TRELAWNY SPT, a specialist in surface preparation technology, has identified Saudi Arabia as a key area for growth in the coming year and is therefore increasing its activities in the kingdom.

As part of this strategy, last year Trelawny appointed Dammam-based Digital House as its distributor in Saudi Arabia and is looking at expanding warehouse facilities in the kingdom with the support of its partner. The UK-based firm is planning to have large stocks of its products in the kingdom to ensure quick delivery and thus support its client base in the region.

“A warehouse with stock has already been set up in Dammam but we are hoping to add a further facility in Jeddah shortly, which will also have after-sales service facilities,” says Bill Bailey, Trelawny’s sales director. “We are now looking at the possibilities of setting up another warehouse in Jeddah in the next two months.”

The company has been regularly visiting Saudi Arabia and participating in exhibitions there to enhance market awareness – and it was one such event that convinced it about the attractive prospects for its surface preparation equipment in the country.

“From our recent visits and participation at The Big 5 Saudi over the past two years, Trelawny has become very aware of the vast opportunities within the kingdom. There is much interest in the Trelawny product line from the many contractors involved in major projects,” he says. “Saudi Arabia has been recognised to be a crucial new market, and attending The Big 5 Saudi exhibition in March in Jeddah was an important step towards our strategy.”

Further measures to boost the company’s presence in the kingdom include conducting product demonstrations, which have been recently carried out for a number of high-profile Saudi companies including Kabbani, Saudi Industrial Flooring Company (Sifco), El Seif and Absar. These demonstrations helped secure further orders for its floor grinders, scabblers and vacuums, according to Bailey. Trelawny is a Saudi Aramco-approved vendor for its range of needle scalers.

Trelawny has been a global supplier and manufacturer of quality specialist pneumatic tools and surface preparation and maintenance equipment for more than 50 years, operating from its group headquarters in Leamington Spa in the UK, where it employs 30 people. The firm offers a range of equipment for the preparation of concrete, steel and stone in industries such as construction, floor preparation, utility contracting, restoration, refurbishment and demolition. With its designated trademark Vibro-Lo, Trelawny is a leader in operator protection with an objective to reduce vibration levels across its range of products.

For the Saudi market, it currently is targeting a number of concrete solutions or equipment including hand tools and floor machines for keying, cleaning and polishing concrete, and removal of high spots.

Trelawny’s floor planer ... in action.

Among the new products introduced by the company are planetary grinders used for polishing concrete – which proved to be a big hit at The Big 5 show, according to Bailey. Larger models of both the floor planers and floor scabblers have been added to the range.

Trelawny’s tools are being used on the Haramain High Speed Railway in Makkah, King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) 30 Towers project in Riyadh, King Abdulaziz Airport expansion project in Jeddah, and Rabigh Power Plant project, by El Seif Engineering and Contracting Company, the contractor on these projects.

Other contractors including Shapoorji Palanji and Binladin Group are also using equipment from Trelawny for the striking 30 Towers project in KAFD.

The tools are also being utilised by CCC for work on the King Abdulaziz Airport expansion and Dammam’s Ras Al Khair Power Plant projects and by Al Khuseim Corp for Saudi Aramco Refinery project in Dammam.

Elsewhere in the region, Trelawny tools have helped work on highly prestigious developments such as the New Doha International Airport (NDIA) in Qatar, and Burj Khalifa, Dubai Metro, and Dubai Pearl in Dubai and the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, all in the UAE.

“For the past two years, the NDIA project has featured as a top priority for Trelawny and its Qatar distributor Gulf Incon,” says Bailey. “The terminal building work has required many Trelawny products namely MHS11 multi-head scabblers, TFP200 floor planers, floor grinders and Portamix. This major project, which is nearing completion, is being carried out by Sky-Oryx a joint venture between TAV Construction from Turkey and Taisei from Japan.”

Trelawny achieved six per cent growth in business last year compared to figures achieved in 2010 and expects a further growth of 12 per cent in 2012 as it has hit record numbers in the first quarter of the financial year, according to Bailey.

Trelawny’s management team is very confident of a positive year having seen a large order intake for the first quarter. Its strategy remains to grow the business globally by appointing more distributors and boosting its product range. And although the home market is of great importance, Bailey says the major growth is expected within export markets.

While business was somewhat dampened by the global financial crisis after a record sales performance in 2008, the company decided to maintain its travel and marketing budget to ensure maximum exposure of its products, he adds.

“The key to maintaining our market share is to keep up to date with the industry in reacting to the ongoing changing demand in our industry,” he points out. “Also, Trelawny now has two additional international sales managers as overseas travel remains a key element in our success.”

The diverse market sectors it caters to also helped sustain business levels. “Trelawny sells to the construction, marine, and oil and gas sectors; so having both a diversity of sectors plus a wide range of international markets helped considerably in maintaining a presence and enabling us to remain profitable throughout the financial downturn,” Bailey points out. Trelawny has been concentrating on its traditional market sectors of construction and marine, however, the company has now recognised business opportunities in the nuclear, flooring, and oil and gas sectors.

Its products are sold worldwide through a network of quality approved stockists and distributors. Within the Gulf region, the company operates through distribution channels so that stock, sales personnel and after-sales service is available in each market. Trelawny has an experienced technical team on the constant look-out for new ideas and product development. A strong marketing presence allows it to maintain brand awareness and gain new sales leads and opportunities.