Aluminium Products Company (Alupco), a regional leader in aluminium extrusions, is embarking on a multi-pronged strategy to spearhead its growth, particularly through expanding its export arena to include Europe, US and Canada.

With a new general manager at the helm, Alupco is gearing up to beat the competition and propel itself to the ranks of the frontrunning aluminium extruders in the world.
“We are aiming to turn our focus to engineered products such as complete system profiles rather than the production of commercial quality extrusions, which is an intensely competitive market,” says Ibrahim Al-Rashed, who took charge as general manager of the Saudi-based aluminium extruder last September.
Commercial extrusions are targeted at small housing projects where the key criterion is price and quality is not a major consideration, he says.
The second aspect of its growth strategy is to establish a partnership with its customers, through regular meetings with a view to arriving at a plan aimed at ensuring mutual success.
“We are adopting an open-door policy and also looking at possible mergers and acquisitions,” he says.
“As the biggest extruder in the region, Alupco recognises the need to liaise with its customers on a one-to-one basis, in order to analyse their needs, provide them with support and services and solve their problems. Also, we need to join hands with our fabricating partners in order to establish a strong foothold in the market,” Al-Rashed points out. “We are also keen to enhance our marketing activities.”
Alupco is also looking at ambitious plans to almost double its current production of 70,000 tonnes per year (tpy) of extrusion to 135,000 tpy over the next decade.
Around 70 per cent of Alupco’s output is absorbed by its domestic market, with 30 per cent of it destined for the export market, primarily the GCC countries.
Al-Rashed is looking at changing all this. “Having enhanced our production capacity, we cannot limit ourselves to the GCC market and hence need to look outside, to Europe, US and Canada, which currently account for just 5 per cent of our output,” says Al-Rashed, who is targeting a figure of 30 per cent of output for these markets.
Established in 1975, Alupco has two large and modern plants – one in Dammam and the other in Jeddah. Its head office and factory is located over a 65,000 sq m site in Dammam First Industrial City, while its Jeddah plant is located over a 70,000 sq m plot in Jeddah Industrial City – Phase II. The company also operates a sales office in Riyadh to cater to the needs of customers based in the capital and neighbouring areas.
To boost its capacity, Alupco intends to install additional press of 10,000 to 13,000 tonnes capacity at its facilities in Jeddah. The Jeddah factory can easily accommodate this expansion within its existing facilities.
As part of its drive to enhance its appeal to European markets, Alupco is focusing on offering wood finishes as well as products using the chemical brightening process to produce stainless-steel-like finishes, which are popular in those markets.
Commenting on business levels this year, Al-Rashed says: “The year (2006) wasn’t as successful as 2005, as the market demand was primarily for kitchen profiles – which our massive presses are not geared for. This apart, the collapse of the Saudi stock market earlier in the year resulted in a slowdown in the construction sector, which has affected all extruders.”
Another reason for the slack business volumes achieved this year was the fact that supply outstripped demand – by as much as two-and-a-half times, he says.
“To make matters worse, a number of new extruders are expected to enter the market shortly,” he adds.
Al-Rashed calls for the establishment of an aluminium association, which could play a regulatory role in the market while providing a source of marketing intelligence for the private sector.
“One of the main problems, affecting the market is the lack of accurate data which could help in maintaining an equilibrium in the market,” he points out.
Alupco produces aluminium profiles in mill, anodised, polyester powder-coated and chemically-brightened finishes as per customers’ requirement. These are mainly used in the fabrication of windows, doors and curtain-walls. It also offers specially-designed profiles for the automotive, electrical (lighting fixtures) and furniture industries as well as for specific applications such as signboards and crash barriers.
Alupco’s two plants are equipped with modern and technologically-advanced equipment supplied by the most reputable machinery manufacturers in the US, Western Europe and Japan. The Dammam plant has four extrusion presses – including the largest press in the Middle East – with a total production capacity of 40,000 tpy of aluminium profiles. It has an anodising, two vertical painting and a chemical brightening line.
The Jeddah facility, which has a capacity of 35,000 tpy, also has three presses and is equipped with an anodising, a vertical and a horizontal painting line. In addition, it has a cut-to-size facility, which can supply customers with profiles at the required lengths with +/- 0.5 mm tolerance and a state-of-the-art die manufacturing plant with a production capacity of 2,500 extrusion dies per year.
The design and production of aluminium profiles as well as surface treatment with various finishes are as per international standards: EN (European), DIN (German), BS (British) and SASO (Saudi Arabia), he says.
Alupco has been focusing on quality since its inception and it became the first aluminium extrusion company in the Middle East to gain the ISO 9001 certification way back in 1995.
Alupco extrusions have been used on a large number of prestigious projects in the region including the NCCI Ta’awoniyyah Co-operative Insurance, Kingdom Centre and the Al Faisaliah Centre, all in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; the Burj Al Arab, Al Murooj Complex in Dubai; the National Bank of Abu Dhabi in Abu Dhabi; the Khalifa Stadium in Doha; the Telecommunications Tower in Kuwait; Al Anwar Towers in Sharjah; and National Bank of Bahrain, in Bahrain.
Among its more recent projects are the Raffles Hotel, The Palm Island, Jumeirah Beach Residence, Mall of the Emirates, Shatha Tower, Horizon Tower, Burj Dubai-Old Town, all in Dubai; Expo Towers in Sharjah; Arraya Centre in Kuwait; Buildex and Al Ma’athar Towers in Saudi Arabia; Al Areen and Al Dafna Towers in Qatar and Beirut Marina Tower in Lebanon.