Gulf International Chemicals (GIC) recently won a major contract to supply concrete admixtures for the second phase of the Sohar Port project in Oman.

The Omani company which has already been supplying the port project with concrete admixtures for the past 12 months, said the award of the Phase 2 contract "demonstrates how well GIC can support a project of this size both technically and logistically".

The Sohar Phase 2 contract is one of several prestigious contracts won by GIC which has a 6,000 sq m manufacturing plant at the Rusayl Industrial Estate outside Muscat.

GIC, which is just four years into production, is a major Gulf manufacturer of building and construction chemicals.

"Getting a contract for Sohar Port in the first instance was a major stage in our development," said general manager Paul Collis. "Previous to that, a supply contract of that size would have been awarded to a multinational due to the planning and logistics involved."

Over the last 12 months, GIC has supplied in excess of 250,000 litres of admixture to the site culminating with the award of the phase 2 contract.

Collis said the phase 2 contract was even larger than the previous order.

GIC's major selling products are concrete admixtures, surface treatments, joint sealants, grouts, concrete repair products, sand stabilisers and industrial flooring products. It also manufactures a retail range.

The company, established in 1996 and quoted on the Muscat Securities Market, promotes its products under the TufBond brand name and initially benefited from the technical input of a UK consultancy.

GIC has now progressed to the extent that all products are now developed and refined in its Rusayl laboratory by experienced technical staff.

GIC products carry independent test certification where applicable and the company has a wide range of product references and approvals from a number of international consultancy firms.

The range manufactured is suitable for any stage of construction and includes chemicals for the improvement and protection of concrete throughout a project - from below ground coatings to roof waterproofing.

The company manufactures liquid products of over 750,000 litres per year and powder products in excess of 250 000 tonnes during the same period. Production in 2000 showed growth of 26 per cent over 1999 whilst the year 2001 is expected to yield further growth of 30 per cent over the previous year.

The company bases its optimism for growth on the new projects currently being let, mainly in the field of water and power, and the record of success established on major projects coupled with the supplies being made to ongoing projects.

GIC has previously supplied to and installed products at the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, which is counted as one of the Gulf's largest and most architecturally attractive shrines.

The company has also completed work on the Bait Al Barakah Guest Palace and the Izz Fort Project, both for the Diwan of the Omani Royal Court.

"Due to us being the local manufacturer and having a proven range of well-supported, quality products we have gained orders from virtually all of the major projects in the Sultanate," said Collis.

Construction activity in Oman is growing and GIC faces competition from other, outside companies in the construction chemical market.

"We are the market leaders in Oman and fully expect to increase our share year on year," said Collis.

"Being relatively new our main focus has been on the home market although we do export 10 per cent of our production to the UAE, Qatar, Libya, Singapore and Hong Kong among other places."

The company is now looking to increase export turnover by putting together a marketing network throughout a number of identified markets.

"Now that we have established ourselves as a quality and reliable supplier to the Oman market and have the major product references required by engineers, we can look more seriously at overseas opportunities and use our substantial achievements to date to assist in our goal of increasing the percentage of turnover devoted to exports," he said.

As part of its efforts towards expansion in both home and external markets, GIC will be committing RO150,000 ($389,600) over a two-year period to upgrade production capability.

The company is also looking at areas of "slight diversification" from the existing range in the near future as it looks towards opportunities in the oil and gas industries.

Collis said: "The outlook for GIC is clearly very bright. However, we will remain cautious about diversification as we remain dedicated to our core business.''