A new durable fibreglass liner for insulating air-conditioning ducts has been launched on the market by Saudi Arabia's Arabian Fiberglass Insulation Company (Afico).

Called Afico Quiet Liner (AQL), the new product has been designed for lining ducts from inside, explains marketing and customer services manager Ayman Mustafa El-Najjar.

"One of the main features of this new liner is that its facing is made with woven glass fabric, which is tough and will not sustain any erosion throughout its lifespan," he says. "This addresses a concern raised by some end-users about the safety of using fiberglass insulation inside ducts."

Based in Dammam's First Industrial City, Afico has been in operation since 1980, producing a range of products for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) and architectural needs.

For mechanical applications, Afico produces faced duct wrap, duct liners, duct liner boards, mechanical boards, heavy density pipe, pipe wrap and thermal insulating wool insulation. For architectural applications such as on external walls and partitions, Afico manufactures blankets, heavy density blankets, cavity wall insulation, boards, pre-engineered metal building insulation, and acoustical ceiling panels.

Raw materials, machineries, and spare parts are purchased from both local and foreign markets especially from the US, France, Germany, and Australia.

Products are manufactured in compliance to British (BS), ASTM and Federal standards. Afico has been ISO 9002 certified by TUV since 1994 and it is currently in the process of attaining the environmental quality ISO 14000 certificate, says El Najjar.

Afico has a capacity of 12,500 tonnes per year, and production is currently running at 10,500 tonnes. Sales turnover has remained steady as the market demand is not down, according to El Najjar.

Saudi Arabia accounts for 55 per cent of Afico's production with the rest being exported to over 25 countries including the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Hong Kong, China, and Australia. However, Afico is now looking at the markets of North Africa and South Europe to further boost its export profile.

In Saudi Arabia, Afico supplies its products to almost all governmental and private projects, says El Najjar. "We are an approved vendor for Aramco projects, which demand not only thermal but also sound insulation and our name is mentioned in all Aramco-related specifications," he says.

"On the other hand," he continues, "our company is highly valued by major contractors and OEMs in the region in terms of our high-quality products and reliable services.

"We are currently supplying partition wall insulations and HVAC insulation for the Prince Sultan Technology Center located in Al Khobar and we are a regular supplier for new buildings in Madinah that are constantly coming up around Al Haram area. We are also very active in the UAE's

booming market."

"We have supplied almost all industrial and commercial projects in Jubail. Major projects recently executed include Hadeed's expansion and the Ghazlan power plant expansion, where we supplied more than 20,000 sq m of thermal wool insulation (TIW) type II, which was used to insulate the giant chimney."

Afico believes that demand for insulation in industrial and commercial projects will increase over the coming years and the company is seriously looking at expanding its existing capacity and diversifying its product range in order to provide a total solution, says El Najjar.

The insulation market is very competitive, but El Najjar believes that the personal touch holds the key to success. "Companies which maintain close links with the market's players - such as the contractors, designers and clients - and make a sincere and honest effort to offer solutions rather than mere products, are the ones that will lead the market," he explains. "We should think of our products as solutions to the problems faced by our customers. This way, customers will identify us as a solutions provider and not merely a product provider. In the battle for sales, one can either try to change the rules of the game or to be the smarter player with the existing rules."