques aimed at securing a firm foothold in the region.

Visaka – which manufactures fibre cement board, sandwich panels, yarn and corrugated roofing sheets – is currently supplying to Saudi Company for Prefabricated Buildings and Hesham S S Subahi Projects, both in Saudi Arabia, for their portable cabin manufacturing units.

“We have also been regularly supplying to Dar Al Hani Trading in Jeddah, Red Horizon Trading in Riyadh and Qatar International Trading in Dammam,” says Mohammed Abdulkhader, manager of exports.

The company began its foray into the export arena just two years ago and entered the Saudi market a year ago.

Visaka wall partition ... with porcelain tiles on it.

Abdulkhader is upbeat about growth prospects for the company in the kingdom. “We are optimistic about the Saudi market which is growing at a steady pace under the wise leadership of King Abdullah. The major projects in the kingdom including Kingdom Tower and the expansion of the King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah, as well as several universities and medical cities will provide a major boost to business in Saudi Arabia,” he says.

In line with this positive outlook, the company anticipates a 25 per cent growth in the Saudi market as well as in the other GCC countries.

“Ours is a growth-oriented company with a vision towards diversification and expansion,” he adds.

Its marketing efforts will cover the print media, conducting seminars and creating awareness about its products among project specifiers, he says.

Back home in India, Visaka Industries has added one more fibre cement board factory in Pune to cater to the requirements of the export market. It is also diversifying into high-end fibre cement boards for various applications.

In addition, it is foraying into the power generation sector and is looking at other areas for expansion.

Headquartered in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, Visaka has 10 manufacturing plants spread across India and registers an annual turnover of $186 million. It has a number of regional offices located in all major cities of India and a small sales office in Sri Lanka. The company employs around 3,200 people in addition to contractor employees.

Visaka Industries was instituted by Dr G Vivekanand in 1981 to manufacture corrugated roofing sheets. It later diversified into fibre cement board and yarn with separate divisions named as V-Board and V-Panel.

The non-asbestos fibre cement board and panel division was established in 2009 to cater to the needs of modern construction designs.

Drywall partition ... by Visaka.

“V-Board offers unmatched quality, aesthetics, style and durability and is the ideal choice for smart and good-looking interiors,” says a spokesman for the company. “It is fire, water and termite-resistant and has the same functional efficiency or workability as timber/plywood, giving you total dependability. Used for external as well as internal applications, V-Board is a top line product of Visaka Industries.”

The product also boasts good insulation properties and low thermal conductivity and can be highly effective when it comes to saving energy and maintaining a balanced temperature in closed air-conditioned or air-cooled rooms, he adds.

Elaborating on the manufacturing process, he says: “Superior grade cellulose fibres and inorganic binders of siliceous base are used in the making of V-Board. The matrix, once prepared, is cured at high pressure and high temperature in autoclaves to achieve a high dimensional stability.

“The inbuilt cement component adds to the overall strength and durability while the pulp content that is present within gives the board workability and flexibility. Autoclaving helps attain the crystalline structure that, in turn, results in declared dimensional stability of V-Board.”

V-Board has a range of applications including false ceilings, wall partitions and panelling, door panels, mezzanine flooring, furniture, electrical board and structural glazing back lining and furniture.