ALKHOBAR, 19 January 2007 — Saudi Readymix, the Kingdom’s leading ready-mixed concrete company, considers buying other ready-mixed concrete producers as part of the company’s five-year growth plan.
Rami Alturki, president of Saudi Readymix, said the company intends to increase its production volume by 25 percent annually beginning in 2007 via the acquisition of other ready-mixed concrete producers as well as the construction of new plants throughout the Kingdom.
Saudi Readymix forecast that sales for 2006 would exceed the impressive sales performance in 2005 which amounted to SR486 million ($130 million) and were 30 percent higher than 2004 figures, Alturki said.
He further said that “customer service plays a significant role in the company’s growth strategy and we aim to be the industry’s benchmark as we currently are in quality. We constantly strive to match reality with the high expectations we place on ourselves. Therefore, we are investing heavily to improve in this area in the upcoming years by widening the channels of communication between us and our customers and using them to understand and anticipate their needs.”
He said the growth has catapulted the company into the Arab News’ Business Survey of the top 100 Saudi Companies. The sales forecast by the end of 2006 is expected to push the company’s ranking even further up the list.
“We apply the highest international quality benchmarks in all aspects of our business, and we were delighted when this commitment to excellence was affirmed recently by the Arab News Business Survey which ranked Saudi Readymix among the Kingdom’s top 100 companies, especially considering we are the only ready-mixed concrete company to be included,” Alturki pointed out. “We are enormously proud to have earned official recognition for the achievements we are making in sales, growth and staff training.”
The drive toward sustained growth and expansion has seen the construction of two commercial stations and one on-site concrete batching plant in different locations across the Kingdom in the last quarter alone, bringing the total number of plants in Saudi Readymix’s network to 19 commercial and five on-site ready-mixed concrete stations.
This network is strategically distributed to supply construction projects in all major metropolitan areas in the Eastern, Central and Western Provinces.
Alturki said “2006 has been marked by a massive growth in our customer and project portfolio fueled by the fast growing demand for quality ready-mixed concrete. Our growth strategy has enabled the company to stay ahead of this demand by anticipating our customers’ needs and maintaining an innovative and proactive approach to the services we provide.”
“In 2005 we focused mainly on building new production plants and expanding our existing ones to bring them within easy reach of customers. We built on that momentum in 2006 with a capital investment exceeding SR130 million ($35 million). This is part of a 5-year investment strategy aimed at increasing the company’s geographic spread and consolidating our position as the largest ready-mixed concrete producer in the Kingdom,” he added.
“The strength of the Saudi economy — and that of the GCC region as a whole — is continuing to grow and we are glad that the vital role we play in the construction sector enables us to contribute to the success of the Kingdom’s economy.”
