THE recently formed industrial equipment division of Saudi Arabian Services Co Ltd (Sascom), part of the Rashed Al-Rashed & Sons (RAR) Group, one of the largest Saudi conglomerates, has announced it is responding to strong demand in the Saudi market with plans to expand its staff more than six-fold in three years.

The division’s country sales manager engineer Bader Tamimi has said the focus would also be on specialisation, service centres, a pro-active sales and service approach, testing and calibration for equipment optimisation, development of a strong scientific culture and streamlining the entire supply chain from pre-sales to after-sales service extending to 10-year warranties in some cases.

Sascom Industrial Equipment embraces a range of sectors and its partners include such high-profile brands as ALMiG, Donaldson Ultrafilter, Donaldson Torit DCE, Inmatec, Dekker, Bauer, Bry-Air, Mikropor, MTA, SJERP and Ekomak Kazan – all leaders in their own fields.

Tamimi: taking the Sascom equipment division forward

“The Sascom Industrial Equipment division is in its first year of operations with a staff of six but our plan is to grow incrementally to more than 18 sales engineers and 20 after-sales engineers and technicians within three years. Specialisation is the key as the Sascom industrial division has achieved success through extensive experience through its various agencies and distributorships,” says Tamimi. 

“The industrial equipment division is set to meet the increasing demand for specialist equipment supply for a company’s ‘industrial critical’ productive assets. Essentially, Sascom acts as a pre-sales consultant to specify to a client the requirements necessary for the business or industrial process. Our engineers are trained internationally to handle and technically support the equipment through a pro-active sales and service approach over its life-cycle. This will involve heavy investment in service centres with engineering support and spare parts inventories as we are absolutely committed to after-sales service,” he adds.

The Sascom Business Division was founded by RAR Group in 1978 to meet the increasing demands of the oil field, industrial and automotive sectors by utilising the strength of key exclusive equipment agencies.

A key strength of Sascom operations has always been the relationship between its end-user client base and its agencies to ensure that all aspects of the supply chain from consultancy and pre-sales to procurement and delivery are handled with prompt action and on-site delivery. Sascom has excellent product capabilities, kingdom-wide branches, fully equipped warehouses with technical staff and excellent inventory control systems.

ALMiG equipment comes within the company’s product range

NEW DIVISION
To meet the increasing demand for industrial equipment and specialist engineering and technical services, RAR Group established Sascom Industrial Equipment in 2011, headed by Tamimi.

An industrial engineer by training, Tamimi was previously operating an engineering industries company in Amman, Jordan. With his engineering expertise in positive and negative pressure equipment, for example industrial air filtration solutions, compressors, vacuum pumps, gases generators and cooling systems, Tamimi has been spearheading the development of the new industrial equipment division, leveraging from the strengths of RAR Group operations.

This new division reflects the successful business development philosophy of Sascom which translates into the way business units are managed across the conglomerate with a specialist management structure that emphasises the independence of each division. Tamimi is now bringing his extensive industrial experience into Saudi Arabia and enjoying the challenge of building a formidable organisation of professionals.

Tamimi also emphasises the importance of site surveys and field inspections and thorough testing to ensure that the working conditions for a supplied piece of equipment are fully optimised. This involves all operating conditions for equipment in order to recommend the ideal working conditions for the industrial application. Sascom industrial equipment is also supplied to hospitals, hotels and factories.

“We are providing engineering solutions in terms of equipment supply to ensure products meet the process. Therefore, we make extensive use of testing devices and calibration equipment as a key part of the specification process. No single item of equipment stands alone so we must ensure, for instance, that the matrix of equipment required for a particular process is optimised from the point of generation to the point of consumption,” he says.

“There are industrial processes in the food and medical sectors that we look into as supplier and we also supply to the chemical, mining, automotive and manufacturing sectors. Each sector has its own engineering solution and one cannot make assumptions about equipment supply without investigation and testing. Sascom is developing a strong scientific culture to determine the best working conditions for each equipment application. 

“This is about performance and quality and about specified products matching industrial processes or the requirements of the enterprise. Critically, we are looking at the entire supply chain from pre-sales to an enhanced after-sales service offering with, in some cases, extended warranties up to 10 years. This long-term approach is based upon understanding the products we supply and recommending to clients the best operating practices to provide optimum value to them.

Sascom offers Donaldson’s Torit DCE filtering solutions

“For example, you must understand a client’s requirements in terms of the company’s environment and working conditions to ensure the equipment is productive. We are looking to take the business development of Sascom to the next level by building trust with our end-users and with our suppliers as we target SMEs and larger organisations across Saudi Arabia. It is a super-competitive market and a challenging one but clients are increasingly looking for higher levels of technical consultancy, engineering support and a committed after-sales service.” 

RAR Group comprises companies involved in trading, industrial services and construction and contracting.

As well as Sascom, the group owns Al Rashed Goodyear, Al Rashed Steel, Al Rashed Fasteners, Saudi Filters, Al Rashed Wood Products Factory, Al Rashed Polystyrene Factory, Saveto (Saudi Vetonit), Insuwrap, Building Materials Division, Ramat Marketing and Distribution, Al Rashed Cement, Al Rashed Tire Retreading, Al Rashed Transport, Al Rashed Engineering & Fabrication Services and Al Rashed Bakeries.

Its investments include the banking industry, companies such as the Sheraton in Dammam, Al Khaleej Computers and Electronics Systems, Harco Chemical Industries, Al-Falk Electronic Company, Al Rashed Trading and Contracting Company (RTCC), Al Yamamah Company for Reinforcing Steel Bars, Al Yamamah Steel Industries, Civil Works Company (CWC), which executes major civil works in the areas of water distribution, sewerage and storm water drainage, and the major precast manufacturer Al Rashid-Abetong, which has undertaken some of the kingdom’s prominent projects.