The air-conditioner also incorporates an auto air sweep, with four-way air deflection.

''Available in both 1.5 and 2.0 tonne capacities, the unit has a very high energy-saving factor and will cost SR635 ($169.3) per annum to run as against over SR1,000 in other units in the same category, under standard running conditions,'' he points out.

ZAC manufactures a full range of air-conditioning systems including the Classic and the Cooline ranges. It produces 440,00 room air-conditioners, 60,000 mini-split systems and 36,500 air-conditioning systems per year. It exports to 30 countries in the Middle East, Europe, America, Africa, Australia and the Far East.

The firm is also poised to launch air-cooled screw water chillers with reliable compact semi-hermetic twin screw compressors, says Masood.

These chillers have 'W' configuration condenser coils, high energy-efficiency, environmentally-friendly refrigerants, direct-drive condenser fans, microprocessor-controlled, electronic expansion valve, shell and tube coolers and hot gas bypass option, says Masood.

They are available in capacities ranging from 40 to 500 ton, with refrigerants R-22, R-407c or R-134a and operate at a frequency of 50-60 hertz.

These chillers are said to be designed for use in high-rise buildings, shopping malls, industrial plants and process systems.

ZAC recently opened its new 30,000-sq ft laboratory, the Air Conditioning Technology Centre (ATC) at its headquarters in Dammam's First Industrial City.

The ATC was commissioned and built by ITS (Intertek Testing Services), a global leader in testing, inspection and certification services based in Courtland, New York, US.

The laboratories, which cost more than $3 million to build, are the most modern and the only such facilities of their kind in the Middle East, making ZAC the only manufacturer in the region capable of guaranteeing local and international certifications of its products, the Saudi company says.