Alaa for Industry (AFI) has said it is seeking new business ties with Iraq in the post-war era.

“Recent dramatic events culminating in the end of the Iraq war have opened the flood gates of opportunities and challenges for years to come,” said the company’s sales and marketing manager Jolly Joseph.
“AFI’s compelling presence in Kuwait enables it to be a formidable force in the reconstruction of Iraq,” the official added.
The company, which commenced operations in 1984 in trading and contracting and in the supply and servicing of hydraulic systems for the transportation industry, expanded its activities in course of time to cover manufacturing.
Alaa’s core activity is the production and servicing of hydraulic systems. As much as 75 per cent of the production of hydraulic components feed Saudi Arabia’s relatively large market but Joseph says overseas demand is strong. AFI’s factory in Dammam manufactures hydraulic systems, power packs, hose assemblies, cylinders, seals and gaskets as well as undertaking hard chrome plating. The company, established by Ibrahim Ali Al Rashoodi, has accumulated considerable expertise to enable it to implement hydraulic projects for such industrial powerhouses as Sabic and Aramco
The Alaa group has grown from strength to strength.  The Alaa/AES Mechanical Seal Factory is a joint venture with Britain’s AES and is attracting tremendous attention in the market place. Exports of the seals are now restricted to a few countries including Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and Pakistan, but prospects are bright for widening the club of foreign buyers.
The Alaa Rubber Factory has been set up for coating rubber and polyurethane rollers and moulding elastomers through a technology transfer agreement with Mitex, Germany. The potential for exports is considerable.
Alaa International for Trading and Services is busy with industrial, foundation and transport equipment and hydraulic, pneumatic and instrumentation products. Represented are brands such as Asco Joucomatic, Geho for dewatering pumps, Hyva for tipping cylinders, Denison Hydraulics, Vickers, Aeroquip, Internorman Filters and Lincoln lubrication systems.
Alaa International Contracting is engaged in the installation and commissioning of boilers, weighing and packaging systems and materials and bulk handling equipment. It also provides installation of overhead cranes and bolting and shutdown services.
 International industry leaders including Zeppelin, Haver and Bocker, Mollen and Hedley Purvis have chosen AFI to become their partner in Saudi Arabia.
Alaa Chemical Supply makes available processing chemicals, water treatment chemicals, lubricants, additives, absorbents, cleaning compounds, chrome plating chemical catalysts, abrasives and refractors for a number of industries including petrochemicals.
The group has export offices in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and the US. Exports comprise 20 per cent of the sales turnover. Alaa has also put in place a 3,600 sq m warehouse at the Customs Exempted Export Zone in Bahrain to serve as a hub for exports to the Middle East.
“The GCC market is on a transitional stage. A uniform customs duty throughout the GCC and a single currency by 2007 point towards a borderless, deregulated market place, and trade and commerce are bound to make a leap in the years to come” says Joseph.
“Saudi Arabia with a huge domestic market is sure to enhance its competitive advantage through economies of scale. More and more GCC customers are shopping in Saudi Arabia for better prices and service,” he comments..
“Innovation, quality and service have been the driving force for AFI. As experts in engineering, AFI is constantly developing new solutions for a wide range of industrial applications.”
AFI has been an ISO 9002-certified organisation since 1997.
“A focused approach towards the local market while thinking globally has been our philosophy since inception,” observed Joseph.