Al Babtain Industries Company, one of the leading manufacturers of electrical products, is currently working on projects worth more than $20 million and has business levels so far this year exceeding those of the same period in 2001, according to a senior official.

General manager Ahmed Al Thunaiyan also said 40 per cent of total sales constituted exports, which now go to more than 26 countries. The company, part of the Al Babtain Group, has been operating a branch in Egypt for the past two years. Destinations for the country's products are GCC and other Arab states, South-east Asia Russia, Cyprus and Ethiopia.

New products it has introduced in recent years include the monopole, which meets the requirements of 69KV, 110KV, 115KV, 132KV and 230KV overhead transmission lines.

"According to the latest designs, monopoles of the following sizes are required for the power transmission sector: shaft segment (bottom a/f) up to 2000mm, shaft plate thickness up to 40mm, shaft segment height up to 10,000mm, shaft plate thickness up to 32mm and shaft segment height up to 14,000mm," said Al Thunaiyan.

Another recently introduced product is the Gulf 2000 street lighting fixture in the range of 400-600 watts (HPMV, HPSV, MHV). According to Al Thunaiyan, the product utilises a new modular design concept and incorporates the latest and most efficient optical system and control G.

Another new product is the Tripoli/01/02 street lighting fixture available in the range of 250-400 watts

(HPMV, HPSV, MHV). The official described it as having a modern modular design and dedicated faceted optics to optimise beam controls and maximise high output.

The Riyadh-based Al Babtain Group was established in 1955 under the dynamic leadership of three outstanding entrepreneurs Ñ Hamed Al Babtain, Ibrahim Al Babtain and Mohammed Al Babtain.

Hamad, Ibrahim and Mohammed Al Babtain first launched the business as an electrical, contracting and trading company. Thanks to dedicated hard work and quality consciousness, the group achieved tremendous growth over the years and now consists of three sub-groups, namely Al Babtain Trading Company, Al Babtain Contracting Company and Al Babtain Industries Company.

The group is one of the Middle East's leading industrial organisations, having 14 factories equipped with modern production lines, great production capacity and strong design capabilities. It was the first in the region to undertake the production of poles and high masts, more than 20 years ago.

Al Babtain Industries Company's factories are situated in Al Sulay, south-east of Riyadh, and they comprise the following: Al Babtain Pole High Mast and Galvanising Factory, Al Babtain Lighting and Panel Board Factory, Al Babtain Tower Factory and Al Babtain Tower Testing Factory.

The Al Babtain Pole High Mast and Galvanising Factory produces lighting poles, transmission poles of high, medium and low-voltage, high masts, stadium masts, traffic signal poles, flag poles, camera poles and related accessories, while undertaking galvanisation.

The Al Babtain Lighting and Panel Board Factory produces street lighting luminaires, floodlights, garden lights, industrial luminaires, LV distribution panel boards, feeder pillars, distribution boxes, fuse boxes and cable trays/ladders.

The Al Babtain Tower Factory produces galvanised transmission towers and telecommunication towers.

The Al Babtain tower testing station conducts tests on all kinds of steel towers and communication towers with actual load parameters.

The company's steel monopoles are not only used in transmission line network (for the range from 66kv to 250kv) but also feature in the telecommunication sector as antenna structures.

The company listed its important customers as Al Shrouq Electrical Establishment, UAE; Keplic, Kuwait; Star Lights, Oman; Slomia, Lebanon; Amira, Russia; Abu Manneh Trading, Jordan, and Al Bakali, Bahrain.

The list also covers National contracting Company; Trading and Development Partnership; S.S.E.M; Mansour Al Musaied; Saudi Electric Company; Potential Company and Larsen & Toubro, Saudi Arabia.

Al Babtain Industries Company listed the important projects it worked on as Northern relief road project, Qatar; Customs Area at Abu Samra, Qatar; MVVE projects, Bahrain; Eac projects, Cyprus; Q-Chem petrochemical plant, Qatar; Mesaieed industrial city, Qatar; Doha industrial city, Qatar; Al Rayyan and Al Hihad Stadium, Qatar; 230KV NPIC project; 230 KV Najran Al Sharourah project; 115 KV Al Hassa area project; 69 KV Abqek project; 110 KV Hafer Al Baten project and 69 KV King Fahad International Airport project.