Saudi Arabia-based Riyadh Furniture Industries (RFI), which has had a successful year in business, is looking forward to strengthen its position in the regional market through a phased modernisation of its manufacturing facilities.

The company – a leading manufacturer of industrial, office and residential furniture – is also planning to set up a new manufacturing facility to cope with the growing market demand for its quality products.
“There are several changes that are ongoing within the group and all of them have a common objective – to serve our customers and to meet the demands in all the sectors we are active,” says Abdullah SA Al Ahmari, projects manager of RFI.
A significant part of that change will also involve merging its five manufacturing facilities – four in Riyadh and one in Dammam – under a common identity. The Dammam Furniture Industry will now be combined along with the four other RFIs, and will be called RFI 5, he says.
“Specialising in laboratory, school and modular office furniture, RFI has been founded on the belief that it is not only possible but essential to produce the highest quality furniture at competitive prices and our commitment to this remains firm,” he says
At the recently-concluded Chemindex 2004 (chemical industries exhibition) exhibition in Bahrain, the company put on display some of its latest products in laboratory equipment including a series of fume hoods – the Future Hood – which it has recently supplied to  a college in Qatar.
“This year has kept us busy and we have been working round the clock, to complete some of our high-value contracts,” says Ahmari.
RFI has supplied its furniture to a diverse range of projects that include industries such as Aramco, Sabic (Saudi Basic Industries Corporation), Saso (Saudi Arabian Standards Organisation); educational institutions such as universities, and schools; ministries of interior, defence, and labour; banks and financial institutions; and airports, among others.

L21 series
“One of the more popular series of laboratory furniture, the L21 Lab Systems from RFI, is a complete line of modular systems designed to provide flexibility, economy and utility required by the laboratory of the present and the future,” says Ahmari.
Developed by an international team of laboratory design experts, and created in one of the most modern manufacturing facilities in the Middle East, L21 represents the leading edge of lab technology.
“Each component in the series, from work benches to fume hoods, is manufactured under the strictest quality control, and subjected to rigorous testing to guarantee compliance with all appropriate national and international standards,” says Ahmari.
RFI also works in conjunction with the world’s leading suppliers of lab accessories and safety equipment, to provide a complete lab package.
The L21 workbenches available in 450, 600, 900 and 1,200 mm modules are constructed with a steel frame, zinc-coated sheet steel cabinets, chemical-resistant work surfaces, and with sound-dampening material in all doors and drawer fronts. The sheet steel components are finished with stove enamelling, epoxy coating or chemical-resistant paint, he says.
Established in 1975, the company is one of Saudi Arabia’s leading manufacturers of contract furniture. The group, which has a total factory space of more than 210,000 sq m and a 1,100 strong workforce, has a well-equipped state-of-the-art computerised manufacturing equipment capable of manufacturing a complete range of high-quality furniture using steel, wood, or plastic for commercial, residential and institutional projects.

Quality
The company takes pride in the quality of its products and boasts a state-of-the-art quality control facility, which has the required testing machines, tools and equipment.
RFI testing facility has been inspected and approved by Saso to perform properly all tests as per the Saudi standard.
“This has helped us to maintain the specified levels of quality and also to comply with standards issued in general by Saso, American National Standard Institute (ANSI), Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturing Association (Bifma), and Scientific Equipment and Furniture Association (Sefa),” says Ahmari.
ISO-certified RFI has been a member of the ANSI/Bifma and Sefa since 1995 and benefits from the proposals, discussions and publications it receives from the associations. The company, which shares a close relationship with Saso and is a member of several of its committees, looks forward to a future that will be based largely on the strengths of product quality and advanced technology.