With business having improved steadily over the past few years, Riyadh-based Raghadan Paint Company – one of the largest indigenous paint companies in the GCC – has plans to further expand its manufacturing facilities to produce new products and its distributor network in the region over the coming year.

As the specialist paint provider, Raghadan’s business activities cover the entire circle of the paint business including manufacture, sale, distribution, export, import, design, application and supervision of painting works in various building projects in both the private and the public sectors.
Over the past year, Raghadan has completed the expansion of its factory at Riyadh to include a new production line for construction finishes such as adhesives and grouts for tiles and ceramics, cracks and joint fillers, roof and floor coatings, ready-coloured cement finishes, weather and roof protection systems and other building material finishes. Equipped with an extended product portfolio, the company is currently eyeing new markets in the Middle East with a view to increasing its sales volumes.
“We are planning to expand the market for our range of building material finishes and decorative paints not only in the Gulf but also in the entire Middle East where there is increasing demand for our products,” says sales and marketing director Hisham Ali.
Commenting about the Saudi market, Ali says: “The Saudi market, which is currently the largest in the Middle East, is growing rapidly with a number of projects lined up for the next decade. Business has been growing year on year despite the fact that some of the funds that would have been spent on construction were channelled into the stock market. The future looks promising, with many big projects already launched such as the King Abdullah Economic City. It should keep the sector busy for the next 10 years.”
To tap the growing market, Raghadan intends to set up a number of paint showrooms in Saudi Arabia as well as elsewhere in the Arab world and in Africa.
Raghadan has carried out the work for palaces for the royal family of Saudi Arabia, villas and palaces for the private sector as well as other commercial and residential projects with more to follow in the pipeline,” he says.
Some of the large projects that the company has been involved with recently include:
• An exclusive 40 villas and palaces private project for the family of Ahmad Banaem in Riyadh, spread over 100,000 sq m area. Raghadan supplied its emulsions and enamels for the interiors as well as San Marco’s Reflessi pearl-effect and Grasello marble-effect paints to cover an interior area of 250,00 sq m;
• A European-style palace, overlooking a date palm-clad valley. for Abdul Al Aziz Saleh in Riyadh, the owner and director of a well-renowned interior design company in Saudi Arabia. Raghadan’s acrylic paints and San Marco’s Marmorimo marble-effect finishes for the exteriors have been used over an area of 20,000 sq m;
• Al Twaijri Mosque, a Saudi traditional-style mosque which can accommodate 2,000 worshippers, located in the newly developing residential area of Riyadh. The project, which had Al Twaijri Company as the main contractor, also included two villas. The primary paints used are Raghadan emulsions for the interiors, Raghadan’s Graviato Tex for exteriors and Levis wood varnishes for the doors and cornices, involving a total coverage area of 30,000 sq m;
• InterContinental Hotel, set in a date grove within an oasis in Ahsa in the Eastern Province. Owned by Al Hussain and Al Afalik Company, the hotel comprises a 10-storey building and 50 villas, spread over an area of 250,000 sq m. The paints used on this project are Raghadan emulsions and enamels for the interiors, San Marco’s Aquasil special-effect and Marmorino marble-effect finishes as well as Levis gold and wood varnishes; and
• Mobily showrooms across Saudi Arabia, for which Raghadan supplied and applied its acrylic paints and San Marco’s Stucco Veneziano marble-effect paints over an interior space of 50,000 sq m.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, Raghadan paints have being used in Bahrain on a palatial residence for singer Michael Jackson, involving a coverage area of 25,000 sq m and utilising Raghadan emulsions and enamels for the interiors, Raghadan Roll Tex for exteriors, San Marco’s Aquasil special-effect and Stucco Veneziano marble-effect paints; and for a 15-storey four-tower residential project, entailing an exterior paint area of 100,000 sq m, where Raghadan acrylic paints were used.
A 50-tower residential project at Jumeirah Beach Resort in Dubai is among the landmark developments where Raghadan’s emulsions and enamels, and San Marco’s Stucco Veneziano marble-effect paints have been applied. The project entailed a total surface coating area of 250,000 sq m. A similar area was also involved in the Olympic Stadium project in Doha, Qatar, where Raghadan’s emulsions, enamels, NC (nitrocellulose) and epoxy coatings were applied.
Further afield, Raghadan has also contributed to prestigious projects such as a palatial project for the company’s president located on a mountain top in the western section of Amman, capital of Jordan; as well as a restaurant ship project berthed on the river Nile in Cairo and four hotel cruisers which ply between Luxor and Aswan in Egypt.
Established in 1974 in Riyadh, Raghadan has grown over the past three decades into a highly competitive player and leader in paint manufacturing and industrial coatings. With its manufacturing and warehousing covering a total area of 100,000 sq m, Raghadan is considered to be the largest Arab paint company in terms of its distribution network. Its diverse range of paints comprises emulsion and enamel paints, primers and textures, industrial paints, sealants, NC and epoxy paints, wood coatings and varnishes, emulsion and the latest creative decorative paints, such as pearl and velvet effects.
The company is also a leading importer of paints from well-known international paint companies such as Akzo Nobel (Levis) of Europe, the number one paints specialist worldwide; Kansai Paint Company of Japan, number one in Japan and among the top 10 internationally; San Marco of Italy, a leading decorative paint company for special and marble effect paints in Europe; and Vernici Milesi also of Italy, a specialist in quality polyurethane (PU) wood varnishes.
Raghadan has a workforce of 1,000 employees with a network of three paint factories in both Saudi Arabia and Egypt, six paint companies in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt and a regional office in London, UK, 15 branches, 20 agents and 500 distributors.
Ali attributes the growth of the company to the dedication, hard work and positive outlook of all its founding members. “In addition, we have been ensuring that we provide the best quality and customer service at the most competitive prices,” he says.
As part of its extensive marketing and promotional strategy, the company plans to showcase its product range in some of the leading trade events in the Middle East including the Buildex Damascus in Syria, which is being held this month (May 11 to 15) and at InterBuild Cairo in Egypt next month (June 21 to 25), among other trade fair and exhibitions in the region.