Al Babtain Industries of Saudi Arabia, which manufactures a diverse range of electro-mechanical products, says that business prospects are improving.

"Our business levels for this year have risen over the same period last year," says regional sales manager Abdullah Al-Babtain. "Also, the domestic market is expanding."

The company, which is part of the Al-Babtain Group, is known for the high standard of its products and has earned a good reputation among its customers, since its establishment back in 1955, according to Al-Babtain.

"We have achieved tremendous growth over these years and as a result of our commitment towards customer satisfaction, and we have been awarded with ISO 9001 certification for all our operations: our pole factory, tower factory, tower testing station, lighting factory, household appliances factory, carton factory and central machine shop," he says.

Al-Babtain Industries also recently launched a factory in Egypt for the manufacture of steel poles and towers.

"We have been exporting to the Middle East, Arab, Asian and European markets and the company has become the nucleus of the group's activities," says Al-Babtain.

Al-Babtain Industries manufactures luminaires (garden, high-bay and floodlights); lighting and transmission poles, high masts and flagpoles; transmission and communication towers; galvanised steel lattice towers; panel boards, fuse, distribution, junction and meter boxes; plastic products; cable trays and ladders; steam and industrial boilers; carton products; castings; and rubber products, moulds and dies.

It also manufactures household appliances such as refrigerators; water coolers; wringer and twin-tub washing machines; desert coolers and gas cookers.

The company also undertakes hot dip galvanising for customers.

Its tower testing station is said to be the first of its kind in the region with standards developed in accordance to IEC specifications.

Al Babtain Industries recently introduced two new streetlighting luminaries on the market.

One is known as Gulf 2000, offered in a range of 400-600 watts, HPM, HPS and MH. The product utilises a new modular design concept and is said to incorporate the latest and most efficient HID lamps as well as excellent optical system and control gears.

The other is the Tripoli 01/02, available in a range of 250-400 W, HPM, HPS and MH. It has a modern modular design and dedicated faceted optics to optimise beam control and maximise light output.

Both are designed for illuminating expressways, major roads and collector roads.

Al Babtain is currently working on several projects including ones for the Public Authority for Housing Care (PAHC), worth $3 million and the RA-35 project valued at $357,364, both in Kuwait.

It is also involved in two projects in Qatar: supplying high masts and lighting poles worth $320,000 to the Al Rayyan and Al Ittihad stadiums and lighting poles and high masts worth $1.2 million for the North Relief road.

In the UAE, it is supplying lighting poles to the Dubai Municipality worth $400,000 and for the Water and Electricity Authority, Abu Dhabi, worth $7.5 million.

It also has a deal valued at $4 million from the Saudi Electric Company in the Eastern Province (SEC-East) for the supply of steel monopoles.

''The company's lighting design department has expert lighting engineers who provide cost-effective and energy-saving illumination designs with the help of an in-house computer

-aided lighting design facility,'' says Al-Babtain.

''The company also provides technical services for solving all types of lighting problems and vital guidance in choosing the right products for different applications,'' he adds.