Saudi Ceramic Company (SCC) has recently signed a major business contract with LB Officine Meccaniche for a new porcelain tile factory that the company is building in Riyadh as part of major expansion plans that it launched early last year. 

The company is now set to launch production of Gres Porcellanato tiles by mid-2006.
The deal involves the installation of LB Technological towers to feed four high-tonnage presses.
“Along with a characteristic vertical batching system developed by LB, the plant will also be equipped with two Easy-Colour dry powder colouring lines,” says Abdulkarim Alnafie, general manager of SCC.
“For press feeding, two feeders will be installed for the production of tiles of superior aesthetic quality with a ‘travertine’ double-filling effect and ‘veined’ through-body effect. In addition, the plant will also be equipped with a Croma 225 and a Rollfeed 225 press feeding systems. With the new manufacturing lines devoted to producing through-bodied and glazed porcelain tiles, SCC aims at strengthening its leadership position in the domestic as well as international markets with products of a very high technical and aesthetical added value,” he adds.
SCC is one of the oldest and leading ceramic companies in the Middle East, involved in the manufacture and marketing of ceramic wall and floor tiles, vitreous china sanitary wares, ceramic road markers and electric water heaters.
 Incorporated in 1977 in Riyadh by a group of prominent businessmen with the backing of several Saudi financial institutions, the company embarked on its expansion plans early last year in a conscious shift towards the high-end segment and in a bid to gear up the company to meet the changing market trends.
The production of Gres Porcellanato tiles is the first of a series of plans to be launched by SCC as it adapts itself to the increasing global competition and also strengthens its position in the high-end segment.
“Our main objective is to produce high-quality Gres Porcellanato tiles that are similar to natural marble and granite for the high-end of the market,” he continues.
SCC’s other expansion plans include increasing production capacities, modernisation of plants and also introduction of new products and sizes. Notable among the changes is doubling the tile production capacities to 30 million sq m by 2007. Plans are afoot to produce tiles in many sizes up to 1 by 1 m in various finishes and textures.
SCC currently has a production capacity of 16 million sq m of ceramic tiles, 1.8 million pieces of sanitary ware, 600,000 pieces of electric water heaters and 1.2 million pieces of ceramic road markers per annum.
The company has posted a net profit of SR83 million ($21.3 million) in 2005. Its sales revenue last year was SR425 million, up 28 per cent from SR332 million in the corresponding period of the previous year.
The company has five area offices in Saudi Arabia that cover the entire kingdom and one in Dubai, UAE. SCC has a total of two modern tile factories, one sanitary ware factory and one plant for electric water heaters and has a workforce of 1,700 people. The factories are located in Riyadh Industrial city and are spread over 450,000 sq m. The company owns and operates 25 exclusive showrooms in all the major cities of Saudi Arabia.
An ISO-accredited company, SCC also has accreditation from CE, Saso (Saudi Arabian Standards Organisation), GS, Gosstandart (Russia) and Gosstandart (Ukraine).