Dammam-based Amiantit says it expects its sales turnover to reach $900 million in 2006.

And recently, the company decided the time was ripe to focus on its core sector of pipe manufacturing and water facility management. 
It therefore sold its 51 per cent shareholding in Afico for SR65 million ($17.3 million) to Zamil Industrial Investment Company (ZIIC). Afico makes high-quality thermal and acoustical insulating products using fibreglass. The company came into being as a spinoff from Amiantit’s leadership in fibreglass technologies, which are at the core of its main line of business – the manufacture of pipes and accessories for water infrastructure projects.
Amiantit is extending its range to include specialised pipe products for the oil, gas and petrochemical industries.
The Amiantit group ranks amongst the world’s biggest pipe manufacturers and is a global industrial organisation with 33 manufacturing facilities, wholly owned or majority owned, in 16 countries and sales offices or representatives in more than 45 countries around the globe. In recent years, Amiantit has expanded its activities to include consultancy, building and operational services for complete water supply and wastewater management projects and is currently a leading participant in major infrastructure projects in many countries of the world.
In the past year, the Amiantit group of companies won a number of contracts in different parts of the world. “These contracts emphasise on Amiantit’s leading role in manufacturing and supplying various ranges of pipe systems wherever and whenever needed.”  CEO and MD Fareed Alkhalawi commented.
Amitech-Spain, which is fully owned by Amiantit, won a contract of $16.8 million for supplying GRP pipes to transmit water used for a huge irrigation project in the Saragossa region in Spain. The pipes will be supplied by Amitech-Spain which is located 250 km from the site”. In another deal, Amitech Mexico managed to secure a contract for $2.13 million  for the supply of 14 km of glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) pipes to the project “Aquasur” in Querétaro de Arteaga city, Mexico.  In another development, Amitech Mexico won a contract for supplying 8 km of GRP pipes used for the sewerage system. 
Amitech-USA has finished supplying Meyer Polycrete pipes to the Upper Jones Falls project in Baltimore, Maryland. These jacking-pipes are installed underground at depths ranging between 10 and 75 feet without the need to dig trenches or disturb traffic. Another contract was secured for the sale of ductile iron pipes used in rehabilitation of water systems in the city of Damanhoor, Egypt. There were also two contracts for the sale of high-density polyethylene pipe systems in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.
 “These orders show global confidence in the reliability of Amiantit products and technologies, all of which are supported by certifications such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, UL, FM, NSF, and many others, ensuring that production conforms to the highest international standards.” Al-Khalawi said.
 “Amiantit managed to win these contracts despite strong international competition,” he said at the end of last year.  “This raises the confirmed orders to more than $450 million, which constitutes 50 per cent of the expected sales of 2006.”
The company won strategic contracts in its home state.  Huge 4 m dia fibreglass pipes will supply the state-of-the-art plants of Sharq and Yansab under the Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu with seawater for their cooling systems.
Amiantit also won a number of contracts for Saudi Aramco worth $18 million for supplying fibreglass reinforced epoxy (GRE) pipe systems used in fire fighting systems and for transporting petrochemicals and potable water. GRE systems are well known internationally for their high resistance to chemicals and industrial waste.
Though Saudi Arabia remains its biggest single market, export orders are becoming more and more substantial. Amiantit Fibreglass Industries Limited (Afil) and FPC, both located in Dammam, and Amitech in Jeddah, supplied glass-fibre reinforced polyester pipes of various diameters for water and wastewater infrastructure projects to Syria, Kuwait, Oman, Yemen, Libya and Sudan. Afil has supplied the Iran Marine Industrial Marine Company (Sadra) with pipes and fittings. Sadra is one of Iran’s biggest offshore contracting companies and has the contract to provide utility services to the Assuluya-based petrochemical industries.
Amiantit’s Indian subsidiary has supplied underground storage tanks to Reliance Industries.
The group relies on world-class production systems. The Amiantit Technology Division comprises 11 technology companies, making Amiantit a worldwide leader in pipe technology.
Ductech supplies its technology to group companies that manufacture ductile iron pipes and fittings. DI pipes are used extensively in water supply, discharge and heating as well as in industrial and fire extinguishing systems.
The pipes are of a superior quality and manufactured in accordance with most international standards. Their outer surface is coated with zinc and a layer of bitumen to ensure maximum protection against the harsh environment whereas the inner one is coated with a cement liner, making the pipes highly corrosion-resistant and guaranteeing low friction and longevity. Other advantages of pipes produced with the Ductech technology are their good elastic qualities and high level of flexibility – making the pipes well-suited for high-pressure applications. Included in the product-palette is a vast array of pipefittings, making ductile iron pipe systems extremely flexible and very simple to install.
GRP pipes using Flowtite technology can be found in systems for the transportation of drinking water, water for fire-fighting, sea water and desalinated water, chemical and industrial waste, sewage, and water for irrigation. These pipes also make their way into power plants. The range of uses of Flowtite pipe systems is virtually unlimited. Flowtite products can be used in siphon lines, as well as in seawater outfalls, for bridge dewatering and desalination projects, and as protection lines for cables.
The Amiantit Group manufactures Flowtite GRP pipes in many factories around the world. Its facilities supply pipes and fittings in various designs, lengths and diameters, including customised ones. Flowtite products are available directly from the group’s Amitech manufacturing sites as well as from APS/Amitech and Jos Hansen sales offices worldwide.
Another technology, Amipox, is used for GRE pipes mainly used in petrochemical process lines, oil and gas systems and offshore and onshore systems as well as in ship and marine applications.
Amipox pipes are ideal in all applications where high mechanical properties, reliability and an economic service life are the customers’ main requirements, and have been certified and approved by several authorities and institutes. Amipox products are rated using ASTM-D-2992 and conform to ASTM-D-2996 specification for machine-made products. Amipox offers prefabricated spools, which combine pipes, fittings and joints, and works to provide reliable joints with precise dimensions and to minimise field joints. Amipox joining systems include adhesive, mechanical and flanged joints to adapt to all applications.