A factory upgrade has started to pay dividends for a Saudi manufacturer of solid surfacing material, both in terms of quantity and quality.

Production has risen at Al Romaizan Factory for Solid Surfaces, while the quality of its products has also been upgraded, says Philip Garcia, the marketing manager of the Riyadh-based manufacturer.

"Al Romaizan completed an upgrade and modernisation of its production facilities last year and has begun to reap the benefits of this programme since the start of this year," he says. "We have more than tripled production and reformulated our products to improve their quality."

He continues: "We are now in a stronger position to expand our market share in the Kingdom and are establishing more sales branches in untapped areas. We are also appointing new distributors in high-potential regional markets. This business development strategy is designed to achieve better market penetration."

Established in 1986, Al Romaizan Factory manufactures acrylic modified resin-based solid surface materials as sheets and as moulded and fabricated products under the Topstone brand, using raw materials imported from the UK, Germany, Holland, India, and the US.

Its 7,050 sq m factory is located in Riyadh's Second Industrial City and it has fabrication shops in Dammam, Jeddah, Qassim, and Riyadh.

The factory, which is designed to produce 5,000 sheets per month, is currently running at 80 per cent of its capacity, while turnover in 2001 rose by 6.45 per cent over the previous year to $7 million, thanks to an expansion into new markets and an increase in project activity, according to Garcia.

Commenting on the quality of Topstone surfaces, Garcia says: "Our products have been tested to NEMA and ASTM solid surface materials performance standards by Hauser Laboratories of the US and have come up with satisfactory results.

"We have specific plans to secure ISO certification this year. Furthermore, we are also an associate member of the International Solid Surface Fabricators Association (ISSFA), which recently developed its own standards and we working on certification to these new standards for solid surface materials and fabrication."

Around 60 per cent of Al Romaizan's products are sold locally, with the rest exported thoughout the region and beyond. Its export markets include Kuwait, Bahrain, Dubai, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Italy, Taiwan, Poland, Ukraine, Canada and the US.

"Sales are up by 10 per cent over last year and we attribute this increase to the reputation and quality of Topstone products," says Garcia. "Last year, we broke into two new export markets - Ukraine and Canada - and we have plans to further develop our foreign markets. We are also pursuing initiatives to further strengthen and expand the business of our existing international distributors. We are targeting several new foreign markets, namely Iran, Iraq, Oman, Romania, and Hungary. Our export market could still be further expanded, thanks to our greatly improved production capability and high product quality standards."

Three new models two basins and a sink were recently launched on the market. The new vanity basins Bay and Ocean come in circular and elliptical shapes, while the kitchen sink, called Azure, is a larger model with three compartments.

Al Romaizan is currently working on a major project for the King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, involving cubicle partitioning for its dental clinics.

Garcia says there is a growing demand for solid surface materials in the Kingdom, but adds that competition will be tough and margins would be under great pressure. Only companies with good prices, quality product, efficient manufacturing operations, advanced fabrication technology, and superior customer service would survive and prosper, he points out.

"The Saudi market will register overall growth, but this will be tempered by the prevalence of low international crude oil prices," he says. "The solid surface industry will continue likewise to grow apace with construction activity, vigorously pushed by the active competition initiated by new companies entering the solid surface material business. Competition is expected to be fierce, characterised by aggressive pricing strategies actively pursued by new players on the market."

"Companies in the solid surface materials business should improve their manufacturing and fabrication operations to reduce costs while at the same time enhance their quality," he says. "They should be more active in promoting new applications of solid surface materials to the consumer and the construction industry. Growth could be achieved by making the engineer, architect, decorator, designer, consultant and contractor more aware of solid surface materials and their wide and varied range of applications."