Saudi Arabia's builders and contractors should do more to support local manufacturers who have to compete not only against imports but also on price, says a leading local producer of water desalination membranes.

The Saudi market is largely price-conscious with not much consideration for quality," comments Abdulmohsin Al Mousa, an executive manager at Saudi Industries for Desalination Membranes and Systems (Sidmas). "And competition in our area of specialisation is quite severe, due to the presence of imported reverse osmosis (RO) membranes in the market."

He continues: "To improve our business prospects, preference should be given to national products, to better quality and the services available locally. Also, I feel that more investment, research and development should be put into the field of water treatment and technology."

The Riyadh-based Sidmas is said to be the only Saudi company that specialises in the production of membrane elements for water desalination by reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, ultrafiltration (UF) and microfiltration. It also offers desalination plants in various capacities for both underground and sea water applications, made to the most modern specifications and in a wide range of capacities.

Sidmas' factory is located in Riyadh's Second Industrial City and has a capacity of 30,000 membranes (20,000 brackish water elements and 10,000 sea water elements) and 100 RO plants per year.

Production is currently up 20 per cent over last year - at 15,000 RO membranes and 30 RO plants - while turnover has risen 40 per cent over the same period, says Mousa.

The elements are made from tough high-performance polyamide thin film composite membranes which are characterised by their high salt rejection and greater relative productivity.

"Because the membranes are spiral wound, they require a lower level of pretreatment compared to other RO membrane configurations," says Mousa. "In addition, they offer ease of operation and maintenance. Also, they are well suited for use in hot countries as they withstand operational temperatures of up to 50 deg C."

Sidmas produces its membranes using technical expertise from international water treatment specialists. Raw materials for the RO membranes are sourced from the US-based Dow Chemical Company (FilmTec) and Osmonics Inc. Parts for its RO plants come from Spain, Italy, the US and the local market.

Quality has always been a major focus at Sidmas: it achieved ISO 9002 certification in 1996, while its products meet ASTM and Saso (Saudi Arabian Standards Organisation) standards. The company is also a member of the International Desalination Association (IDA).

"Our commitment to the future of the region is exemplified by our local investment in the most up-to-date international membrane separation process and desalination technologies in addition to customer service backed by a policy of continuous product improvement," says Mousa.

Elaborating on its services for customers, he says: "Our field service engineers are supported by our international associates to provide the customer with a highly competent, interactive, service-oriented support team. Membrane technologists, application specialists, technical consultants and operational engineers are all on hand to offer their vast experience to any project.

"We also have a Sidmas RO Systems Performance Prediction software package, which is available to customers at no extra charge. Our engineers can review water analysis and give advice on basic plant design as well as the total plant to ensure operational compatibility of the components, from pump and piping requirements to selection, sizing and array of UF or RO elements and ion exchange columns."

"Sidmas also provides technical expertise services for project evaluation, full autopsy and membrane analysis service, and can assist in determining the cause of element failure and provide advice on remedying plant or operational defects to optimise the performance of a plant.

" Sidmas is a logical partner from the inception of a project, right from during the plant design stage and prequalification of contractors, through to element loading and its successful commissioning and operation," he says.

In Saudi Arabia, Sidmas is an approved supplier to Saudi Aramco, and its membranes have been used for several private and governmental plants for the desalination of underground water, seawater, industrial and municipal sewage water.

Seventy per cent of its production is absorbed locally, with the rest being exported to Bahrain, the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Yemen, Cyprus, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Iran, Iraq and Pakistan. Sales are up by 14 per cent over last year and the company is planning to increase this figure by exploring new markets, says Mousa. "Our main target markets lie in Asia, southeast Asia, some parts of Europe and Africa."

Earlier this year, Sidmas launched a new range of RO membranes specifically designed for sea water applications. "The new SS series is characterised by its high surface area, high salt rejection, and high flow rate. The membranes are also more tolerant to higher temperatures and have a longer life span over other systems.

In Saudi Arabia, Sidmas is currently busy with three major projects: