Future Pipe Industries, Qatar, which responded to an upsurge in construction activity in the country with a new plant, has announced strong sales during this year.

General manager for sales and marketing Mohamad Jaroud said the turnover for 2006 until the end of September was QR670 million ($184 million) against QR170 million for the whole of 2005. The figures include sales of products manufactured both in Qatar and elsewhere in Future Pipe Group companies. In 2004, pipes and fittings worth just QR70 million were sold, indicating the rise in infrastructure projects and new capacity from the company’s Qatar plant helped achieve better turnover performance in the following two years.
FPI Qatar manufactures and supplies high-performance and anti-corrosive glass reinforced epoxy (GRE), glass reinforced plastic (GRP) and glass reinforced vinylester (GRV) pipes in diameters from 25 mm to 4,000 mm as well as fittings.
“Demand for piping systems is rising exponentially in the Gulf region, particularly in Qatar, due to unprecedented expansions and infrastructure developments,” commented Jaroud.
According to the official, FPI Qatar captured approximately 85 per cent of the fibreglass market in the country in 2006.  The Future Pipe Group, of which FPI Qatar is part, is a global supplier of pipe system solutions with fibreglass manufacturing plants in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Lebanon, Egypt, Holland and the US, besides Qatar.
The Qatar plant is built on a plot covering 53,000 sq m and has lines to produce GRP and GRE pipes up to 4 m diameter. A fabrication yard built recently on a 26,500 sq m plot is equipped to produce fittings such as elbows, tees, flanges, reducers and spools, among other things.
The company’s products are designed and manufactured in accordance with a number of international standards, specifications and codes and it follows a quality management system that meets the requirements of BE EN ISO 9001-2000
The company has introduced new products including the high-pressure spoolable reinforced composite pipes with diameters of 25 mm to 115 mm, lengths up to 6 km, working pressure up to 350 bars and temperatures up to 100 degrees C.
Another new offering is the high-pressure glass-reinforced epoxy pipe with a threaded jointing system and a diameter range from 50 to 450 mm, a working pressure up to 240 bars and temperature up to 110 degrees C.
The country sources markets in the European Union, the US, India and other GCC states for its raw materials such as vinylester resin, polyester resin, epoxy resin, chemicals and fiberglass items.
To maintain its leadership in the Qatari market, the company is contemplating an expansion in production capacity.
It has already won over prominent companies in recent months.  A contract was awarded for supplying pipes of up to 4 m diameter and fittings to the Ras Laffan Common Cooling Water project Phase 2. At a value of $165 million, it was considered the biggest of its kind in the region, according to Jaroudi.
The company is supplying fibreglass pipes and fittings to Qatar Steel Company-Phase 2, Qatar Petrochemicals Phase 2, Occidental Petroleum, Ras Laffan Liquid Berths 1A/1B and 3A/3B, Ras Abu Fontas B2, Lusail STP Development, Pearl Qatar, Ras Laffan Refinery, Ras Gas potable water pipeline, HFO bunkering facilities, PS catchments sewerage Phase 2 project and Abu Hamour area sewerage Phase 1, among others.