Forte Industrial Company (FIC), manufacturer of security locks and cylinders for wooden and steel doors, plans to expand its production range with other hardware accessories.

The Riyadh-based manufacturer, established in 1996, will introduce new models as well as diversify into products such as hinges this year, says Raed A Al Brikan, general manager.

This move follows the successful launch of a master key system in the last quarter of 1999 by FIC.

"The master key system, a central locking system, was previously confined to public usage in big projects, hospitals and commercial buildings," he says. "However, we adapted the system for private usage enabling villa owners to use an adapted version of the grand master system for smaller buildings and at a reasonable cost."

"The master key concept for smaller properties is new but I am confident of success for this product. Previously, the price was prohibitive but today, through a combination of awareness and showroom exposure, we have improved the concept of buying locks with a master key," says Al Brikan.

FIC sees a bright 2000-2001 for the company. Forte Industrial Company showed improved production and turnover last year. "1999 was a better year than 1998 and we are pleased with the improvement in the business and they were in line with our expectations," says Al Brikan.

Forte Industrial currently exports products to the other GCC states, Syria, Jordan and Yemen. "We are exporting approximately 15 per cent of our production working through distributors," says Al Brikan.

FIC plans to increase exports by 5 per cent every year. The new target markets are Middle East and North Africa.

The 100 per cent Saudi-owned company is part of the AK Al Muhaidib Group and manufactures locks under licence from the Italian firm F.lli Facchinetti.

According to Al Brikan, competition is both tough and unfair mainly through the importation of products made in the Far East. "One of the problems is that some of the products from the Far East are branded with Italian names and to me this is unfair competition," says Al Brikan, who believes that these practices do corrupt the overall market.

"We compete on quality. Although we are not the cheapest, our attention to quality control has helped make us successful and enable us to provide a five-year guarantee on our products."

"We are a precision industry where accuracy is measured in microns. We follows the European standards OUNO (Italian) and its equivalent DIN standard and we plan to achieve ISO 9002 certification during this year. We are also part of the committee set up by Saudi Arabian Standards Organisation (Saso) to establish Saudi standards for locks, which together with ISO certification is important for our business", says Al Brikan.

During the last six months FIC products have been supplied to the following major projects in Saudi Arabia