Saudi Turf Company has been actively involved in the surfacing of recreational facilities and in waterproofing, its services being sought by hotels, educational institutions, military complexes and private compounds, besides other establishments.

The company's work covers the design, supply and installation of indoor and outdoor sports surfacing as well as heat insulation and waterproofing, making it an important player in a specialised construction field.

The Riyadh-based Saudi Turf is a limited liability company with a staff of 120 and an annual turnover of $6 million. The company was established in 1979 and now has two branches in Jeddah and Dammam.

Projects that the company is currently working on include a contract worth SR1.2 million ($319,000) for the Kingdom Centre and another worth SR2 million for the Equestrian Club Racecourse.

Other projects in the completion stage are those for Saudi Arabian National Guard (Sang) (worth SR6.75 million), the Jeddah Hilton (SR1 million) and the King Saud University (SR2 million). The company recently completed projects for the King Abdul Aziz Air Base (SR1.5 million) and for General Transport (SR700,000).

Over the years, the company has worked on recreation centres for the Public Sports Centre, sports complexes for the Youth Welfare Presidency and recreational facilities for private compounds, private gymnasiums and military housing.

"Prospects for this year are very promising due to the increase in government projects as mentioned in the 2001 budget," says Saudi Turf general manager Idris Yassin Shiekh El Din.

"The company is trying to expand by adding complementary items to the main activities of sports and waterproofing," he adds. ''The company also plans to canvass for business in areas it had not covered in the past."

"In this new millennium, it is the company's prime concern to continue serving valued clients by offering them tough, quality products such as polyurethane, synthetic materials and wood floorings. In addition, we remain committed to our after-sales services by providing all-round proper maintenance and servicing as required," says El Din.

He says the company had many projects in hand for both sports surfacing and waterproofing simultaneously. "And we are confident of greater success because of our technical backdrops, highly skilled supervisors and a team of well-trained applicators and operations staff."

Saudi Turf represents well-known suppliers including Robbins International, Douglas Industries and Porter from the US and Conica Technik AG, GES, Krause and Melos from Europe. In the local market, it represents prestigious suppliers and manufacturers such as ACC Juffali, Dermabit, Awazel, Bitumat, Zamil Glass and Guardian Fencing.

"The co-operation that has been built-up with those companies has further strengthened our know-how and experience which has made us one of the pioneers, specialising in sports and waterproofing works," El Din adds.