Mammut Building Systems, the largest manufacturer of pre-engineered steel buildings (PEBs) and sandwich panels in the UAE, has entered Qatar with the intent of capturing 50 per cent of the local market for PEBs by mid-2004.

It has appointed Muhammad Khudhairi - one of the most senior executives in the PEB industry - as its regional sales manager for Qatar.
'Our appointment of Khudhairi reflects the level of importance that we place on the Qatar market. Khudhairi's extensive experience in the pre-engineered steel buildings over the past 25 years will guarantee that we achieve our objective in the Qatar market,' general manager Muayyad Khudairi says.
Khudhairi's experience in PEBs includes previous positions as plant manager at Kirby Building Systems Kuwait, sales manager in Sri Lanka for Zamil Steel, and general manager of Zamil Steel's Vietnam factory.
Khudhairi's presence in Qatar will be complemented, within two months, with a senior sales support engineer and a senior erection specialist - making the trio the most professional and experienced team in the PEB industry in Qatar, says Khudairi.
Average monthly sales at Mammut Building Systems have increased tenfold since the opening of its new state-of-the-art factory at Sharjah's Hamriyah free zone in January 2002, he points out.
In addition, since January, Mammut has been booking orders at the rate of 3,000 tonnes per month and has plans to increase sales considerably during 2004 as it enters the Saudi, Kuwaiti, Bahraini and Iraqi markets.
Last month, Mammut initiated its 'vision 2005' to become the largest manufacturer of pre-engineered steel buildings and the most diverse building system company in the Middle East by the end of 2005.
'We have absolutely no doubt that by the end of 2005, we will be the largest manufacturer of pre-engineered steel buildings in the Middle East. Our investment in technology, our product diversification and our emphasis on recruiting the best players in this industry are the vehicle for achieving our vision,' adds Khudairi.
Mammut, he says, has made a major investment in technology and human resources during the past 18 months that has made its PEBs the most economical and the fastest to deliver in the Middle East. This investment includes:

Acquiring a new shop detailing software that is claimed to be twice as efficient and twice as fast as the most advanced software used by any PEB competitor in this region. This has greatly reduced the engineering cycle at Mammut;

• Acquiring two of the most sophisticated and flexible automated paint system lines including a heater oven that facilitates the fast drying of paint and the fast application of multi-coat paint systems. This has greatly cut back the painting cycle of multi-coat structural paint systems;
• Acquiring the fastest and most automated continuous foaming polyurethane sandwich panel production line in the region whose production capacity, claims Khudairi, is greater than the combined sandwich panel production capacity of all other PEB manufacturers in the GCC;
• Recruiting the most experienced and accomplished executives and engineers in the PEB industry in this region;
• Acquiring two of the most sophisticated autoweld lines for producing built-up sections in this region, boosting Mammut's average monthly production of PEBs to 6,500 tonnes - which is considered to be the largest in the Middle East;
• Upgrading all building components of its pre-engineered steel buildings to a level that now exceeds that of all other PEB producers in the Middle East, he adds.
  Elaborating on this further, Khudairi says: 'We are not the biggest yet but we can proudly and truthfully claim that we have the highest quality product and the fastest delivery irrespective of project size. We can further state that in the markets where we operate, we have the highest level of before and after-sales service.'

Mammut currently has sales offices in the UAE (Dubai and Abu Dhabi), Qatar (Doha), Sudan (Khartoum), Bangladesh (Dhaka and Chittagong), Pakistan (Lahore) and Sri Lanka (Colombo) with plans to add Oman (Muscat), Bahrain (Manama), Saudi Arabia (Dammam) and Kuwait (Kuwait City) before the end of this year. During the past nine months, Mammut has secured a number of projects in all the markets where it has a sales presence.
'Apart from our technology, our success can be attributed to the way we perceive our customers and our employees. We make sure that our employees place as much importance on the interests of our customers as on our own interests. We also treat our employees the way we ask them to treat our most valuable customers,' Khudairi says.
Mammut invites all consultants, contractors, developers and owners to send their inquiries for pre-engineered steel buildings and sandwich panels to sales@mammut.ae promising an immediate response with a detailed quotation offer and proposal drawings.