Alarabi Decoration is one of the Gulf region's undisputed, leading specialists in high standard finishes, claims general manager Renato Zimmerman.

This is amply demonstrated by the list of projects that the Jeddah, Saudi Arabia-based interior decoration expert has in hand both in the Kingdom and abroad, he states.

"Alarabi has been engaged in several major projects, in major Saudi cities such as Jeddah, Riyadh and Makkah, where all of our workforce is engaged in our various current jobs," says Zimmerman.

Alarabi is involved in the gypsum decorative works for a number of new royal palaces as well as luxury villa projects in Jeddah and Riyadh. The company also recently completed work for the Kingdom Holding Company on the gypsum ceiling works for three floors at the Kingdom Centre in Riyadh which, at 300 m, is the tallest building in Saudi Arabia.

Other projects completed in the Kingdom over the past year include a major interior contract at the South Asian Pilgrim Guide Establishment in Makkah. The fast-track project for all the interior decoration and finishing work was awarded to Alarabi on a turnkey basis and was completed ahead of schedule, according to Alarabi's business consultant, Saleh M Saleh, who was closely involved with its execution from start to finish.

"The building was the brainchild of the famous architect Refaat El Ayache, who designed the concept and personally supervised the execution of all the work," says Saleh. "It was a difficult project for us due to the extremely tight schedule. However, the project was perfectly executed under Refaat, who received a special word of appreciation from the client during the inaugural ceremony."

Elsewhere in the Gulf, the company has successfully completed two major projects in Kuwait, Phase V of the Kuwait waterfront project at Salmiya and the Public Institute for Social Security (PIFSS) tower. Ahmadiah Contracting, one of Kuwait's largest contracting companies, is the main contractor for the projects.

At the waterfront project, Alarabi carried out interior finishing works at the Marina shopping mall, which was built under the first stage of the development and opened last November.

The company is now mobilising to start work on other prestigious projects in Kuwait.

Alarabi offers complete concepts for decoration and technically sound designs. It provides a wide range of services which cover design and consultancy for gypsum and painting work, including marbling, gold leafing, special applications, trompe l'oeil and artistic works, tiling for domes, swimming pools, fountains and murals, landscaping works as well as special woodworks.

For the glass mosaics, it uses Bisazza products from Italy, while for woodwork, the firm is associated with GMC of Italy.

Its technical department has developed a special decorative material for exteriors, similar to glass reinforced concrete (GRC). Marketed as 'Alarabirock', this exclusive weather-resistant product has been successfully used in projects on three continents.

"Alarabi has over 21 years of experience, and all these years have been very successful for us," says Zimmerman. "Alarabi has expanded tremendously since its inception and has obtained great international renown and recognition.'

Alarabi was established in 1982 by a group of Italian decoration specialists and soon became known for its quality work.

Alarabi has completed numerous major decoration projects in the Middle East and Europe, including royal palaces, hotels, casinos, airports, shopping centres and private villas.

Among Alarabi's major projects are several royal palaces in the Kingdom, the royal and passenger terminals at Dhahran Airport, the Hilton Hotel and the Leylaty Ballroom in Jeddah, a presidential palace in Kazakhstan, a royal palace in Marbella, Spain, the Sheraton hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the extension to the Meridien Hotel in Cairo, a mosque in Algiers, Algeria, and a golf course complex near Izmir, in Turkey.

Alarabi employs more than 1,000 staff including artists, decoration specialists, gypsum artisans and experts in special paintings and gilding.

It now expects to boost its workforce considerably when the company launches work shortly on two new major projects in Italy and Kazakhstan.

In the meantime, the company is in negotiations for major projects in Bahrain, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

"With the economic conditions expected to improve in the region, we are optimistic and have great confidence in the future of our company," concludes Zimmerman.