Mabani Steel, the UAE-based designer, manufacturer and erector of pre-engineered steel buildings (PEB) and hot-rolled steel structures (HRSS) has announced that it will start construction of its new factory in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, this month.

The new facility will have the same production capacity as its Ras Al Khaimah-based factory – which is 6,000 tonnes per month of PEB and 2000 tonnes per month of HRSS. The company plans to begin commercial production in Yanbu during the first quarter of 2009.
Says Mabani Steel president Muayyad Khudairi: “When the Saudi factory is completed, the combined production capacity of the UAE and Saudi factories will reach 16,000 tonnes per month, giving us the largest steel buildings (pre-engineered and hot rolled) production capacity in the GCC.”
“Capacity in the PEB industry is not measured by production alone,” he continues. “It is highly dependent on the ability of the PEB manufacturer to estimate, sell and engineer this capacity. To produce 16,000 tonnes per month or 192,000 tonnes per year of PEB and HRSS, a company needs an estimating staff of 30 engineers, a sales staff of 100 engineers and an engineering department of at least 160 engineers/detailers. When you look at it from this perspective, the PEB business is primarily a sales and engineering enterprise.”
Khudairi and Mabani Steel vice president Ken Krieger together have more than 30 years experience in the GCC PEB industry and have contributed to the success of the three largest PEB companies in this region, says the company. Mabani Steel is their fourth endeavour in this highly-competitive and technical industry.
Ethics play a big role at Mabani Steel, which claims to be one of the most honest PEB manufacturers in the GCC region.
Says Khudairi: “Krieger and I have always advocated honesty, transparency and a long-term approach to selling. We want our customers to be our lifetime partners and an extension of our marketing and sales effort. We are exceptionally fair to naive customers because their trust in us is total. We are, however, concerned about certain practices. unfortunately still present in the market, wherein the lowest price is submitted at the expense of undeclared omissions and deviations from clearly-defined consultant drawings and specifications. What’s more, the shortage of experienced steel engineers in owner/developer organisations and in contracting companies at times makes it difficult for these engineers to make accurate and fair comparisons between the offerings of different PEB companies, and they can fall prey to these omissions and opt for the lower price offer.”
Mabani Steel, according to Khudairi, aims at providing the fastest response to requests for quotations, the fastest delivery and the best post-shipment service. The company, which maintains sales offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, Riyadh, Al Khobar and Muscat, plans to set up additional offices during this year in Jeddah, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and in at least six African countries. Its sales offices are staffed with a manager, one to three sales engineers, one to three pre-contract support engineers, one post-contract support engineer and an erection specialist.