The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Education says it will cooperate with Sabic to equip nearly 3,000 boys’ schools with synthetic wood made by the company’s affiliate, the Ibn Hayyan Plastic Products Company (Tayf).

Sabic said the wood was good for the requirements of both schools and laboratories.
The ministry used to import these materials from abroad before deciding to use Tayf products.
“These products have proven to be of high quality. The ministry has conducted a number of experiments in collaboration with the Saudi Arabian Standards Organisation (Saso), and alongside the Civil Defence Department. The experiments have proven that these products meet the established safety and environment standards,” Sabic said in a statement. 
Tayf’s synthetic wood won praise from a top Saudi education official.  Abdullah Ibn Hammad Al Fawazan, Deputy Minister of Education for Buildings and School Facilities, assured ministry officials that Tayf’s synthetic wood met both schools and laboratory requirements.  He praised Sabic, describing it as a pillar of the national economy, and urged all government authorities and private companies to use high quality nationally produced products such as the ones made by Sabic firms.
Al Fawazan had earlier visited Jubail Industrial City and inspected work at the Tayf affiliate. He was welcomed at the Sabic head office in Jubail by Hammad Ibn Abdulaziz Al Madi, general manager, Sabic Eastern Region; Abdullah Ibn Saad Al Rabea’a, chairman of the board of directors of Tayf, and Samir Ibn Ali Al Abdu Rabu, general manager, Tayf.  Sabic owns 57.17 per cent of Tayf, the other shareholders being Industrial and Commercial Agencies Company (30.83 per cent), Saudi Industrial Development Company (Tatweer) (10 per cent) and Saudi Ceramic Company (2 per cent).
Tayf was established in 1996 and came on stream three years later. It uses polyvinylchloride as feedstock. The product range includes plastic boards, wall covering, artificial leather, dioctyl phthalate (a general-purpose plasticiser for the manufacture of flexible plastics) and book binding products.
In another development, Tayf has entered into a contract with a major local synthetic leather distributor for the annual distribution of one million linear meters of Tayf’s synthetic leather product.
“This agreement is the first of its kind since the inception of the company. Negotiations are underway to conclude other contracts,” Sabic said.  “It is of great importance, given the sizeable challenges and strong competition arising from similar imported products.”
Sabic said there was a remarkable increase in demand for synthetic leathers and the agreement would greatly encourage the development of the domestic market and increase consumption of Tayf’s products. It added that customer demand was strong and growing very fast following the tentative product launch.
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation is the largest public company in the Middle East, ranked by market capitalisation (more than $ 150 billion), and one of the world’s 10 largest petrochemicals manufacturers.
The company is among the world’s market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene, glycols, methanol, MTBE and fertilisers as well as the fourth largest polymer producer.