Zamil Architectural Industries (ZAI) - recently formed after combining several Zamil companies involved in the construction and architectural field - will be showing off its latest products at SaudiBuild 2002.

ZAI consists of Zamil Garage Doors, Zamil Art Glass and Architectural Metal Works, Skylite Industries, Zamil Shade Guard and PVC Shades and Mirage Wardrobe Sliding Doors.

Products offered by these group companies, now called divisions, include garage doors, industrial shutters, sectional doors, fast action doors, swing/sliding gates and boom gates, stainless-steel balustrades, cladding including titanium cladding, handrails, canopies, stained glass, fusion glass, acid-etched glass, sandblasted glass, aluminium and steel skylight domes, shade guards, custom-designed PVC shades and mirage wardrobe sliding doors.

New processes and products introduced recently have raised the company's confidence in penetrating the Middle Fast and other Asian and North African markets. And ZAI expects to see a 20 per cent surge in exports following significant strategic decisions taken to respond to market needs.

A significant development in one of the divisions, Zamil Garage Doors, over the past three years was appointing sub-licensees throughout the Middle East, a concept ZAI general manager Mohammed Hamdan says helped increase exports of the products by 35 per cent.

"The new concept is about giving control and power to each sub-licensee in his territory. We supply them with the complete assembly line and support them with stocks of different configurations and colours," says Hamdan.

The same system was adopted for the local market and proved successful. The division has three assembly lines in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. By providing stocks to sub-licensees, the division has tremendously increased its sales volumes and reduced overheads, Hamdan says.

Zamil's garage doors and industrial shutters are well-established brands in Saudi Arabia and overseas providing high quality products to meet the requirements of high-security areas in the Ministry of Defence, the National Guard, Saudi Aramco and the Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu.

"We have introduced a new model of perforated 'see-through' industrial doors, which we expect will become very popular for shop fronts within a1 short time,'' he explains. ''Additionally, we launched 'fast action doors' which can be operated in a few seconds for highly-sensitive and environmentally-protected areas such as pharmaceutical factories, dairy farms, food processing factories and paint manufacturing industries. They are provided with all safety requirements including break-outs, vision-light and pneumatic safety edges.''

ZAI's product range has been enhanced with the addition of PVC custom shades. "We are the first company in the Middle East carrying out in-house designing, fabrication and installation of the membrane structure (PVC) shades," says Hamdan.

PVC custom shades have applications as coverings for stadiums, auditoriums, car-park structures, sails and umbrellas. The company has the facilities to manufacture such structures in steel and aluminium.

ZAIs specialises in high quality architectural skylight domes in different sizes and various applications from 'standard fixed' to 'openable' skylights. These can be fabricated in high quality aluminium or stainless steel and decorated with a combination of standard glass or stained glass, fused glass and Heat Mirror and supported by extreme high quality space frames.

"Recently, we commissioned and tested a prestigious skylight project at Al Hokair Mall in the heart of Riyadh - a 110-m-long dome from one corner to the other," says Hamdan, adding that the landmark projects would be instrumental in attracting foreigners to ZAI skills.

An architectural product ZAI recently added for the company is the Mirage wardrobe sliding door. ''The market for that is clearly promising, as the Gulf population is growing at a considerable rate, necessitating new constructions to take care of the needs of the new generation,'' he says.

Elaborating on the wardrobe sliding doors, Hamdan says they are manufactured in aluminium or wood, with mirrors or formica giving a special effect. "By enclosing one wall or an alcove one can create a complete storage facility and at the same time create a beautiful and dramatic room effect. A wall of mirrors would brighten even the dullest room while giving the effect of doubling room space. Mirage wardrobe sliding doors match the colour scheme or choice of furniture and they simply reflect good taste."

Meanwhile, to meet the huge increase in the demand of stainless-steel handrails, ZAI recently invested in new machinery, which is said to be the first of its kind in the Kingdom and equipped with the latest features in buffing technology.

The new-generation heavy-duty four-head centreless polishing machine machine is capable of polishing stainless steel pipes and rods of 10 mm to 120 mm diameter and up to 6 m length to a mirror finish of 806 grits.

''The major advantage of this new technology is that it can produce a uniform finish throughout the length of the pipe or rods and reduce the process time by more than 55 per cent. This process results in the delivery of high duality special-design handrails, column cladding, fascias and canopies,'' says Hamdan.

A sizable investment has also gone into Zamil Art Glass in the form of a fully computerised oven for improvements of its 'fusion' technology, which is an improved version of stained glass by which pieces of glass are united by melting in a kiln.

The technology is used to prepare gift items, wall lampshades, wall frames, door partitions, vases, sinks and ashtrays. Fusion glass is attractive material and is versatile, the uses ranging from small decorative window panels, daylight domes and facades or buildings to auditoriums of five-star hotels, he adds.

ZAI capabilities include acid etching under which glass is treated with acid to create spectacular effects. The factory also undertakes glass bending through which simple coloured glass is transformed into a cured form by using moulds in the kiln. A range of products has been created for supply at affordable prices. The company has a training programme for glass technicians and its products are tested to international standards. Hamdan says ZAI expects a huge demand in both local and foreign markets.

ZAI will also be at Saudi Building and Interiors Exhibition (SBIE), to be held in Jeddah from September 29 to October 3, at stand 508.