Saudi Industrial Tools Corporation (Sitaco) – a leading distributor of industrial tools and equipment in the region – has announced plans to diversify into manufacturing over the next five years.

According to the Jeddah-based manufacturer the move has been initiated in view of the increasing demand for high-quality products – both in the global and the regional markets.
Says chairman, Osman S Baosman: “Plans also include converting the company into a shareholding firm, the opening of additional branches, setting up a buying service on the Internet, and providing specialist training to complement the existing programme that it is undertaking for its staff.
“The vision we have for the next five years is in line with the developments in the industry and our customers' needs,” he said.
Sitaco markets a wide range of products including hand tools, test instruments, machine shop equipment and tools, abrasive tools and equipment, hydraulic tools, pneumatic components for automation; lifting, storage and handling equipment, safety tools and equipment, automotive workshop tools and equipment and gardening tools and related equipment.
The list of products also covers electric power tools, construction tools, air-operated tools and related equipment for all those items, maintenance and lubrication material, welding equipment and consumables and hoses for all applications.
The products come from some of the world's leading names in the business. Among them are Ingersoll-Rand, Cebora, Washington Alloy, Sankyo, PFERD, Camozzi, Metabo, Elora, Kranzie, Impero, Dormer, Europress, Guhring, Greenlee, Enerpac, Faraone, SP Yools and Mitutoyo.
The company was established in 1975, coinciding with the economic boom, when there was a growing need for tools and equipment in industries.
“The objective was to enable Sitaco gain the full satisfaction of customers by fulfilling their needs when and where required. That was the Sitaco mission statement,” says Baosman.
Key to developing the business was to identify major companies and sectors as potential customers. Heading the list were Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabian Airlines and the Saudi government. Also targeted were the manufacturing sector, the Saudi Electricity Company, the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), cement factories, hotels, maintenance companies, petrochemicals plants, technical schools and training centres, hospitals, large farms, wholesalers, retailers, individuals and service workshops.
Says Baosman: “The secret of Sitaco's success is not merely the marketing of top-quality goods but also good after-sales. Special attention was paid to making spare parts available, keeping service centres at peak operational levels and commissioning mobile workshops to reach out to customers with tools and technicians.
“In time Sitaco had gained the necessary technical expertise and financial strength to meet just about any customer order. The company had a worldwide network of suppliers in various fields to support it.
Sitaco has also been adept at providing what it terms as “total solutions”. This means its team of specialist engineers has the capability of tackling customers' total project needs, starting with the dispensing of free technical consultancy, defining the best materials they should use and on to site planning, the supply and commissioning of equipment and finally training customers' staff in the use of that same equipment.
The company has at any given time a stock inventory of more than 50,000 items, the value of which is nearly SR50 million ($13.33 million). There are four distribution centres, while the information systems department provides timely information to customers when needed.
Sitaco has also invested in improving its showrooms and establishing a section dedicated to the task of finalising quotations. Another section provides full and timely information about any transaction while the company's wholesale department serves customers through a kingdomwide network of distributors. At present, the company has six branches in Saudi Arabia and two each in Yemen and Sudan, and these are well supported by a fleet of company vehicles as well as by cargo transportation companies such as DHL and FedEx.
The company has released a new catalogue on the occasion of its 30th anniversary. Sitaco also organised a marketing campaign and held seminars in the hotels of Jeddah, Riyadh, Jubail and Yanbu to promote its products and the new edition of master catalogue.
“The feed-back received from the audience was highly positive to the extent that we were encouraged to extend the seminar plan to include technical seminars about specific products that concern our customers who need to update the knowledge of their staff about the latest technologies related to those products. And we intend to organise such technical seminars at the customer's facilities either by our technical staff or by a team from our principals,” he concludes.