Saudi Mechanical Industries Company (SMI) recently expanded its range of precision-engineered products when it commissioned last September a plant to produce continuous cast bronze bars.

The Riyadh-based company's existing range includes vertical turbine pumps, submersible pumps, right angle gear drives, round steel bars and machined engineering products. It is also engaged in steel fabrication.

The continuous bronze casting plant came with a pre-melt induction furnace adjacent to horizontal continuous casting machines.

The plant produces bronze alloy continuous cast round or profiled solid and hollow bars with a maximum outside diameter of 4.5 inches or flat bar width of 15 inches. All material is run to the customer's dimensional, mechanical and chemical specifications, with certified analysis for each bar.

SAE 660 solid and hollow bronze bars are available in a variety of alloys as standard products with lengths up to four m.

"SMI is a supplier to engineering companies in Europe and the US and it pursues a growth path to expand its network of customers in those countries," says chief executive officer Basil Y Al Hizami.

"Continuous investments in capital equipment and manpower are under way," he adds.

The company, which enjoys an annual turnover of $45 million, was established in 1982. It has 10 branches in Saudi Arabia and representative offices in the UK and US.

SMI, which has a total staff of 245, employs qualified engineers and modern manufacturing equipment in its operations, he points out.

SMI manufactures vertical turbine pumps in a complete range of oil and water-lubricated models to serve agricultural, industrial, municipal and commercial applications.

A full range of electric submersible pumps is also manufactured to cater to various requirements.

SMI is an authorised OEM for Hitachi and Franklin high-quality electric motors to give high performance for submersible requirements. Equally, the submersibles are offered with quality electrical accessories and control panels to ensure the highest efficiency for electrical power, the company says.

Johnson gear drives are manufactured at SMI under licence from Johnson Gear Company (US). With an output range of 20 to 750 hp and with a wide selection of ratios to satisfy any requirements, Johnson gears are used for a variety of applications including agricultural irrigation, municipal water supply and sewerage and in fire-fighting pumps.

Designed to provide positive power transmission from horizontal prime movers to vertical pumps, Johnson gears are said to offer economy, efficiency, space saving and the ability to function well under varying climatic conditions.

The round steel bar operation involves a high degree of precision for the production of cold finished carbon steel and stainless steel bars. With an annual capacity of 16,000 tonnes, steel bars from 0.75 inch to four inches of varied alloys can be supplied to any required lengths.

SMI's process of turning, straightening, grinding and polishing produces a precision PSQ (Pump Shaft Quality) to the required tolerances of diameter and finish.

"Strict quality control procedures - from acceptance of the raw material through each stage of processing - ensure a product of high dimensional precision and mechanical properties," says a company spokesman.

"With a dedicated facility for fabrication, SMI welders are ASME Section IX-certified for welding steel and stainless steel using Tig (GTAW), Mig (GMAW), Flux Cored (FCAW) and Stick (SMAW) processes and capable of handling customer specifications and requirements. An in-house oxy/acetylene flame cutting, shearing and press break facility allows for more control of quality and delivery schedules," he says.

The company says a documented quality management system conforming to the requirements of ISO 9001/ISO 9002 has been fully implemented at SMI.

"A staff of well trained quality inspectors with precision gauges and measuring instruments including a new Brown & Sharpe Global Image coordinate measuring machine (CMM) provides SMI with the total capability of ensuring that the finished product is to the required specifications," he says.

"We at SMI take great pride in offering an array of quality products while also providing world-class customer service," he adds.