Two consecutive expansions in less than two years and a series of high-profile contracts within and outside the Middle East have put MESC Specialized Cables in the forefront of the regional cable industry.

The company accomplished its sixth expansion during the third quarter of 2006 and is currently implementing the seventh, which will be completed later this year.
The objective of the sixth expansion was to increase the production capacity of instrumentation and control cables by 40 per cent, said a company spokesman. The seventh upgrade will push the production capacity of all kinds of cables by 40 per cent to 10,000 tonnes. MESC manufactures industrial, instrumentation and process control cables among other cables.
“The fresh expansions mean that MESC will become one of the biggest manufactures and suppliers of cables not only regionally but worldwide,” said the spokesman. “It is today a force to reckon with.”
The company closed 2006 with a total invoice sale of around SR375 million from which SR214 million, about 57 per cent, came from instrumentation and control cables, the spokesman said.
The figures represent direct sales through the company’s Riyadh factory. “We are awaiting the official financial statement of 2006 which will come from the auditor and where we’ll have a higher amount as consolidated turnover due to the 40 per cent shares that MESC has in Jordan New Cable Company (JNCC), Jordan,” said the spokesman.
The company claims a 70 per cent share of the Saudi market and a “superior percentage” in the GCC whilst “powering growth of the oil and gas industry in the GCC, the Middle East and North Africa markets.”
“With the sixth expansion fully operational, the target is to achieve for 2007 a total turn over of SR450 million, of which instrumentation and control cables will represent around 66 per cent. An additional SR200 million is expected to come from the sale of JNCC products,” said the spokesman.
Beyond the production of quality cables, the company has done well in providing customer support services.
Comments MESC regional manager Said Al Karram: “Having a good product is merely a qualifying criterion in today’s competitive quarrying industry, but providing a high level of support is increasingly what clinches the deal.”
 MESC was formed with a focused vision – to become the leader in supplying cables to EPC contracts for mega projects in the Middle East and North Africa markets.
That vision is paying off. In 2006 alone, it successfully entered new markets such as India where it is supplying cables to Reliance Industries Limited for its Jamnagar project, the world’s largest grassroots refinery and aromatics complex.
Other major contracts for the year were:
• PDO’s Harweel Cluster (Phase II) in Oman with Petrofac International
• Hawiyah NGL Recovery Plant with JGC Japan, and Khursaniyah Producing Facilities with Snamprogetti, Italy - both in Saudi Arabia.
• KOC’s Facility Upgrade & Relocation of UG Pipelines project with SK Engineering and Construction, Korea, in Kuwait
• The East Area Projects EPC3 Bonny River project with JGC Corporation of Korea in Nigeria
Notwithstanding that MESC’s main activities are concentrated in the GCC and other Middle Eastern countries, its reputation has exceeded the frontiers of that region to achieve a presence in 11 countries outside it and commercial activities throughout the world.
MESC is the main shareholder of Jordan New Cable Company (JNCC) in Amman- Jordan. The strategic partnership has extended the Riyadh-based company’s product range.
“Its continuous endeavor to maintain its excellent reputation is the principal core value behind the company’s success and its immediate plan is to enhance its leadership position in the Gulf and North Africa markets,” the spokesman said.
Key to MESC’s success is the attention it pays to quality and reliability. The company is certified for ISO9001:2000 and 14001:2004. It is certified for all its activities from the selection of raw material suppliers, schedule planning, production and testing to the delivery of cables. Its modern facility accommodates high-end machines. 
It strictly adheres to internationals standards tested and certified by institutions such as the Saudi Arabian Standards Organisation (Saso), UL and Cable Technology Laboratories (both in the US), BSI and Warrington Fire Research (both in the UK), IMQ (Italy), VDE (Germany), CSA (Canada), KEMA (the Netherlands) and 3P (Denmark).
As part of its efforts to maintain quality, the company has set up a well-equipped laboratory for conducting various routine and type tests according to international standard specifications. It also provides inspection test plans. These are prepared for individual orders and testing is carried out according to its plan. The ultimate test, however, is the customer’s test. The company arranges inspections by customers and outside agencies for all its products.
For the company’s rapid growth, the company attributes staff expertise and skill.  A team consisting of people from different countries and cultures has helped to create a professional and progressive atmosphere within the company, it says.
In order to keep abreast of the latest trends and to help meet market requirements, MESC established its own training centre within the company premises in 2003 which has proved useful as a forum for preparing new recruits for the future and helping them to integrate within its core culture.
Through the centre, the company is fulfilling its mission of boosting the Saudisation level. As well as the training MESC staff, it hosts training programmes of other companies including Ernst & Young.