The Yamama Factory for Red Bricks and Clay Products is planning to introduce new products to serve the construction market of Saudi Arabia and the region.

A leader in the line, the company currently manufactures bricks used for walls, partitions, ceilings, elevations, pavements and open areas.

The company is claimed to be the first of its kind to be established in the Central Province of Saudi Arabia and the second throughout the Kingdom.

Tracing the history of the company, chairman Abdulla Al Zamil says until the early 1970s, such industry was not common in the country. The Yamama project owners adopted an action plan that included not only the project itself but also the development of such industry in the Kingdom.

To this end, many visits were made to several factories around the world, including Germany, Italy, Spain, England and the US, which are the major countries in this industry. Talks were also held with technology providers, he says.

"The results were excellent and the best technologies were selected. The project was then implemented by two German companies, believed to be the best in this respect worldwide."

Initially, a 225-tonne daily production line was constructed amidst speculation that the market would not absorb the new product, he continues. There were two reasons for this speculation: a) this type of building material was not known in the Central Province and was not widely used in the Western and other provinces, and b) there was insufficient information at that time about the construction market.

Yamama factories commenced production in early 1979 and the result was as expected, i e poor demand for clay bricks, Al Zamil says. "However, the advantages of the product were soon recognised, especially in terms of its insulation, lightweight, cost-effectiveness, capability to resist underground water and low water absorption compared to other alternatives.

"A year later, it was found that the factory's capacity was sufficient to cover only part of the market demand and that it should be doubled.

"By virtue of our experience, we could enhance the capacity without much difficulty. With the new capacity of 450 tonnes per day, the output was still below the demand. A third production line was introduced shortly to increase the total capacity to 1,000 tonnes per day. This was followed by a new project in the southern part of Saudi Arabia with a capacity of 400 tonnes a day," he continues.

"From our frequent visits to similar factories in Europe and the US, we concluded that we should focus on higher quality and product upgrade was needed.

Thus, we have achieved a quality that is even better than similar competitors in Europe," says Al Zamil proudly.

"We are focused on improving the quality of our products and this fact is documented by recognised laboratories. We also endeavour to bring about diversified products that meet the construction market requirements and customers' desire," he adds.

Yamama Factory for Red Bricks and Clay will be at Stand No. 6014 at Saudi Build.