New facility to tap into the Saudi oil &gas and district cooling sectors

US-headquartered Perma-Pipe officially inaugurated a 80,000- square-foot manufacturing plant on April 3, 2012, in Dammam Industrial City 2, Saudi Arabia.

As Perma-Pipe Managing Director, Thomas Stein explained, through the facility, the company is looking at targeting the Saudi oil & gas sector, with Saudi Aramco representing one of its key customers.

Additionally, the piping manufacturer, intends to tap into Saudi Arabia’s district cooling and infrastructure opportunities, in view of the Saudi government’s heavy investments in infrastructure projects, such as Princess Noura University, in Riyadh, one of Perma-Pipe’s flagship Saudi projects.

To build the plant, the company, which boasts over 50 years of experience in the piping sector, has imported, installed and commissioned its own equipment, in spite of stringent customs regulations.

“We are very proud of this achievement and that we managed to enter the Saudi market as a wholly foreign-owned company, which allowed us to retain our own identity” Stein said.

Indeed, foreign companies setting up their operations in Saudi Arabia don’t necessarily have to partner with a local company, like it happens in other Gulf countries.

One of the challenges initially faced by Perma-Pipe was securing industrial land, which was provided with reliable and continuous power supply.

Stein pointed out that the support of a number of government bodies, such as the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, Saudi Customs and Saudi Industrial Property Authority, was instrumental in ensuring the smooth implementation of the project.

The facility employs a balanced mix of nationalities, with Saudi nationals accounting for about 25% of the workforce, in line with the government’s Saudisation targets.

The Saudi plant features Perma-Pipe’s Xtru-Therm automated spray polyurethane insulation and several jacketing systems, including Polyethylene, metal and FRP.

The company, which already operates a manufacturing facility in the UAE, also sees significant opportunities in Qatar and Kuwait.

“We see fantastic opportunities in those markets within oil & gas, district cooling, industrial piping and the infrastructure sector, and we look forward to expanding further into the region,” said Stein.