SAUDI Vitrified Clay Pipe Company (SVCP), a leader in the production and distribution of glazed vitrified clay pipes and fittings for sewage and drainage, recently boosted its capacity by opening a second plant earlier this year.

Set up over an area of 60,000 sq m in Riyadh’s Second Industrial Area, the new plant has a capacity of 70,000 tonnes, which can be boosted to 100,000 tonnes if needed, says sales manager Mahmoud Abu Jbarah.
“This is in addition to the 100,000-tonne capacity we already have at our first plant. Together, the two plants can fully meet the demand for vitrified clay pipes in Saudi Arabia, if not the region,” he says.
The plant, which manufactures pipes in diameters of 150 mm to 1,200 mm, utilises state-of-the-art German technology.
 “Some 40 per cent of our total production of 170,000 tonnes is exported to Arab countries, the Far East and Europe,” he says.
SVCP was founded in 1977 as a Saudi, German and Belgian joint venture to meet the needs of Saudi Arabia’s rapidly-developing infrastructure and in 2007 was converted into a public joint stock operation.
SVCP’s sales hit SR211 million ($56.2 million) in 2006 and increasing demand promoted the company, which was working at full capacity, to further expand its production facilities.
Sales continued to rise to SR214 million ($57.06 million) in 2007 and SR257 million ($68.5 million) in 2008 with exports in both years remaining high – SR63 million in 2007 ($16.7 million) and SR57 million ($15.19 million) in 2008. This year, despite the difficult economic situation in the Gulf and globally, the company has budgeted sales of SR260 million ($69.3 million) with as much as SR58 million ($15.46 million) coming from exports.
SVCP delivered its first overseas order in 1986 when it sent a consignment to Bahrain. Other Gulf orders followed and by 1988 the company had spread its wings beyond the Gulf to the wider Middle East, finding markets in Yemen, Egypt, Jordan and Sudan.
Exports to the Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and the Far East commenced in 1991 and subsequently orders flowed in from Western Europe.
Jbarah says that since its inception, SVCP has played a major role in the construction of the sewerage infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and neighbouring countries.
SVCP has ISO 9001:2000 accreditation and its products are in compliance with standards set by several reputed institutes in Saudi Arabia and Europe, he says. The company has more than 500 staff, works in collaboration with its German partner Keramo-Steinzueg and ensures it keeps abreast with the latest technology through two research centres, one in Saudi Arabia and the other in Germany. Keramo has been SVCP’s partner since the company was founded.
SVCP’s pipes are made from material quarried in areas around Riyadh. The quality of the manufactured products reflects formulas emerging from a judicious mix of ingredients, says Jbarah, who believes the long-lasting vitrified clay pipes are best suited for gravity sewerage networks.