Al Ajab Metal Galvanising Factory is optimistic of raising its market share in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province and adding to its considerable achievements with innovation and quality.

The company, among the leading galvanising facilities in the province, says it has captured nearly 30 per cent of the market there by winning contracts, including those from the biggest names in Saudi industry, thanks to its high production standards and quality of services.
It has also announced it is working on a hydrochloric acid recovery system that will save costs. The recovery will amount to 40 to 45 per cent of what issues from the galvanising process.
“Negotiations with European companies are ongoing for the erection of this recovery system and soon we will be in a position to operate it,” says CEO Waleed Al Ajab.
Al Ajab, operating from Dammam’s Second Industrial City, imports its main raw material, zinc, from Europe or Australia. The zinc it uses is of the highest grade with a purity level of a minimum of 99.995 per cent. It provides a better reaction between zinc and alloys and consequently raises production quality.  
“We at Al Ajab go the extra mile to provide good quality for the finished products and maintain standards to our clients’ satisfaction,” said Al Ajab. The company also strictly adheres to environmental regulations.
It is that kind of dedication that has brought it contracts from prestigious companies such as Aramco, Sabic and Sceco. In the last two years Al Ajab was able to cover 85 per cent of its production capacity.
On its establishment as Al Ajab Factory in 1990, the company specialised in metal finishing, but it took a big step forward when it set up in 2000 the Al Ajab Metal Galvanising Factory which, within a short period, gained a strong reputation for hot dip galvanising and more than 450 regular customers. 
“Al Ajab Metal Galvanising Factory has adopted a high-tech method of galvanisation called “high-velocity system” which ensures that while the molten zinc shows a steady temperature there is little fluctuation in the coating thickness,” says Al Ajab.
“This is a very special advantage in the galvanising field and available only in our factory in the whole of the Eastern Province.”
Al Ajab stresses that the company has well-equipped facilities and highly trained QC professionals to ensure that “our main objective of strict control of quality is realised.”
By concentrating on fulfilling clients’ interest and monitoring competitors’ activities, Al Ajab has been able to progress both in the Saudi market and overseas, he says. The company has been successful in exporting galvanised material to several GCC states, Pakistan and Sudan.
“Rigorous marketing strategies, accompanied by the assurance of quality production and prompt delivery, has helped us expand our sales abroad considerably,” says Al Ajab. “We also focus on the many projects taking place in the GCC region and monitor them carefully.”
Last year the company was involved in projects for Aramco, Sceco and other government organisations. Galvanising work was undertaken for the Qatif-II expansion, Haradh and Jubail-II projects.
Al Ajab had to confront a difficult situation arising from a doubling of the prices of zinc and other raw materials in the last two years. For the sake of its good reputation and to keep its customers happy, the company had borne the additional costs fully.  But in 2005, it might increase galvanising charges by 25 to 30 per cent in order to make up to some extent the increase in raw materials prices.
Al Ajab says its policy is to concentrate more on quality and service than on price and this is borne out by the efforts it has exerted in employing professionally trained staff including quality assurance personnel “who are in fact ISO certified as individuals.”