Saudi Arabian pest control specialist, Masa Establishment for Pest Extermination Services, will soon launch new products in the local market while expanding its services in the Kingdom.

The 100 per cent Saudi-owned company also plans to extend its reach to other Gulf countries, says owner and general manager Mousaied Shieshakly.

Shieshakly says Masa will be introducing new pest control products from FMC-USA, Kemio of Italy as well as from India.

"Our market target is to expand our sales and service operations through the installation of satellite branches to cover other areas of Yanbu, Taif, Al Baha and Hafr Al Batin. This is to augment our present coverage and to draw closer to our clients," he says.

He says Masa has recently been signed up by Jeddah-based Saudi Arabian Trading and Logistics Company under the Dallah Al Barakah Group to supply pest control equipment for its operations and maintenance contract for all municipalities in the Western Region.

The company is also planning to bid for a specialised pest control project in Madinah.

Shieshakly expressed satisfaction over the business trend this year, adding the company expects to surpass its targets.

Masa's products and services will be showcased at the forthcoming SaudiBuild show in Riyadh in a big way.

Masa has been taking part in the premier construction industry exhibition since 1985 to market and promote its products and services directly to the people, says Shieshakly.

The company also regularly takes part in other major local exhibitions such as Saudi Agriculture, Saudi Medicare and Saudi World Trade.

And internationally, Masa is set to participate in two major events in the US. Shieshakly, along with Masa's chemical and equipment sales head Alradi Mousa, will represent Saudi Arabia at the World Team Conference (sponsored by Curtis Dyna-Fog, a leading US manufacturer of pest control equipment) and the National Pest Management Association's (NPMA) Pest Management 2002 convention. The events will be held in Orlando, Florida, between October 10 and 19.

Established in 1980 with two branches, Masa now has 11 branches across the Kingdom in Riyadh and Qassim in the Central Region; Dammam, Al Hasa (Hofuf) and Jubail in the Eastern Region; Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah in the Western Region; Abha and Jizan in the West/Southern region and Tabuk in Northern region.

The company employs 225 qualified and highly skilled pest control applicators and supervisory staff.

Masa says it provides professional and quality pest control services and equipment to public and private sectors in the Kingdom.

"One very important aspect of our services is the preservation of buildings and other structures through termite proofing, prevention and control. About 48 per cent of building owners, construction companies and consultants are contracted by Masa," says Shieshakly.

"This service aims to protect their investment from termite damage."

Masa also is the sole distributor of chemicals intended for battling termites, which is applied in the soil to protect structures from termite invasion and damage. Last year, Masa imported about 120 tonnes of termiticide to meet the market demand. It says its imports of public health chemicals has increased sharply this year.

Shieshakly says Masa has dominated the domestic market in pest control sales and services thanks to its ISO-9002 certification, the first and the only pest control establishment in the Middle East to acquire such certification. "Although competition is very tough, being a professional and specialist establishment in this field, we have always led the market. It is a healthy competition," he says.

He says that as part of its efforts to stay on top of the market, Masa has tied up with leading manufacturers, producers, suppliers and formulators around such as FMC-USA, Kemio of Italy, DynaFog of the US and Bharat Rasayan Limited of India, among others.

The company also has a research and development unit which fine-tunes its service procedures, screens pesticides for field application and carries out other service-related research to enhance the quality of its service. This unit includes entomology specialists with adequate exposure and experience in the field of public health and agriculture.

Masa is an active member of some of the top pest control organisations in the world from countries such as the US, Britain, Canada, Australia and India, besides national and regional environmental bodies.

The company has a continuing in-service training programme, especially for those who are involved in the service operations. Distribution of manpower in the branches is based on local needs which is periodically evaluated.

Masa says its pest control management programme is strictly guided by a thorough knowledge of the biology and bionomics of locally existing and identified pests, local government regulations and authoritative institutions worldwide.

According to operations manager Valentin Diego, Masa standard operating and quality assurance procedures, which are incorporated in the company's policy guidelines, involve the following: