90% sales growth forecast for 2006 due to India's huge demand for GRP pipe systems and storage tanks
Dammam,20 June 2006: Amiantit Fiberglass Industries India Limited (AFIIL), Saudi Arabian Amiantit Company's joint venture in partnership with the Salgaocar Group of Goa, is forecasting a record 90 percent growth in sales for 2006 as the manufacturing facility steps up production to meet increasing demand from India's booming industrial sector.
Orders from two of India's leading oil refineries highlight the type of large scale contracts that AFIIL is winning. In March AFIIL completed a $6.5 million contract from Essar Oil for engineering, supply and installation supervision of glass reinforced plastic (GRP) pipes for the sea water intake and outfall system at its upcoming refinery in Vadinar, Gujarat. The project started in October 2005 and was finished to the client's satisfaction in only six months.
This has been followed by an even bigger order from India's largest petrochemicals and refining company which specified Amiantit GRP pipes for its sea water intake and outfall system. Worth $10 million, this supply contract is for a complete system and is to be completed within 2006. In addition, an order valued at $2.5 million for GRP intake pipes for a 2x125 MW power plant has been received.
AFIIL has also been awarded new orders worth $3.5 million for the supply of double wall GRP underground fuel storage tanks to Dutch oil major, Shell India which has a license to open 2,000 retail outlets. Amiantit's Goa plant is the world's biggest manufacturer of GRP single and double wall storage tanks and previously received the world's largest ever order for 5,000 single wall GRP underground fuel storage tanks from Reliance, the first 2000 of which were delivered in the record time of only nine months.
Apart from private sector orders, AFIIL also serves the public sector and has supplied GRP pipe systems for many drinking water projects in rural India, and also for a drinking water project in Turkmenistan.
Commissioned in December 2003, the AFIIL plant is making a significant contribution to local employment and the economic development of Goa, which is India's smallest state in terms of area and the fourth smallest in terms of population. Classified as a biodiversity hotspot rich in tropical flora and fauna, and renowned for its beaches and world heritage architecture, Goa has become one of the most popular holiday destinations for hundreds of thousands of foreign and domestic tourists.
Amiantit environment friendly GRP pipes and single and double wall storage tanks are corrosion-resistant, strong, lightweight and easy to install, have a long service life, and offer a cost-efficient solution for municipal, industrial, agricultural and marine applications.
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About Saudi Arabian Amiantit Company
The Saudi Arabian Amiantit Company was established in 1968 at Dammam as a limited liability company and was converted into a joint stock company in 1994. It started with a paid-up share capital of SAR 4 million, which is currently standing at SAR 1.155 billion. Its shares are traded on the Saudi Stock Exchange. The prime activity of the company is to initiate and manage new industrial projects, and market its technologies and products. The company also monitors and controls the business of all the Amiantit Group subsidiaries through its corporate management office in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
The Amiantit Group is a leading industrial organization with global strength and is comprised of companies in the Kingdom and abroad that manufacture various kinds of pipes, joints, fittings, tanks, rubber products and related accessories. Other activities include own and transfer technology, and water project consultancy and management all around the world.
For further information please contact:
Assim L. Alhakeem
Saudi Arabian Amiantit Company
Tel: 02 - 651 5676 Ext: #666
Fax: 02 - 651 6149
© Press Release 2006
