Multinational enterprise Saudi Vitrified Clay Pipe Co Ltd (SVCP) has announced an expansion at its Riyadh factory.

The manufacturer of clay pipes and fittings is building a new plant in Riyadh with a capacity of 71,000 tonnes per year (tpy) and an investment of SR300 million ($79.9 million), according to company sales engineer Ehab Hisham Tafesh.
Tafesh says the project will be completed by mid-2008.
Lingl Saudi Arabia has been commissioned to carry out the construction of the turnkey plant.
Lingl is supplying the tunnel dryer, tunnel kiln, chamber dryer, car transport systems and handling equipment. The unit containing the tunnel dryer and tunnel kiln has a capacity of 50,000 tpy while the chamber dryer’s capacity is 14,000 tpy. The products dried in the chamber dryer are then fired in two shuttle kilns. Another shuttle kiln serves for the firing of fittings. This has an annual capacity of 7,000 tonnes.
“The expansion was necessary in order to meet the market demand locally and overseas,” said Hisham.
SVCP, established in 1977 by Saudi, German and Belgian investors, manufactures elastic jointing systems, pipes with jointing systems, flexible joints and connectors for manholes, junctions of 45°/90° and bends, both with a jointing system; taper pipes, saddles 45°/90°, semi-circular channels, special fittings and end plugs and perforated pipes and jacking pipes in vitrified clay. SVCP manufactures vitrified clay pipes with diameters ranging from 150 to 1,200 mm.
Around 75 per cent of its products made at its factory in Riyadh are exported to Arab countries, the Far East and Europe. “With the new factory expansion production capacity will increase by 70 per cent” remarked Hisham, “We maintain a huge stock of pipes, which enables us to deliver materials at very short notice”.
The company announced a net profit of SR26.16 million for the first half of this year.
Vitrified clay pipes are used for town and industrial sewage systems as well as for stormwater disposal. They are characterised by their strength and resistance to chemicals usually present in sewage and drainage water. In addition, clay pipes have an unequaled long life.
The company carries out independent laboratory tests on products to ensure adherence to all relevant specifications. The in-house tests include the following: crushing strength, water tightness, water impermeability, shear strength, joint tests and angular deflection.
SVCP pipes and fittings are produced according to the Saudi Arabian Standard (Saso) 235/236 – 1995, which is fully complying with the EN 295 standard as well as the ASTM C700 standard. High-quality standards are achieved and maintained from the earlier stages by using a homogenous mixture of clay prepared, shaped, dried and fired in the most modern clay preparation available. Control of firing is monitored by using the latest technology shuttle and tunnel kilns.
 As SVCP is an ISO 9000 certified company, quality control is rigorously applied in the interests of consistent high performance standards.
The company has completed a number of prestigious projects in the GCC region. Some of the big ones are:
 Bahrain - Bahrain Airport Sewerage Scheme, Hidd Contract 24-1, Sitra Village Sewer Cont. 25-3 Phase III; Salmaniya Medical Centre development, Al A’Ali Village and Bahrain Military Hospital.
Kuwait - Al Amiri Hospital, Khaldiya University, Shuaiba and free zone infrastructure.
 Qatar - Toyota car showroom, Doha Air Base C-406/2 and Al Nejada Complex.
Saudi Arabia - Dammam West Project, Yanbu Petrochemical Development, University of Riyadh and a number of Aramco projects.
UAE - Al Shahama City, Sweihan & Zayed Military City, Al Reef Palace drainage and Al Ain Military Academy.