Al Huraiz Establishment for Industry, one of the foremost industrial companies in the UAE, will be promoting its wide range of water heaters at the Big 5 show.

Dubai-based Al Huraiz was set up in 1975 to manufacture water heaters under the brand Everhot. Over the years, the company has constantly strived to create better water heaters with enhanced performance values. Its latest offering to the market is the Everhot SS stainless steel water heaters that are claimed to provide the perfect solution to contractors looking for a reliable product that requires least maintenance and has a limited warranty up to 10 years.

This product will actively be promoted at the Big 5 Show.

Commenting on the factors, which prompted the firm to participate at this show, general manager P.S. Philip says: "The exhibition enjoys international participation, wide publicity and coverage. It offers export opportunities and exposure to international manufacturers and suppliers. The exhibition will help the company further its plans to boost exports to all GCC and African countries."

He continues: "The water heater market is currently dominated by glasslined water heaters, stainless steel tanks and special heating element for extra life. The various features of these heaters ensure problem-free performance. The products have been designed to ensure total safety and are tested using stringent procedures for each and every part of the unit."

"The Everhot SS stainless steel water heater is available in a wide range of models. The inner tank is made from premium quality stainless steel. It has a corrosion-resistant long life (Incoloy) heating element and hi-tech Italian thermostat.

"Other features include PUF insulation for excellent heat retention, twin function valve for additional safety, anti-splash mechanism which ensures a continuous supply of hot water, superior earthing to eliminate electric shock risk and pre-coated steel sheet outer body coated on both surfaces for long lasting protection from corrosion and superior finish."

Since Al Huraiz's inception at the Al Ramool Industrial Area, increased production and greater demand necessitated a larger and more spacious premises to better serve the market. In mid-1995, the company moved to its present premises in Al Ghusias, which has a built-up area of 57,140 sq ft and 200 employees and houses an advanced fully-automatic water heater manufacturing plant. The company employs high-precision computer-controlled systems for metal cutting, welding and painting.

All these installations, says the company, have helped it achieve international quality. Recent upgrades have enabled the company achieve a production capacity of 250,000 water heaters per year.

Al Huraiz attributes its long-standing popularity in the water heaters industry to its quality consciousness. "The quality of a water heater depends to a large extent on the quality of the metal used to manufacture the inner tank. The thicker the metal, the longer it takes to corrode, given that the joints are properly welded. The Everhot SS range of water heaters is made with uniform standard thickness," says Philip.

There are two other models of water heaters, manufactured and marketed under the brand Excel and Centour. Philips elaborates: "The essential difference between the two is the thickness of the galvanised iron sheet used for making the inner tank. It is 1.5-mm-thick in Excel and 1.2 mm thick in Centour. Consistency of the quality in these two models has been steadily maintained over the last 26 years and these stringent quality procedures led to the acquisition of the ISO 9002 quality system certification. Additionally, Al Huraiz's concern for the environment and preservation of natural resources has led the company to go for an ISO 14001 certification.

"We decided to acquire these certifications essentially to confirm that our quality is the same as that of our European competitors," he says. "In this competitive climate, internationally-rated quality counts for a lot. We are proud to be the only water heater manufacturer in the Gulf with an ISO 9002 certificate."

Water heaters ranging from eight gallons to 50 gallons are produced under the brand names Everhot, Excel and Centour for the local market and under the brand names Sabah and Sohar for the Omani market. All products come with a warranty.

These high-quality standards have helped the company penetrate into the export markets and presently 25 percent of its products are exported. An average of 70,000 water heaters of different capacities are produced annually and the company intends to increase output from this year by targeting more export markets. Currently, Al Huraiz exports to Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and the Far East, besides Russia and Georgia.

Copper water heaters are also manufactured as per customer demand. The company also imports glass lined water heaters from France and Spain under the brand names Everhot Super and Everhot Edesa.

Commenting on business level over the past year, Philip says: "Business last year was fairly good and this year is better and we are mainly concentrating on the export market. We hope by the end of this year we can reach a sizeable target. We are looking for large export volumes to reach our higher sales target this year of 125,000 water heaters as against sales of 90,000 water heaters last year."

Sales in the domestic market currently account for 65 per cent of production with exports accounting for the rest. "The domestic market is now price conscious and this has given rise to small manufacturers who are not concerned about quality but produce substandard material and sell at almost the cost of our raw materials," he says.

"Currently, the market is not very demanding as the construction boom has ebbed. However, new projects are coming up every day so there are better growth prospects in the GCC.''

"We have been supplying to contractors like Arenco, Dubai Development, Al Oruba, ETA, Engineer's Office and many major builders and contracting companies for the last 26 years. In fact, Everhot is the first water heater manufacturing company in the UAE.''

Also under the Al Huraiz umbrella is an aluminium cookware production factory Everbright, making utensils under the brand name Camel. The establishment is also certified to ISO 9002 quality and ISO 14001 environment system requirements.

Another sister concern Universal Industrial Gas Establishment in Sharjah has two units - a gas cylinder manufacturing unit for LPG and freon cylinders and another unit for LPG bottling with a carousel and conveyors for semi-automatic filling, cylinder washing and electronic leak detection. This facility also adheres to European and American specifications.

Al Huraiz has a wide network of dealers/ distributors all over the UAE. A constant supply of spares ensures efficient service back up, says Philip.

Al Huraiz will be displaying all models of water heaters at stand 5D 241.