BAHRAIN’S leading sanitary ware manufacturer Awal Bath is to launch a new line of steam cabinets, shower cabins and glass partitions next year.

Awal Bath, which exports more than 95 per cent of its products, focuses on innovation to stay ahead of the game, says a company spokesman, adding that the new lines will be unveiled by mid-2010.
“Awal is always looking to develop new products as well as upgrade existing lines such as our jacuzzi-styled baths, and steam cabinets,” he says.
The company’s freestanding and roll-top bathtubs, said to be the first of their kind in the Middle East, as well as a new range of indoor spa and saunas have proved popular in the GCC and the Europe, where Awal Bath has a strong dealer network. Negotiations are now under way to extend its export base to other countries, he says.
A varied product line and stringent quality control give Awal Bath an edge over its competitors, the spokesman says.
“We implement strict quality systems to remain competitive; and our products meet European and British standards specifications,” he explains.
Awal Bath regularly introduces new, attractive designs while improving the features of existing product lines.
As an exporter, Awal Bath has managed to stave off the impact of the global downturn by focusing on markets where demand has remained strong.
“We’ve been able to strike a balance, as a decrease in demand in one market was offset by an increase in another,” he explains. “We also focused on our bestsellers and this helped maintain our turnover.”
Elaborating on this point, he says that though the turnover for bathtubs fell as projects were put on hold, sales of the whirlpools, steam cabinets and other fibreglass products rose substantially. “Overall, the real estate slump didn’t affect us much as our products are an essential part of people’s lives.”
Awal Bath competes successfully on the international market through innovation, product quality, a strong focus on after-sales service and provision of a “reasonable warranty, as compared to other competitors”.
The company is currently expanding production capacity and is looking at plans to build a second plant.