Alkhorayef Group chairman Abdulrahman Alkhorayef, who was decorated with the Saudi "Businessman of the Year 1422H" award by King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, has pledged to take his business organisation to still greater heights of eminence and to continue to provide the community with quality products and services.

At a recent ceremony, Crown Prince Abdulla bin Abdul Aziz, First Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, presented Alkhorayef with the King Abdul Aziz Medal of the First Order. Also similarly decorated were four other businessmen including the international investor, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.

"Although our mission at Alkhorayef Group is to provide the market with the highest quality and best-value-for-money products, services and solutions, issues such as safety awareness, the environmental impact, Saudisation and the continuous development and training of human resources, R & D, technology transfer and a commitment to be a responsible member of our community are also fundamental when formulating our strategy and corporate objective," said Alkhorayef after accepting the honour.

"We are able to compete in the international markets by specialisation, improving our standards and developing our products. We have succeeded in technology transfer and have improved on the technologies, and, additionally, most of the raw materials we use are produced locally...We have well prepared ourselves to handle new ideas, technologies and accept the global attitude in trading and communications," added the chairman whose interests go well beyond the business field he has excelled in to include the preservation of the environment, hunting and falconry.

The Group, with A.I. Alkhorayef Sons Company as the holding establishment, has contributed to the Kingdom's economic progress since 1957. Companies within the Group include Alkhorayef Commercial Company, Alkhorayef Industries Company (AIC), Alkhorayef Agri-cultural Projects Company, Saudi Installment House, Alkhorayef Operations and Maintenance Company, Trans-Orient Modern Machinery Company, Saudi Parts Center, Al Nakhil Paper Industries Company and Alkhorayef Management Services.

The Group's turnover exceeded SR2 billion in 2001.

AIC, the manufacturing company within the Group, produces irrigation systems, steel pipes, plastic-lined pipes, pumps, gear drives and engineered products as well as "reverse engineering" items.

Last year AIC's turnover was around SR500 million with exports more than 50 per cent of that.

Asked what he considered to be his greatest business achievements, Alkhorayef cited the strategic alliances he forged with top international companies like Valley Irrigation Systems, John Deere, Centrelift Pumps, Castrol Oils and others.

"The company's success stories are endless," he says proudly. "The most recent include the supply of more than 10,000 tonnes of fabricated and galvanised steel structure to the Mina Tent Project in Makkah, the fabrication and delivery of 6,000 centre pivot irrigation systems to Iraq under the UN programme and the supply of polyethylene lining for major oil projects in the GCC.

"We became a global company and we own the second-largest CP factory in the world and our worldwide exports include the US and Australia. We are carrying out projects in the GCC, Egypt, Sudan, Iraq and the CIS, and very soon we shall be extending that to Syria."

Alkhorayef was also proud of the heavy investment made in R & D at Alkhorayef Agricultural Projects Company and of the IT training provided to all employees of the Group. The "Pro Engineer" software, the latest technology of its kind in the market, has been introduced and the Group has participated in water conservation programmes and imparted training courses for the staff. More state-of-the-art CNC (computer numeric control) machines were also added to help manufacturing processes.

He also referred to the Saudisation level of over 25 per cent achieved by the Group. At Alkhorayef Ope-rations and Maintenance Com-pany, the level was 30 per cent.

Alkhorayef proudly affirms that his organisation has earned significant market shares in areas it is involved in. "We have a clear vision and determination, as management and staff, to be market leaders in what we do," he says. He also paid tribute to the "wise joint leadership" of the group by its owners Hamad, Saad, Mohammad and Bandar, also stating that the employees had the full trust of the owners and enjoyed "freedom of work".

The Group employs more than 1,800 highly skilled staff covering a wide range of disciplines from engineering and R & D to finance, trading, production and testing. It utilises the latest technologies in its information systems and production operations and its offices and facilities are spread all over the Kingdom.

Alkhorayef says R & D is a "continuous and strategic process" at the Group and particularly at AIC, Alkhorayef Agricu-ltural Projects Company and Alkhorayef Ope-rations and Maintenance Com-pany.

Most of the Alkhorayef companies are ISO 9000-certified. "We are confident that the QA systems we implement surpass ISO 9000 in many instances.

"Our QA systems not only address quality issues, but also safety and environmental concerns with particular emphasis on customer satisfaction," he says.

On the Group's relationship with the Saudi community, he observes: "Our community expects to be partners with our Company.

"This requires us to demonstrate our responsibility and accountability in terms of health, safety and the environment. By our desire to be the leaders in our field, we promise to be trustworthy partners."

Asked what the "Businessman of the Year" award meant to him, he responded modestly: "It is a culmination of efforts by all partners in the business which was started by the founding father Abdulla Alkhorayef more than 45 years ago and developed further by the late Ibrahim Alkhorayef, our eldest brother. This is an award to all the partners in the Group.

"Also, this award urges us to put all our efforts towards contributing more to the GDP of the Kingdom and exerts a burden on us to progress further."

Alkhorayef gave an insight into his passion for hunting, falconry and the environment.

"I developed a general hunting habit a long time ago. This developed to falconry, one of my favourite sports," he recalled. "During the hunting season, I only think of my collection of falcons and hunting.

"We go hunting north of the Kingdom, Syria, Tunisia and Chad.

"I also believe in sustaining and protecting our environment for the enjoyment of our future generations.