Al Seeb Carpentry & Steel Workshop Company, with over two decades of experience in producing furniture and portacabins on a turnkey basis, is looking at diversification and new markets.

The fully-owned Omani company is part of the Hussain & Taki Group of Companies. Its works and office are located at Azaiba in an area of 15,000 sq m.

"We are planning to go global, basically in case goods furnishing. We are trying to open new market opportunities," says deputy general manager R Rajasekar.

"We are aiming at big projects in Dubai and Yemen and we also have plans to service Europe," he says.

Al Seeb has a large and well-equipped workshop, paint and polish shop, upholstery and cane departments with sophisticated wood working machines and a large open yard for the fabrication of portacabins.

Al Seeb is a pioneer in the manufacture of prefabricated houses (portacabin) of various types.

The portable accommodation range includes labour camps and mess halls, staff accommodation, office accommodation, recreational facilities, gymnasium, tennis court, etc.

The company is fully geared up to undertake any type of turnkey project for setting up of rig camps, with skid mounted/trailer mounted/mobile type portacabins. It is specialised in the manufacture of steel bodied cabins. Camps will be fully furnished and necessary amenities will be provided.

The company has executed projects in the past for oil companies at their various rigs according to Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) specification and safety requirements.

Oil companies based in Oman have been Al Seeb's major clients for the mobile and steel bodied portable accommodations.

The steel-bodied mobile camps and skid and trailer-mounted portacabins are very rigid and robust to withstand frequent movement of the same from one site to another. "They are ideally suited for the oil drilling companies to set up their accommodation camps and offices in desert areas. These units are designed to provide all-weather system of site accommodation and office units," says Rajasekar.

Al Seeb undertakes complete interior design and decoration contracts involving intricate works; custom-built furniture; wall panels; kitchen cabinets and light fittings; doors; decorative gypsum, false ceiling and partition work, painted furniture - especially polyester and polyurethane finish, on a turnkey basis.

Clients include various ministries, prestigious villas; restaurants; showrooms, etc.

Al Seeb also manufactures housepack furniture made of beech veneer plywood, to cater to the retail market as well as to government/semi-government organisations and international contracting companies and corporate houses.

It also manufactures fire resistant doors of 30 and 60 minutes fire resistance rating. These doors have been successfully tested by a reputed laboratory in UK for its fire resistance rating.

Al Seeb is the only organised manufacturer of cane furniture in the Sultanate.

"We have designed and decorated some restaurants in the Sultanate with a complete cane theme. We have also supplied to various hotels in UAE and Bahrain," says Rajasekar.

On the business situation, Rajasekar says this year started slowly but business has picked up and there is an upward trend.

"However, we need to have big projects going. That type of jobs are not coming in. In the present scenario, it is essential to go international ... that is the only way," he says.