Gulf Industries, a Salam International subsidiary engaged in commercial catering and the supply of refrigeration equipment, is considering an expansion of its operations beyond Qatar to take in other GCC states including the UAE where the mother company already has a strong presence.

One of two industrial firms in the group – the other being Alu Nasa – Gulf Industries Catering & Refrigeration Equipment claims to have a market share of more than 50 per cent in its operational base and expects to have a total sales turnover of QR8 million ($2.1 million) for 2005. The 2004 turnover was QR 7 million.
“The company is uniquely positioned within its market to provide a blend of consultative design, manufacture, supply, installation, testing, commissioning, training and after-sales support for all commercial and industrial catering and refrigeration equipment,” says Salam International corporate marketing and communications manager Nadine J Fattaleh-Al Shaa.   The company offers a range of services that include turnkey catering and refrigeration projects, modular equipment design, industrial kitchen and laundry equipment, cold rooms, supermarket freezers and display cabinets, stainless steel fabrications, bakery equipment and refrigerated trucks and vans among other things.
Highlights of its 12,000 sq ft production facilities are a quick disconnect system which allows equipment to be moved for cleaning, a full equipment design facility, a full interior design facility, a full mechanical and electrical services facility, a full construction and fit-out facility and a one-stop area to fully fit-out project catering.
The company has access to a vast range of European, continental and American catering and laundry equipment covering all items required for storage, food preparation, cooking, food service, wash-up and laundry. The equipment includes products manufactured by the Electrolux Catering Group. It has the capability to design and supply all the items required to complete each installation including service counters, cold rooms, ventilation canopies and extraction systems.
Gulf Industries’ client list is quite impressive, covering as it does such parties as the Emiri Palaces, the College of Technology, Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation, Qatar Steel Company (Qasco), Doha International Airport, Sheraton Doha Hotel & Resort, Doha Marriott Hotel and Ramada Renaissance Hotel.
Other prominent clients are Al Fardan Penthouse, Doha Club, Dana Club, Sofitel Hotel, Qatari Armed Forces, Hamad Women’s Hospital, Al Weill Cornell Medical College, Qatar Petrochemical Company (Qapco), Qatar Fertiliser Company (Qafco), Qatar Flour Mill, Qatar Dairy Factory and JCG Kellogg Joint Venture, among others.
Gulf Industries’ solutions cover three main elements, namely equipment, precision fabrication and installation. “To best meet the needs of our customers, we have developed a wide range of engineering resources and much of the company’s core work concerns the storage and display of perishable goods for the food industry but it also frequently provides and installs mechanical and electrical services,” says Fattaleh-Al Shaa.
Making designs and layouts compatible with the owners’ vision is of the utmost importance, she says. The company takes care to ensure the kitchen it offers is efficient and in tune with the facility’s ambience and theme. The blueprints it makes are comprehensive, taking in complete mechanical, plumbing and electrical aspects. “The planning phase is only complete when every capability has been explored, every ergonomic advantage seized, every function from hygiene to maintenance mapped out clearly and presented for the client’s approval,” says Fattaleh-Al Shaa.
For fabrication, the company uses standard 304 and 316 hairline or mirror-polished stainless steel, solid surface materials such as Corian Fountainhead and Avonite, high-pressure laminates including Formica, Nevamar and Wilsonite, brass, copper and plastic laminates, curved and straight tempered glass and acrylic plastic.
 According to Fattaleh-Al Shaa, the use of the combination of these materials enables the company to create “anything the client can imagine, including but not limited to work counters, tray slides and display cases with graceful curves as well as straight, angled or U shapes.” 
Adds the official: “The company has delighted many designers and consultants by producing equipment designs that others claim are impossible to fabricate.”