From mosques and malls to highways and hotels, ACO  Systems has seen its drainage products used on some of the most prestigious projects across the region.

ACO Systems, part of the global ACO Group, this year marks a decade of operations in the region. The company has seen a number of milestones as it continues to build up its strength in the region – the latest move having been the opening of a new showroom in Jebel Ali Free Zone in Dubai, UAE, last month (February).

The ACO group, a global leader in the manufacture and supply of corrosion-resistant polymer concrete and stainless steel drainage systems for external and internal applications, entered in the region’s market 25 years ago. In 2006, it opened an office and warehouse to establish its products here and later established a separate company, ACO Systems, in the Jebel Ali Free Zone.

In 2010, ACO Systems built a manufacturing unit in Dubai to produce stainless steel products especially for the Middle East market.

 “The aim was to cover the Middle East market, avoid long delivery times, and save clients logistic costs,” says a company spokesman, adding that it can produce and deliver throughout the GCC and other countries in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena), South Asia and East Africa regions.

At this facility, it manufactures commercial kitchen drainage channels, shower channels, floor drains and external drainage products in stainless steel according to European Norms and ACO standards.

ACO has also been present in the Eastern and Western provinces of Saudi Arabia since 2011, where its distributor, Al Muhaidib Building Material Division, has offices and warehouses in Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah.

In 2014, the company opened its Middle East headquarters and a new factory in the Jebeli Ali Free Zone. The Dh25-million ($6.80 million) facility is a fully functional manufacturing unit where all types of stainless steel drainage systems are being produced to serve the GCC market in particular and the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region in general. The 3,000-sq-m factory produces complete drainage systems that will pave the way for future drainage solutions in the region and enhance them with new hygienic and customised designs and solutions.

ACO Systems regularly consults specifiers, engineers, architects and construction companies to decide the best solutions for their projects.

According to the spokesman, more complex and sophisticated drainage concepts are required to withstand the weather conditions which are becoming more severe. The company achieves this with intelligent system solutions, which have a dual purpose: protecting people from water, and water from people, he adds.

Every ACO product within the ACO system chain, therefore, safely controls water as it passes along the chain to ensure that it can be ecologically and economically reused in a viable way, the spokesman emphasises.

Having strengthened its position in the manufacture of drainage systems, the company is also focusing on establishing grease and oil separator technology in the GCC region.

ACO is currently manufacturing special separation products in its German and other European facilities.

The group, meanwhile, which has more than 40 years of valuable experience in the removal and containment of wastewater, recently entered the field of wastewater management with systems for the treatment and re-use of gray water.

A product from ACO Systems.

Projects

ACO Systems has supplied various drainage systems to many prestigious projects in Saudi Arabia since 2011, covering commercial and infrastructure, residential and industrial sectors. Its clients have included major conglomerates such as Saudi Aramco, and contractors such as Saudi Binladin Group, Saudi Oger, El Seif and others.

Some of the prestigious projects it has been involved with in Saudi Arabia include the Haram expansion in Makkah where ACO supplied various building drainage systems; King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh and King Faisal University in Al Hasa (various internal and external drainage systems); King Abdul Aziz Centre for World Culture in Al Khobar and Princess Nora University in Riyadh (external drainage systems); and King Saud University in Riyadh (sport systems).

In Qatar, ACO Systems has serviced many different infrastructure projects like the Muntazah Highway and Dukhan Highway projects.

Meanwhile, in the UAE, it has supplied various internal and external drainage systems for prestigious projects like Burj Al Arab, Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates and other major shopping centres; mega developments such as the Palm Jumeirah, Yas Island and Saadiyat Island, Maritime City, Dubai Airport, Abu Dhabi Airport and Khalifa Port; various hotel and tower projects, like Conrad Hotel, Four Seasons Jumeirah, Rosewood Hotel and Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi; and commercial projects such as Pepsi Factory and Emirates Catering Kitchen in Dubai. For infrastructure projects, ACO has supplied a variety of products like bridge drains, road and highway line drainage solutions, manhole covers and multipart covers.

Elsewhere in the GCC and wider Mena region, ACO Systems products have been employed in projects like the Cairo airport in Egypt, the American University of Beirut in Lebanon, Grand Mosque and the new Opera House in Oman, and a bridge in Bahrain.