The Gulf Industry Fair (GIF) could prove a turning point for Ashcroft Al Rushaid Instrument Company Ltd (Aarico)’s fortunes in Bahrain as it served as a platform for the company to field enquiries and receive interest from parties for a dealership in the kingdom.

Now the company says it is on the verge of finalising the appointment of a dealer.

“Many good parties came prospecting for an alliance with Aarico as an agency,” said Aarico general manager D R Pai. “We met these prospective parties at GIF and discussed the business and agency terms. We shortlisted and have zeroed in on a firm on whom we have confidence to take our business to a higher level in Bahrain. We will announce the appointment shortly.”

Pai added: “We are certain there is potential for growth here and we hope having an agency to pursue sales will help our bottom line as far as Bahrain is concerned.”

A joint venture of Saudi Arabia’s Al Rushaid Petroleum Investment Company with Ashcroft Nagano Keiki Inc of the US, Aarico is one of the leading manufacturers of pressure and temperature instruments in the Middle East.

Located in Jubail Industrial City, Aarico supplies directly to Bahrain from its Jubail facilities. The company now wants stocks to be built up in Bahrain for off-the-shelf pick up by customers.

“We are seeing an increase in demand for quality products that Aarico can provide for the Bahrain market,” says Pai, who adds that the idea to have a dealership crystallised while end-users of Aarico products visited GIF and suggested having a presence by way of an agency.

Business has been improving in Bahrain and also in Kuwait where Aarico appointed an agent last year.

Ashcroft pressure and temperature instruments were manufactured in Saudi Arabia, beginning in 1983, and supplied through Darvico. In 2006, with the realignment of the Ashcroft business worldwide, the company became a part of Nagano Keiki of Japan, renowned as the world’s largest manufacturer of pressure and temperature gauges, sensors and transmitters, among other things.

Aarico is the only company which represents both Ashcroft and Nagano Keiki products in Saudi Arabia.

Ashcroft products are manufactured as per US standards while Nagano manufactures to Japanese standards. And both enjoy the number one position in their respective applications in global markets. “The integration of both US and Japanese technology helped Aarico to stabilise a hot seat in the Middle East market,” commented Pai.

MANY APPLICATIONS

Ashcroft and Nagano Keiki products are widely used in different applications such as oil refineries, petrochemical industries, water treatment facilities, hydraulic applications, power generation, fertiliser plants, pumps and pipeline projects.  The scope of Aarico products includes pressure gauges, temperature gauges, pressure switches, thermo wells, temperature switches, diaphragm seals, accessories, digital pressure gauges, test gauges, stainless steel gauges, commercial gauges, differential pressure gauges, test equipment etc.

Aarico has a fully air-conditioned, dust-proof factory with an area of 1,200 sq m. “Strict conformance to Ashcroft manufacturing and quality assurance procedures ensures all products made by Aarico have the same field performance as those made in Ashcroft plants in the US and worldwide,” Pai highlighted.

“This facility has trained and certified manpower to perform assembly work, testing and calibration conforming to national and international standards,” he said.

“The plant is equipped with modern manufacturing and assembly and test stands and holds sufficient inventory parts for producing more than 30,000 pressure gauges and 3,000 temperature gauges and pressure switches per year.

“Continuous support from Ashcroft USA and Ashcroft Europe also helps the Aarico sales team to provide superior technical support and engineering solutions to their clients for major projects in the oil and gas sectors.”

The company renders calibration services for pressure and temperature instruments of any brands as per ANSI standards.

The stocking programme of fast-moving ranges and the integrated software (AIMS) have been landmarks of Ashcroft’s performance over the past three years. A 10-year price agreement with Saudi Aramco for Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) and a price agreement with Sabic were the other major achievements recently.

The quality system of Aarico has been audited and approved by Lloyds register quality assurance,  and certified to ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 29001:2010. The products of Ashcroft are also certified by SASO and UL.

MEGA PROJECTS 

The company has successfully executed mega projects, among them being Saudi Aramco’s  gas plants of Khursaniyah, Hawiyah, Juaymaih and  Khurais  and the  Manifa oilfield development which were implemented through leading EPC contractors such as  Bechtel, Technip, Snamprogetti, Technicas, Fluor, Foster Wheeler, and SNC Lavelin.

Sabic, Saudi Electric Company (SEC), Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), Sipchem, Chevron, Samref, Luberef and Petro Rabigh are among Aarico’s local clients.

Overseas clients include Tatweer, Bapco, Alba, Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC), and Kuwait Oil Company (KOC).

Pai relayed a comment made by a customer: “We believe in Ashcroft products because they maintain product quality, reliability and durability. We still use Ashcroft gauges which have been in service at our plant for more than 10 years. Even though we come across a variety of cheaper gauges in the market, a study at our end confirms it is worthwhile to pay a bit more and buy Ashcroft products for the long term.”