Almajdouie Group, a leading Dammam-based logistics solutions provider, is setting up a new company to offer petrochemical logistics and has made progress in another freight forwarding and project logistics firm it created earlier – both initiatives launched with a view to expanding the group’s wide-ranging operations and gaining greater prominence in the fast expanding logistics industry of the Middle East,Petrologi, as the new firm has been named, will be set up with Almajdouie joining partners Sumitomo of Japan and De Rijke of Holland in the venture. It will offer specialist petrochemical logistics solutions in different parts of the world and support Saudi producers at final destinations, said an Almajdouie statement.

“This is not an easy task. However, the combined knowledge and resources of the partners will help it grow,” commented SI Mustafa, vice president of Almajdouie Logistics. Petrologi will be based in Bahrain and plans are to have one sales office in Singapore and another in Holland, Mustafa said.

“We’re also developing a global freight forwarding and project logistics company in the name of Maxxglobal where five large companies are participating from Europe and the Far East. The company’s headquarters will be in Dubai and the first office in Canada is operational. We expect this company to grow into a real global logistics company in five years’ time.”

Meanwhile, Almajdouie Group has won key orders this year. The latest being the Yanbu Export Refinery Project (Yerp) contracts in Saudi Arabia’s Western Region where it will carry out onshore freight forwarding. The contracts were granted by Korean EPC contractors Daelim and SK Engineering & Construction. Almajdouie’s scope is to handle local customs clearance and inland transportation for the entire project shipments coming in from global vendors.

The company will handle a total volume of 600,000 freight tonnes, with the Daelim package consisting of 450,000 tonnes and the SK package 150,000 tonnes. The Yerp project will take three years to complete.

“These contracts are another success for Almajdouie Group and serve one of the largest projects in Saudi Arabia. They have materialised consecutively after the Doosan Rabigh 2 plant contract this year,” said Mustafa.

“Almajdouie Group is committed to providing excellent services to all its clients with capability to handle large project volumes. On the basis of our successful track record we expect to secure more projects.”

Mustafa (left) with a Daelim official soon after signing a contract

A dominant player
According to Mustafa, the company this year handled 70 per cent of the large projects and in the next year it expects to exceed that mark considering it has signed a number of projects which will start in 2012. Next year Almajdouie will move an unprecedented eight units of 4,800 tonnes each from ship to project site.

As a leader in project logistics management, Almajdouie concentrates on power and desalination plants involving high cargo volumes and abnormal transportation. The company’s services go the entire course from ship hook to project site and embrace customs clearance, trucking of general cargo, containers, oversized cargo and abnormally heavy loads and installation.   

The company has been deeply involved with the oil and gas industry and petrochemical complexes. It prides itself in offering complete project logistics management to EPC contractors with quality performance and timely delivery.

“Since we operate the largest trucking company in Saudi Arabia and offer the largest abnormal transportation with in-house engineering support, the client is assured of one-window services. Every project logistics contract is managed by a qualified project manager who updates the client on progress so that they can plan accordingly,” said Mustafa. “We’re not alone in this field but the massive resources we offer cannot be matched by the competition.”

Rapport counts a lot
The company’s rapport with clients begins early on with Almajdouie assisting them in bids preparations. As recounted by Mustafa, a lot of hard work is put into the details. Such issues as route surveys, port conditions and customs rules are trashed out with Almajdouie suggesting the best possible ports with an eye on reducing shipping time and costs.

Commenting on the business, Mustafa says: “The project logistics market is large enough to provide all companies their bread and butter although it is not consistent, there being ups and downs. Considering the size and number of projects taking place in the market, Almajdouie has planned to buy more trucks and trailers and to invest in specialised equipment.”

In petrochemical logistics where it leads, Almajdouie handles, according to the official, 65 per cent of total production of solid polymers coming out of Jubail, Yanbu and Rabigh and heading for ports in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. Almajdouie operates joint ventures including MDR Logistics, which is a partnership with Holland-based De Rijke Logistics, and Rabigh Petrochemical Logistics, a partnership with Sumitomo Warehouse. The combined knowhow is helping Almajdouie acquire a larger market share and run operations smoothly. The scope includes production management support, maintenance of bagging lines and silos, bagging, palletising, warehouse management, inventory control, stuffing, trucking and documentation.