Union Locks and Hardware hosted a seminar last month to mark the opening of its Union Design Centre in Bahrain.

The event was staged in conjunction with Abdulaziz and Saad Almoajil, Union's sole agent in the GCC countries, and M H Al Mahroos Company, its authorised dealer in Bahrain.

The Design Centre is located in M H Al Mahroos' main showroom. The facility is the third of its kind in the region as Union intensifies efforts to create greater awareness of its new image. A further five Union Design Centres are expected to be opened in the Middle East, starting with Qatar (in association with Darwish Trading Company), Oman (Khimji Ramdas) and Kuwait (Sabano Trading) by November this year.

Union Locks and Hardware is a part of the Swedish group Assa Abloy, a world leader in locks and door security solutions.

Union was acquired by the Swedish group in 2000 and set up a network of new main dealers in the region as well as international markets last year, according to Robert Voss, regional manager, Middle East. The Middle East accounts for 55 per cent of the company's export markets, he told the seminar.

Union will focus on the projects market, concentrating on the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.

Voss also drew the delegates' attention to the wide range of products that Union offers including the UK Range, the iX84 range, First Impressions range of levers, door closers, padlocks and keying systems.

Union will considerably strengthen its presence in the region when Assa Abloy opens its Middle East branch office in Jebel Ali next month. By the end of this year, the office will be manned by a team of nine executives dedicated to serving the region. The group is also restructuring its operations so that Union will be identified primarily for commercial locks and Yale Securities will handle the retail and residential brand.

Other sectors that the team will cater to include hospitality, OEM and industrial security, and Besam automatic door systems.

The relaunch of the Yale brand in the region has been planned for later this year.

Elaborating on the Assa Abloy group, regional sales director Ross Hopwood said: "Assa Abloy, which encompasses 55 companies and 105 brands, aims to provide the best locking solutions worldwide. The company has a sales turnover of $3 billion and is looking at acquiring local positions and brands in the markets that it serves while seeking long-term partnerships. It is also focusing on supplying everything on the door envelope."

M H Al Mahroos, which joined hands with Union Locks and Hardware last year, deals in architectural hardware; domestic, industrial and sewage pumps; garage equipment; welding machines; architectural, gardening and irrigation equipment; and real estate, said Shishir Gupta, sales engineer for M H Al Mahroos. It is well equipped to support Union in Bahrain, he added.

The new Union Design Centre is located at M H Al Mahroos showroom on Shaikh Salman Highway. The staff of each Design Centre is fully trained on the company's products, having completed an intensive 10-day Specification Training course at Union's UK factories.

Union also provides each centre with 'U-Schedule', the latest in door scheduling software which ensures that clients and specifiers get exactly the products they need. For items such as door handles, Union uses the 'Virtual Set', which allows people to view what products will look like in-situ and make any changes if required.

Union's Design Centres lets the client choose the preferred style of lever handle and will then design an exclusive back plate with him. This bespoke service can ensure that any engraving is included and, as part of 'The Signature Collection', laser etches a signature onto the back plate.

Abdulaziz and Saad Almoajil is a well-diversified company handling general trade, general contracting, international agencies, furniture, agriculture and food products, industrial equipment, chemicals and insurance. The company has been the agent for Yale for more than four decades and for Union since 2001, M Muzzaffar Mohiuddin Khan, manager of Abdulaziz and Saad Almoajil, told the delegates.

It also owns a number of manufacturing facilities. Almoajil has a number of showrooms in the major cities of Saudi Arabia and is looking at opening two more showrooms this year, he said. The company has a distribution centre in Jebel Ali, which was set up in 1997.