Zamil Glass Industries (ZGI) consolidated its business activities in 2004 and is in the process of introducing a soft coated insulating glass that will give it an edge in the construction market.

It is also exploring business tie-ups in various fields of glass processing, said general manager Nawaf M Al Zamil.
 The company’s product range includes heat-treated glass; insulating glass; high-performance energy-efficient “heat mirror” under licence from Southwall Technologies Inc, USA; laminated glass; fire-resistant glass, and ceramic decorative glass.
Zamil Glass Industries, as a leading glass processor, is able to undertake all forms of glass treatment, edge working and drilling to the individual requirements of clients. It processed close to 400,000 sq m of glass in each of the two years 2003 and 2004.
ZGI does not have technical collaborations with any party, but works very closely with its suppliers for keeping abreast of the latest technical developments.
Zamil Glass Industries was established in 1983 in response to the demand for insulating glass. The Zamil family owned ZGI but in 1998, the company along with Zamil Air Conditioners and Zamil Steel Industries became a public establishment under the name of Zamil Industrial Investment Company (ZIIC).
ZGI is now one of the largest and most diversified glass processors in the Middle East. It operates from a modern factory with a processing capacity in excess of one million sq m of glass of all types per year. Ever aware of the special needs of the national, Gulf and export markets, ZGI has followed a continuous programme of investment, embracing nearly all aspects of glass processing.
Located in Dammam, ZGI has a factory area of 20,000 sq m and employs around 200 staff. Its main products are tempered glass, heat-strengthened glass, laminated glass for safety and security glazing, glass fittings, frameless glass, point fixing glass facades, high-performance XIR laminated and insulating glass units, fire-resistant glass, heat soak-tested glass;  heat mirror energy-efficient glass.
The company has sales offices in Dammam, Riyadh, Jeddah, Dubai, Kuwait and Qatar.
“ZGI took up a major plant re-engineering initiative in 2002. This saw a transformation from a “workshop type” operation to a modem factory with optimal production flow,” recalls Nawaf Al Zamil.
“The mere fact that the manufacture of all product lines was able to continue while the factory was being rebuilt was a major accomplishment for the management team and a credit to the whole company Amongst some of the major advantages resulting from the factory re-organisation, have been major improvements in productivity, speed of delivery and, the most important of all, customer satisfaction.”
In 2004 ZGI commissioned a new laminated glass line, which enabled it to address the market for security products.
Nawaf Al Zamil estimates that ZGI’s market share is 35 to 40 per cent in Saudi Arabia and 8 to 10 per cent in the GCC region. Export sales efforts are being stepped up through regular visits by the general manager to neighbouring countries and says the visits are bearing fruit.
Sales in 2003 were SR50 million ($13.3 million), while they registered SR49 million in 2004.  First-quarter 2005 sales were SR12.5 million and Al Zamil expects “a quantum jump” over 2004 in 2005 with demand expected to build up in coming months. 
Among the important projects the company has worked on in recent years are the Bahrain Financial Harbour; the Saudi Ministry of Interior; and Millennium Jeddah 
For the production process, the company imports float glass locally and from abroad while PVB film and heat mirror films are imported.
Al Zamil counts as challenges the intense price competition, “ever-shortening delivery demands” and new entrants in the field. But he describes as bright the prospects for the near term.