Saudi Arabia’s Khalifa Al Joaib Group of Companies is a good example of an evolving organisation.

The group was founded more than a quarter of a century ago by Khalifa Al Joaib, who serves as its chairman with the assistance of his son Faisal who is group vice chairman.
First to make an appearance was the Al Joaib Furniture Factory in 1979. The company manufactures kitchen cabinets, vanity products, wooden doors, accordion doors, Venetian binds and counter tops. With the kingdom’s economy growing strongly in the past few decades and construction projects coming up everywhere, it was not surprising that the furniture company grew in stature, setting up showrooms in Dammam, headquarters of the group, and in Al Khobhar and Riyadh.
The group’s next venture was the Al Joaib Packing Materials Factory, established in 1990. The company has consolidated itself over a decade and a half through experience gained year by year and through continuous R&D.  The company’s product range has expanded from ‘air bubble’ film to thermo reflective insulation, which is marketed as Bubble Cool.
And just last year, the third company saw the light of day – the Al Joaib Plastic and Rubber Factory, manufacturer of folding crates, safety netting and warning meshes, among other things.
“Sales growth in the companies was between 10 and 25 per cent in 2005,” a group spokesman said. “This year we plan to penetrate European markets for plastic and packing products.  Some 64 per cent of the group production is exported with the GCC region remaining the main market. Other destinations are Jordan and Lebanon,” he said.
The spokesman said sales of packing material climbed 20 per cent in 2005 over the previous year. Raw material for the plastic and packing products factories is sourced at Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) and Qatar Petrochemicals Company (Qapco). The group looks to European, American and Southeast Asian markets for furniture raw material. Prices of raw materials have risen but the group has managed to stay competitive by slashing overhead costs.
Products it launched recently were thermo reflective insulation (Bubble Cool), the folding crate, safety netting and warning mesh. New products are in the pipeline, the spokesman says. 
As for the secret of its success, he put it to customer satisfaction, competitive prices and high product quality.
“We have a highly qualified and experienced staff as well as modern equipment in all departments and we are working towards gaining the ISO 9000-2001 mark this year.”
The group will continue to work for higher profits through greater sales and product diversification, he says. An important point in its favour is that worker morale is high.
Commenting on Saudi Arabia’s entry into the World Trade Organisation, the spokesman says it cannot but be good for the kingdom. For one thing, it will facilitate exports.