Colt Arabia, a joint venture between Colt International Limited of the UK and the Almutlaq Group of Saudi Arabia, aims to become the leading supplier of ventilation equipment in the Middle East.

Established in 1994, the company was formed to design, manufacture and install the Colt range of ventilation products in the Middle East from its manufacturing base in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

Its products include industrial exhaust fans, performance louvres, general-purpose louvres, fire and smoke ventilators and ridge ventilators

''We believe our equipment to be the best on offer and its design has been well tested worldwide and used for over 40 years in the Middle East market,'' says Almas Mohammad, operations manager.

''As world leaders in the design and manufacture of smoke ventilation systems, we are the only company listed by the Saudi Industrial Development Fund for smoke ventilation design and approved by the Kuwait, Bahrain and UAE. fire authorities,'' he explains.

''The company is operated by Colt International UK personnel who have been resident in the Middle East for the past 14 years. They have a vast experience of ventilation problems and solutions, together with knowledge of the harsh environmental conditions,'' he says.

The Saudi Arabian team has handled with over 800 projects involving more than 12,000 ventilators.

Colt Arabia is also equipped with some of the most advanced equipment in the region. ''Our automatic bending machine is capable of bending up to 3 mm of stainless steel and is the best in the Middle East as is our roll-forming machine for specialised louvre systems,'' Mohammad points out.

Turning to the company's products, Mohammad says: ''The Colt Tornado Power exhaust unit, manufactured in aluminium and fibreglass with totally-enclosed squirrel cage motors to IP55, is specially designed for the region's hot climate.

''Fibreglass bases can be manufactured to suit steel building profiles such as those of Zamil Steel Industries, Saudi Building Systems, International Building Systems and Kirby, and can be fixed directly on to the sheeting without the need of costly upstand curbs.

''The Colt Sandtrap louvre has a bottom chute for removal of sand and can be recessed into the wall, thus giving the building structure a smarter architectural appearance.

''Colt's performance louvre named as Universal Louvre (UL) has one of the highest aerodynamic coefficients - Cv=0.435 - available anywhere.

''It is roll formed and can be manufactured to any length to give a continuous look. It is ideally suited for general ventilation, rain defence, cladding and screening.''

Colt also offers Colt Smoke, a dual-purpose ventilator which is primarily designed for smoke control application. It can act as a day-to-day ventilator taking heat out of the building.

In case of fire, it protects the building structure, people and goods, he says.

Colt can also supply volume and fire dampers.

Some of Colt's installations in Saudi Arabia include: Saudi Red Brick Factory, Al Faisaliah Centre (Riyadh), Al Haya Medical Warehouse, Rana Confectionery, Tayma Power Station, Sadafco, Aujan Soft Drinks Industries, Patriot Project (Moda), Jubail Shipyard, Coca Cola Riyadh, Petromin, Saudi Railways workshop, Sharourah power station, Hadeed, Peaceshield Command Centre, Al Yamamah Project, Dhahran Expo Centre, Ibn Hayyan, Ibn Zahr, Aramco, Al Jomaih, Al Sharq, Saudi Port Authority, Zamil Steel Industries, Saudi Building Systems, National Foundry , Dyrup Paints, ABV Rock Group, Saudi Ceramics and Saudi Transformers.