Poised to go global.

(From Gulf Construction)

On the back of a great year in business, Riyadh-based Saudi Ceramic Company (SCC) is looking forward to a year of expansion, product launches and opening up new showrooms in the kingdom as it is poised to go global. The year 2004 was an excellent year as regards sales and profits. The company had a record sales turnover of $86 million and a net profit of $28 million, (including extra ordinary income of $11 million), says general manager Abdulkarim AlNafie

The company had also achieved great milestones in terms of volume of production, as it witnessed a growth in tile production capacity to 16 million sq m, and plans are well under way to double the figure by 2007. Last year, the company also made substantial investments in plant modernisation and expansion and decided to enter into the high-end segment of the tile market by investing in the production of gres porcellanato tiles. The facility is expected to be operational this year. AlNafie continues: "We are looking at focusing on three areas: to increase our production capacities to achieve better economies of scale, to broaden our existing product portfolios and to maintain our quality standards. To realise this, we have decided to invest millions of dollars over the next two years. "The board of directors has recently approved an ambitious project which is scheduled to be completed in two phases; the first phase will be completed in 2006 and the second will end in 2007. After the completion of this, the company will be able to produce 30 million sq m tiles per annum making it one of the largest manufacturers in Asia. "The decision to enter into the gres porcellanato segment will also play a pivotal role in the growth strategy of the company and also help SCC to be in the premium segment of the tile market," he says

The company has also planned the introduction of new products notable amongst them being ...