Saudi Gas Cylinder Factory (SGCF), which also makes gas tanks, has currently no concerns about capacity. It has enough to meet Saudi Arabia’s requirements for several years.

The factory, in Riyadh’s Second Industrial City, has the capability to produce annually 550,000 cylinders and 3,000 tanks per shift of eight hours to store liquefied petroleum gas.  Around 830,000 cylinders and 7,000 tanks of different sizes have been coming off the production lines every year for the past few years.
The company claims it can produce more cylinders, but does not say how many, if it utilises a modern cylinder press it acquired some time ago. That additional capacity would help should larger-than-usual orders come from foreign parties. Some 60 per cent of all cylinders and tanks manufactured at the plant head overseas.
SGCF, being the only producer of LPG cylinders and tanks in Saudi Arabia, is the sole supplier for the kingdom. The surplus production goes to the Gulf states, Yemen, Lebanon, and Jordan, several African markets and Indonesia.
“SGCF has a good progress record since its inception,” says general manager Abdullah Al Khalaf. “We are proud to state that we stand 26th among the top 100 exporting corporations, whether private or public and including oil companies, in Saudi Arabia.” The company’s total sales in 2003 amounted to SR55 million ($14.6 million).
According to Al Khalaf, the company was about to implement an order it received from Iraq in 2003 but war broke out. “Iraq is a very good potential market for LPG cylinders and tanks and we are optimistic in getting some share of its requirements,” he says.
National Gas and Industrialisation Company (Gasco), one of the stakeholders in the company, handles all domestic sales except seven-litre cylinders which is marketed directly by SGCF. All export business is the responsibility of SGCF. The other shareholders of the company are Prince Bader Ben Saud Ben Abdul Aziz and Prince Salman Ben Saud Ben Abdul Aziz. Both princes are also on the board with Prince Bader as chairman and Prince Salman as deputy chairman and managing director. The general manager of Gasco serves as the third member of the board.
  Established in 1979, the company is already reckoned as one of the largest manufacturers of LPG cylinders and tanks in the world. The manufacturing facilities cover an area of 45,000 sq m and are equipped with sophisticated automatic equipment. A West European company was entrusted with the design, engineering and erection of the plant.  SGCF later installed the latest powder coating and metallising equipment.
The company stresses that all the raw materials it uses, namely hot rolled steel coils and plates, valves, valve necks and sockets, welding wires and electrodes, welding flux, lubricants, rubber hoses and regulators, undergo thorough quality control checks.
The emerging cylinders and tanks are subjected to rigorous tests and inspections.
“In addition to testing the products in our well-equipped quality control laboratory, we offer our products to third-party inspection agencies namely Bureau Veritas, ABS (American Bureau of Shipping), Industrial Verification Inc, Arabian Inspection and Survey Company (Lloyd’s Agency) and SGS (Societe Generale De Surveillance Inspection Services), among others,” said Al Khalaf.
In addition to the tests carried out on all cylinders, two cylinders from each lot of 200 are taken at random, one for the bursting test and the other for testing the mechanical properties of the steel. The test methods are carried out according to Saudi Standard No. SSA 62/1397H.
The tanks follow several standards including Saudi Standard 389/4065, as applied to steel tanks for the storage and transportation of liquefied petroleum gases. The Saudi Standard 390/4066 is applied for methods of testing steel tanks for LPG.  The company refers to the technical rules of AD Merkblatter (the West German construction code) for pressure vessels.
Besides visual inspection and X-Ray and hydrostatic tests, the company also conducts tensile tests, free bend tests, guided bend tests, impact tests and fracture tests.    
“We are proud to hold the ISO-9001 certificate of approval for the design and manufacture of gas cylinders and tanks and the servicing of tanks,” says Al Khalaf.
SGCF can produce both standard and customised sizes.
Explaining the production method, the company says 26.5-litre and seven-litre cylinders are made from two pieces, namely the top and bottom shells, while the 52.5-litre cylinders are made from three pieces, namely the top, bottom and middle parts. Collars and base rings are manufactured in a separate line. The steel for making shells, collars and base rings for all types of cylinders comes in as coils while plates are used for the middle sections of 52.5-litre cylinders.
In tanks production, Tank 1, which has a capacity of 1,001 litres of water, is composed of three main parts, whereas Tank 2 (2,000 litres) and Tank 4 (4,000 litres) have four main sections. The middle parts, lifting lugs and tank supports are fabricated in a separate line. The dished ends, nameplates and sockets are bought in parts.