FIRST Saudi International Insulation Manufacturing Company (FSIIMC) is expected to launch construction work on a new stone wool factory in Yanbu this month (August).

This follows a 30-year lease agreement signed last month by the joint venture firm, which is equally owned by Alghanim Industries and Saint-Gobain, with Yanbu Royal Commission for a 65,000-sq-m site in the industrial city.

The factory, which is expected to be operational by early 2014, will use Saint-Gobain’s proprietary technology to produce stone wool, which is widely used as insulation in the construction industry.

The agreement follows a comprehensive review of the environmental impact and approval for plant layouts, building structure and utilities from the Yanbu local authorities.

The plant, which represents an investment by FSIIMC of about $58.9 million, will have an annual capacity to produce 60,000 tonnes of stone wool, thermal and acoustical insulation materials in the form of slabs, rolls, stitched mats, and preformed pipe insulation. It will serve the industrial and building insulation market segments in Saudi Arabia and other regional markets in the GCC, Egypt, Iraq and the Levant.

Omar Alghanim, chief executive of Alghanim Industries, commented: “Our joint venture investment at Yanbu will supply local and regional industrial and building areas with a reliable source of high quality insulation, which is both environment-friendly and will assist in improving the fire safety of buildings.”

“Saint-Gobain is one of the world’s leading construction industry suppliers and we have worked together very successfully in the past. This is the second joint venture we have shared together in this sector, following our very successful investment in Turkey for the production of similar products. I look forward to continuing to develop and strengthen our relationship as we proceed with the plant at Yanbu,” he added.