A Saudi water treatment specialist expects to launch a new factory by the end of this year.

The new factory, being set up by in Riyadh's industrial area by Koob Trading and Contracting Establishment, will be involved in the manufacture of water filters, says Mohammed Al Hassan, the owner and general manager of the Riyadh-based firm.

"We received our licence earlier this year, and construction of the new factory is under way, with production scheduled to start by the end of the year," he says.

Koob Trading and Contracting is a wholly-owned Saudi firm that was set up in 1989. The company manufactures, supplies and installs reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plants and markets a range of water purification systems, pumps and filters from international manufacturers.

The company's product portfolio covers RO membranes from Hydranautics, large desal plants from Nimbus, a variety of filters from Ametek, residential filters from FasaTech and US Filter, stainless steel filters from Shelco, residential desal systems from TGI, desal water coolers from MUL, pumps from Speroni and Biraghi, and magnetic water conditioners from Superior.

Koob's head office is located in Riyadh's Olaya area, with two branch offices, one in Riyadh's Al-Reil Street and another in Jeddah. The company also has sub-distributors spread over the Kingdom. It has 65 staff on its rolls and commands a turnover of $15 million.

Koob will be a repeat exhibitor at this year's SaudiBuild, and will be using the event to help promote its business in the Gulf. "Our company exhibits in SaudiBuild because our products are often required by construction companies, governmental institutions as well as the ordinary consumer," says Al Hassan. "We have found the exhibition very helpful in targeting our sales and we have had a lot of sales negotiations during previous shows. This time, our focus will be on promoting our products to the Gulf market."

Elaborating on Koob's range of products, Al Hassan says: "Industrial and sewage treatment plants can play a key role in helping recycle water for various irrigation purposes, and Koob can install such purification systems on the fast track with the minimum of cost.''

He continues: "Our RO water desalination units range in capacities from 400 to 2 million gallons per day. The systems are designed to international standards and are built to cope with the harsh climate of the Gulf. The RO units are designed using a special computer program through which suitable membranes are specified, depending on the area of application. The units can treat water biologically as well. Hi-tech control panels and meters will pinpoint any potential problems immediately, helping to save time that would be lost in troubleshooting and maintenance."

Koob's range of high pressure pumps are made from durable high-quality stainless steel and are backed by strong after-sales service and maintenance team, with the assurance of spare parts being available all year round, he says.

Its stainless steel filters are ideal for potable water and central filtration applications in residential compounds, villas, palaces, hotels and restaurants. "The filters produce water that is totally pure and free from taste, odour, colour, chlorine, rust and scale. They also help protect against skin allergies caused by the use of chlorine," says Al Hassan.

The filters come in flow rates ranging from 28 to 616 gallons per minute and can be used on pipes, heaters, boilers and other appliances.

Koob's range of ultraviolet UV water purification units are designed for rapid disinfection without the use of heat or chemicals. "These water purifiers use germicidal ultraviolet lamps the shortwave radiation of which is lethal to bacteria, viruses and other micro-organisms present in water," he explains. "The systems are perfectly safe as their rays are shorter in wavelength than the shortest ultraviolet rays that penetrate the Earth's atmosphere from the sun."

All these systems from Koob will be on show at stand 956.