Ahmed Ramdan Juma (ARJ), one of the region’s largest engineering equipment and services providers, is poised to make giant strides in the fluid technology market in the GCC with more aggressive strategies for the current year, says Shahab Juma, general manager.

The group is presently associated with more than 40 reputed brands in the fields of water technology, construction and garage equipment, among which is Lowara, a world leader in stainless steel pump manufacturing technology.
Lowara is the most popular brand in the European and GCC residential and commercial pump market, says Juma. “The ARJ Group is proud to be associated with its ‘partner in progress’ ITT Lowara which has helped the company to set up branches in the UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait,” Juma adds.
Founded in 1968 in Montecchio Maggiore, near Vicenza in Italy, Lowara offers the most advanced products ranging from turbine, centrifugal and submersible pumps, related to water technology. The company has been serving customers and users of hydraulic pumps in various sectors for more than 30 years.
Lowara aims to provide efficient and reliable products, services and solutions for water supply and water pumping needs in the residential, irrigation, building services and commercial markets worldwide.
“Lowara is an environmentally-conscious company and has been actively involved in monitoring industrial waste and emissions of gas derived from production cycles. The company has gone a step further by setting up a separate area for storing dangerous waste at its Montecchio factory. We are glad to market products from a company which produces world-class quality products and yet keeps the environment safe from any pollutants,” Juma points out.
ARJ started operations in the early 70s as a small outlet in Dubai and has grown from strength to strength over the years and now operates from more than 16 locations in the region. It is committed to study, develop, manufacture and distribute pumps and pumping systems for water technology applications across the region, he says.
Tracing the growth of the company, Juma says: “In the early seventies, ARJ aquired sole rights to distribute Nemitsas diesel engine-powered turbine pumps in UAE and Oman, thus establishing itself as a major pump dealer. Realising a shifting trend from diesel to electro-pumps, the company clinched the sole distributorship for Lowara products in 1982 and in the very first year of operations, was successful in getting a major order from Al Ain Agricultural Department for 1,000 submersible borehole pumps against established brands.
“Since then, there has been no looking back for us and subsequently we have been successful in bagging numerous public sector tenders and projects for the supply of up to 1,000 Lowara pumps per order over the years.”
The ISO 9001-certified ARJ is poised to grow further and faster in the coming years with the establishment of branches and outlets in areas which are not covered by its sales network. Recently, the group opened a new outlet in Madinah, Saudi Arabia to meet the ever-increasing demand in the country. This is in addition to branches in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.
The group is also set to shift its corporate head office to Shaikh Zayed Road, Dubai which is nearing completion.
Juma attributes the group’s success to its focus on providing solutions rather than just selling products. The company has been quick to imbibe modern advancements with a view to enhance customer satisfaction – which has given it an edge over the competition and a status of a most preferred services provider in the region, he claims. 
“Through a network of retail showrooms, professional-third-party sales-outlets and its projects section, ARJ offers a thorough consultancy for customers to select the right products. Our goal is to ensure maximum customer satisfaction and loyalty by continuous improvement, regular customer contact and provision of instant services. A complaining customer is viewed as a ‘well-wisher’, and this policy has allowed the group to scale greater heights over the years,” he continues.
“All our showrooms are located at strategic locations and each serves as a one-stop-shop, offering ‘total solutions and convenience-of-access’ to customers.
“Our strategic network of showrooms is much more than a point of sale or display area. All outlets have the same facilities - customer-friendly setup, easy-to-select product placement, affordable prices, and highly skilled trained sales consultants who are well aware of the product range and applications,” Juma says.
Given its extensive network and quality product portfolio, ARJ is well poised to expand its business throughout the region, he concludes.