Hannecard Saudi, which established a joint venture last year with the Belgian-based Hannecard Group, is unique in the Middle East for its range of operations and is capitalising on the experience and expertise of its European partner to make a mark in Saudi Arabia and the region.

The Riyadh company has also entered into technical collaboration with a US company for the manufacture of PVC- base Ryno rollers. Partner Hannecard also owns the French company Kalker, giving the Saudi company access to top-drawer expertise from both players.

The Saudi partners have 70 per cent of shares in Hannecard Saudi with the other 30 per cent remaining with the foreign partners.

"We are the only company of its kind in the Middle East to have a partnership with an esteemed European company," says executive director Saleh M. Al Burgan.

The company's operations include mixing and calendaring rubber; repairing, preparing and manufacturing shafts and covering and recovering rollers.

Hannecard Kalker specialises in rollers, surface protection, extrusion, moulding and fabrication. For more than 100 years Hannecard and Kalker France have specialised in all types of coverings based on a complete range of elastomers.

Hannecard Kalker relies on a full range of elastomers from 10 Shore A up to 1 P & J. The company has the experience to cover and recover all type of rollers from the smallest wheel to the largest press roll.

These include squeegee rollers, varnish and lacquer rollers, embossing and spreader rollers, rollers for corona treatment, conveyor systems and folding machines as well as for gravure, flexographic and offset printing, drive rollers, nip rollers, textile nip rollers and felt guide rolls.

In addition to he roller recovering operation the company runs complementary services such as the supply of new cores, engineering repairs, static and dynamic balancing of rollers and the manufacture and supply of parallel and tapered composite sleeves.

Hannecard's expertise in the hand-fabrication and moulding of rubber and polyurethane items, with or without insets, enables it to supply technical parts to many industries.

As well as a full range of rubber blankets, the company's presses can handle the moulding of any part in small or large quantities. On request it carries out hand fabrication or moulding of specific items to meet the technical requirements defined by customers' specifications and drawings.

Al Burgan said his company used the same technologies and formulas that Hannecard Kalkar adopted as well as their quality procedures and work guidelines, giving the customer modern products and services.

Saudi Hannecard's services are relevant to many industries including packing, steel, stainless steel and aluminium; cement, wood, glass, plastic, paper, leather food, textiles, adhesives and conveyor systems.

"It is a prime objective of Hannecard and Kalker's quality control and research and development to respond to stringent expectations and anticipate customer needs in areas linked to our range of activities Ñ performance control of elastomers, development of new materials, research for innovative solutions and manufacturing of semi-finished items," said Al Burgan.

"The precise control of a full range of elastomers consisting of more than 600 formulas developed by our partners' laboratories enables us to provide an immediate solution for all types of applications.

"Our substantial means of production and our full range of natural and synthetic rubber types such as nitrile, polychloroprene, hypalon, ebonites, silicones and fluoro-elastomers are available at all times." The dimensional capacities provided are suited to all roller needs up to 400mm face length and 500mm diameter. Al Burgan said Hannecard Saudi planned to extend its services to all GCC sates, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iran and Iraq, among others in the region.

Since beginning its rubber roller covering and recovering and manufacturing operations, the company has received a good response from customers and can expand if demand warranted that, said Al Burgan.

The Saudi company's access to Hannecard Group products includes new developments such as magnetic blankets and GFK sleeves-based applications.

In the near future it is possible there will be an expansion in hard polyurethane rollers and surface protection services for the oil, chemical and petrochemical sectors where the European partner has had good experience for many years.