THE INTERNATIONAL Company for Building Materials (Binex), one of the largest building material companies in Saudi Arabia, describes 2008 as a good year despite the increase in prices and shortage of materials in the market and is confident of posting satisfactory results for this year too.

“Our sales force and supporting staff have achieved excellent results over the past two to three years. We are confident that 2009 will be the same as 2008 or even better,” says a senior executive at the company. “In the current economic climate, Binex is striving to obtain the best pricing and products from around the world for its customers.”
Binex has raised the bar in terms of quality and reliability in the construction and building material industry with a vast portfolio of products that includes construction chemicals, plumbing and water services products, building finishing and civil work products. It is one of three companies in the Bina Group, which was established in 1978 and headquartered in Al Khobar. The other two are Saudi Scaffolding Factory and The International Company for Chemicals (Binachem).
Offering “a complete building package from start to finish” has been its motto since its inception, and despite having been in the business for more than three decades, the company continues to seek opportunities to diversify into products that meet the demands of the construction industry. In this task, it is assisted by the fact that Binex is a sought-after name in trading circles.
The official points out, however, that “there are several manufacturers trying to handle their products through Binex, but we always try to focus on our areas of strength.”
The company has, with its wide product range and its stringent quality norms, secured the trust of contractors dealing with major institutions such as Saudi Aramco, Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic), and Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) on account of the approvals that its products have received and their availability. Major clients include J&P, El Seif Engineering, Saudi Technical, Al Mojil, Al Suwaidi, Nasser Al Hajri and Saad Group Hospitals, to name few.
“We have simultaneously exerted efforts on our retail market, and have developed our finishing, chemical and water services ranges to offer affordable and high-end products for the end-users, by introducing products such as full solid wooden doors, premium faucets and mixers from Price Pfister, world-class water heaters from Bradford White, channels and drains from ACO of Germany and other plumbing products from renowned manufacturers, ceiling and flooring materials from USG and other major companies,” says the spokesman.
Binex is constantly looking for opportunities to grow and expand. It has recently started operations in the UAE and is keen on expanding into other GCC countries as well, he says.
These efforts have received recognition from the industry: Binex has been shortlisted for the prestigious ‘Kingdom Expansion Awards’ to be held this month in Riyadh.
Among its most recent projects are the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust) in Jeddah with Saudi Oger and Binladin, where Binex has supplied drains, carriers, magnesium silicate board, gypsum board and finishing accessories; and the Saudi Kayan project in Jubail (with Sinopec and Al Moajil) where it supplied almost its entire range of materials. It has also supplied large-diameter fibreglass underground septic tanks to this project. The company has carried out supplies to several other projects in Saudi Arabia including King Abdullah University; Ibn Zahr with Gama, Raymond Saudi Arabia, Tekfen and Nesma; and King Saud University in Riyadh with RTCC.
Meanwhile, at the recently-launched Ras-Az Zour project, Binex is currently supplying filler board, protection board, gypsum board and insulation to six large contractors working on the landmark project. Binex is also a preferred supplier of quality microsilica for many prestigious projects including the Yanbu pipeline, one of Saline Water Conversion Corporation’s (SWCC) biggest pipeline projects in Saudi Arabia.

Services
As part of its commitment to offer a “complete package” Binex offers an extensive portfolio of services. Its activities include providing solutions to contractors and project owners from the bidding stage to successfully executing their projects within budgets.
“We carry out a variety of jobs for our clients everyday, right from identification of the most suitable product, specification narratives in the bill of quantities, providing recommendations or outright solutions to installation, and guidance to quantities estimation and demonstration of products on site,” the official says.
The company markets the products of major local manufacturers, such as National Gypsum Company, Saudi Rockwool Company, USG Middle East, Al Watania, Saudi Aluminium Ceiling Factory, and Dermabit Waterproofing Industries.
It is also the supplier of well-known brands from Europe, the US, India, China and Iran, such as George Fischer for flame-retardant pipes and fittings; Bradford White for water heaters; Catnic steel lintel and accessories; BTS for suspension system accessories; Laticrete for tiles and swimming pool fixing products and industrial flooring needs; and Everest for cement boards used in interior as well as exterior applications, flooring and ceiling systems. Binex also stocks gypsum tiles, calcium silicate boards, magnesium silicate boards, galvanised ladder mesh and many others.
This apart, Binex also markets products manufactured by its affiliates. These include rollform products from Saudi Scaffolding Factory and construction chemical products from Binachem.
To ensure that it provides maximum exposure for the products it markets, the company is a regular exhibitor at exhibitions. Binex recently took part in the Buildex 2009 exhibition held in Dhahran, and met and interacted with many clients and exhibitors. “We had a few major project enquiries and a sizable number of retail enquiries for our product range including wooden doors, water heaters, and faucets and mixers. Most of these enquiries have been converted into sales orders,” he says.
Binex operates regional offices and keeps substantial stocks in three strategically located warehouses in Jeddah, Riyadh and Al Khobar. It has branch offices and showrooms in Al Khobar, Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah, and is staffed with around 75 employees.