Saudi Air Distribution Systems Company (Safid), which is celebrating its silver jubilee this year, is looking at expanding its product portfolio on the back of a recent surge in business.

“Business has shown a lot of growth this year in comparison with last year. At the moment our sales are up by 41 per cent compared with 2004, says Jamal Jawhari, managing director.
The Riyadh-based firm – which has carved a niche for itself as a leading manufacturer of air distribution systems and related accessories for the commercial and industrial sectors – anticipates a similar growth curve for 2006 and Jawhari believes the company is well-positioned to handle such growth.
Safid has been doing business with Attieh Steel for more than 10 years.
“Safid and Attieh Steel are partners when it comes to steel and we have both benefited from this relationship which is based on trust and long-term association. Attieh Steel is and will continue to be our leading supplier,” Jawhari says.
“Our main raw material is galvanised steel and we have procured all our requirements for steel from Attieh Steel,” he adds.
Safid provides complete engineering, manufacture and supply of all ducting systems and accessories to any international standards required. These include spiral, flat-oval, rectangular and flexible ducts, and fire and volume control dampers, fire/smoke dampers, louvres, VAV (variable air volume) systems, silencers, fresh air intakes, and air devices.
“Our most successful products have been single and double-wall spiral ducts with U-EPDM rubber gaskets, providing air-tight joints,” he says.
The company is now poised to launch its new VAVs range and is also gearing up to introduce its new range of grilles, diffusers and other accessories.
Over the past 25 years, Safid has taken on a number of challenging projects however the single largest challenge that the company faced, according to Jawhari, was the supply of the complete ventilation system for the Pilgrims Accommodation at Mina.
“The order was to be completed in a very short period of time at a time when we were also supplying the Al Faisaliah and Kingdom Tower projects,” Jawhari points out. “The deadlines – and logistics involved – were of prime importance as they could not be extended as the project was required to be completed in time for the Haj season. Therefore, we had to produce more than 120 tonnes of ductworks per day for two months to cope up with the project’s requirements.”
Jawhari cites the Red Bricks Factory expansion in Jeddah and the Al Marai CP-2 in Al Kharj as two of Safid’s most interesting projects in recent times.
He elaborates: “For the Red Brick Factory, we were selected to provide the ductwork (black steel and stainless steel) for the kilns, dryers and pre-heater by the owner and by the equipment supplier from the US and Germany. Work on the project, which was launched last February, is about 80 per cent complete and should be finished next February.
“Meanwhile, for the Al Marai dairy plant project, all the ducts we supplied were of stainless steel and fully welded inside/outside to avoid any build-up of dirt with time and to ensure ease of cleaning. The project commenced in August 2003 and was completed in December last year.”
Apart from the Red Brick Factory expansion, Safid has numerous other projects in hand, which include:
•  King Saud University, Riyadh;
•  A 500-bed hospital in Madinah;
•  Granada Centre, Riyadh;
•  Al Rashid Mall Extension, Al Khobar;
•  Khafji Joint Operation;
•  Pension Fund Investment Offices;
•  Yanbu Refinery;
•  Hospitals in six various location around the kingdom;
•  APU hypermarket (Jeddah and Riyadh); and
•  Carrefour in Jeddah, Riyadh and Al Khobar.
Established in 1980, Safid has its main office and manufacturing facility in Riyadh and offices and representatives in Kuwait, Dubai, and Qatar. It employs a staff of 200 and achieves an annual turnover well above $15 million per year.