One of the ‘big four’ in the fireproofing products sector, Arabian Vermiculite Industries has expanded its portfolio, installed testing facilities and undertaken an image makeover reflecting its global stature.

DAMMAM-based Arabian Vermiculite Industries (AVI), one of the world’s leading fireproofing products suppliers, recently undertook a strategic rebranding exercise to reflect the company’s expanded product portfolio.
“We are now making inroads in the local, regional and international refining and petrochemical markets for hydrocarbon-rated intumescent fireproofing products which involve the application of thin, high quality film for the protection of structural steel, to complement our range of UL1709 hydrocarbon fire-rated cementitious fireproofing,” says Hussein Fawaz, general manager at AVI.
AVI, a subsidiary of the Khalifa Algosaibi Holding (KAH), opened its first manufacturing facilities in Dammam’s First Industrial City in 1985.
Today, AVI is considered one of the world’s ‘big four’ fireproofing product manufacturers and distributors – and the world’s leading cementitious fireproofing manufacturer – marketing its range directly to GCC customers and internationally via a global network of licensed distributors and approved applicators. In Saudi Arabia alone, the company estimates it has fireproofed more than 2,000 chemical, petrochemical, refineries, gas plants, airports, power stations and commercial buildings in nearly 30 years.
This distribution network is now helping AVI reach new markets beyond Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East (including Iran, India, South East Asia, Turkey and Egypt) and into frontier territories such as Russia, Kazakhstan, North and West Africa, where demand for high-quality fireproofing is rising among chemical and petrochemical producers, refiners and gas processors.
Fawaz points out that the company – which also claims to be one of the Middle East’s largest perlite manufacturers and Saudi Arabia’s only vermiculite producer with horticultural lines – is intensifying its focus on fireproofing, including tunnel and duct products.
To support its international brand strategy, AVI installed in late 2013 a state-of-the-art furnace at the Dammam plant, a “significant” investment which now enables the company to rigorously test large steel sections in temperatures up to 1,200 deg C following any of the major international temperature curves.
AVI has a follow-up service agreement with UL, CE and FM, and has ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 environmental management system.
“Anybody can in theory make fireproofing products,” notes Fawaz, “but by building our own testing capabilities we can guarantee compliance with the strictest standards and specifications, giving our clients the utmost confidence.”
AVI’s global ambitions are further served by other strategic investments in the Dammam facility – output capacity has been doubled over the last two years, and approximately 30,000 tonnes of product are now sold every year. This, coupled with the company’s distribution network, ensures customer needs are met quickly and efficiently, to the highest international quality standards, at competitive prices with technical back-up from a team of qualified engineers who liaise with consultants, contractors and approved applicators.
The net result of this customer-centric, partnership-based approach, says Fawaz, is that end-users around the world are increasingly specifying AVI products, from major refining, gas processing, energy and construction projects to iconic locations such as Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France and Dubai International Airport in the UAE.
“Our business has grown tremendously over the last few years, wherever structural steel needs protection – from commercial and residential buildings to industrial warehouses and hospitals, airports as well as chemical and petrochemical plants, power stations and refineries,” says Fawaz.
He continues: “In Saudi Arabia, our growth is driven by the development of gas plants and refineries. We have supplied the giant Satorp (Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Company) and we are working on the Al Wasit gas programme for Saudi Aramco, a major onshore project scheduled for commissioning this year. In addition, we have fireproofed major infrastructure projects such as the Dammam and Riyadh airports, and the new airport in Jeddah, most of the towers at King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh including the CMA building. Regionally, we have worked on all the terminals at Dubai airport and the Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi,” he explains.
Fawaz says expectations for 2014 are “tremendous”, especially in the petrochemical segment where the company has $40 million-worth of deals signed outside Saudi Arabia alone. In the kingdom, AVI will be supplying the world-scale Jizan refinery in southwest Saudi Arabia, due to be commissioned in 2016. Fawaz is also excited by the huge potential on offer in protecting structural steel in commercial buildings, for example, at the King Abdullah Financial District.
The general manager stresses that AVI’s superior market knowledge and customer support, whether in far-off locations such as Kazakhstan (where it recently dispatched a technical team to provide project back-up) or in its home territory, is the company’s unique selling point, though he acknowledges that there are everyday challenges.
“Despite our international reach, some consultants internationally are unaware of AVI’s capabilities and expertise, and in many cases by habit tend to specify products from their own countries. Some specifiers also have old-fashioned mentalities – they’ve been specifying the same limited number of products for decades and are comfortable with them. It is our job to educate them on the alternatives, and the competitive advantages our state-of-the-art fireproofing products offer,” he says.
In this regard, Fawaz urges specifiers to be aware of product specifications. “We believe there is a lot of play (in the market), with products claiming specifications which are not accurate. One reason for our success is the integrity, quality and technical support certainty of what we supply, and our customers know that,” he adds.
AVI currently offers Avikote AV650 and Avikote AV800 petrochemical-grade cementitious fireproofing, tested in accordance with UL1709 and other international fire test standards offering up to four hours fire rating. These are Portland cement-based spray and/or trowel-applied product.
AVI also supplies the Monokote range of commercial fireproofing, which it says is the world’s most widely specified spray-applied fireproofing for structural steel, recognised globally for its superior durability and in-place performance and specified by architects and favoured by applicators on high-rise construction.
The Monokote range includes MK-6 standard density fireproofing Monokote MK-6HY for interior structural steel, Monokote Z-106 medium density fireproofing and Monokote Z-146 high density fireproofing.
Fawaz says he is encouraged that civil defence authorities in Saudi Arabia are now taking a more proactive stance in fire protection and regulation, perhaps as the precursor to an official national standard for fireproofing products.