Plarabi Decoration Establishment has forged its name as a hallmark for quality and has emerged as the largest interior decoration specialist in the Middle East over the past two decades, says the Saudi-based firm.

'After 20 years of operation in the kingdom, we can claim today to be one of the oldest and the largest companies existing in the field of finishing and decoration in the Middle East,' says Renato Zimmerman, general manager of the Jeddah-based firm.
Its sound reputation and unrivalled references have helped Alarabi secure most of the major interior d‚cor projects in the kingdom, he says.

'Despite the slowdown in the economy over the past two years, construction in Saudi Arabia has been booming. New palaces, hotels, shopping malls as well as private villas are under construction or have been completed and Alarabi has taken full advantage of this positive and exciting business environment,' he says.

Business is so upbeat for Alarabi that the company has redoubled efforts to complete these fast-track projects on time. The interior d‚cor expert currently has more than 20 ongoing projects in the Kingdom alone.
Says Zimmerman: 'At the moment, we have more projects than we can handle and our teams of gypsum specialists, artists, painters and artisans have been under extreme pressure during the entire year.

'However, although we have had to put in a lot of effort to complete all these 'rush projects' on time, we have been very pleased with the results.'
Some of Alarabi's major projects under way in Saudi Arabia include the Al Corniche Hotel, a super deluxe five-star hotel in Jeddah, and two palaces for the ruling family in Riyadh and Jeddah.

The company is also currently involved in major projects in Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Spain and Italy. In Kuwait, it is engaged in the interior d‚cor works for a shopping mall and a palace. Alarabi is also working on a new presidential palace in Kazakhstan.

Some of landmark projects completed by Alarabi include the passenger and royal terminals at Dhahran International Airport, Westin Hotel in Jeddah and Hilton Hotel in Jeddah, (all in Saudi Arabia); the Casino du Liban in Beirut (Lebanon); the Sheraton Hotel (Deluxe Collection) in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia); and the new extension to the Meridien Hotel in Cairo (Egypt).

Established in 1982 by a group of Italian decoration specialists, Alarabi 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. Alarabi also uses the services of Arcade Architectural and Interior Designers of Kuwait in designing some of the palace projects it is involved in.

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.

With more than 1,200 gypsum specialists, carvers, artisans, artists and painters - all professionals of the highest calibre - Alarabi is looking at the future with optimism and excitement, concludes Zimmerman.