Signage products maker Awal Plastics, which reported a 7.6 per cent increase in sales in the fiscal year ending June 2007, says it is implementing a marketing strategy aimed at the top-end markets of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
It also plans to open new export markets. A company spokesman said initiatives for the near future would include setting up a facility in the UAE and working out strategic alliances to better serve customers through a network of partners.
It also plans to hold periodic meetings with key clients, develop business strategies for different markets and enhance supply chain management.
The company reported sales of BD6.5 million for the year ending 31 June 2007 against BD6 million in the previous year.
Export sales in that year were BD2.93 million (previous year BD2.8 million) and local sales BD3.56 million (BD3.18 million).
“Expectations for 2007-2008 are very positive and we expect a minimum growth of 10 per cent in local sales and 15 per cent in export sales in the Gulf,” the spokesman said.
Awal Plastics, whose main shareholders are Mohammed Ahmed Ali Bucheeri and Abdulla Abdul Rahim Hasan Buchiri, makes visual communication signage products for a wide range of industries. Included in its range are totems and pylons, canopies, ATM kiosks, neon lights, bill boards, aircraft branding and anti-shatter film application.
About production, the spokesman said “there are no specific standards for signage and other products manufactured by us,” but that the quality of its products had reached a high level.
“We have comprehensive Quality Assurance Procedures where all products get ‘in process’ inspection.”
The company deals with local franchises of multinational companies including Coca-Cola, Standard Chartered Bank, Citibank, Philly Movies, Gulf Air and Itihad Airways.
Major contracts in its list include those with Riyadh Bank, Al Rajhi Group, Bank Al Bilad, Arab National Bank, Bank Saudi Fransi, Etihad Etisalat and Bahrain Islamic Bank.
One of the major projects it completed in Bahrain was Bahrain Mall. The solutions covered design to installation of a range of signage products. The sign materials were made of aluminium treated with high-quality automotive paint, it said.
The company claims that it manufactured all the traffic signs in Bahrain and some in the Gulf region as well as providing new number plates for all vehicles in Bahrain. It is particularly proud of supplying all the traffic and directional signs for the 25 km King Fahd Causeway between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. New products the company introduced in recent years are the drive through ATM, cold cathodes, ‘lumin ore’ paints, edgelit signs, self-stand display units, lead signs and 3D engraving on acrylic and brass.
The company imports most of its raw materials from the US, the UK, German and Thailand with the remainder sourced in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The main raw materials it uses are sheets in acrylic, stainless steel, mild steel, brass and aluminium, pipes, angles, tubes, paints and inks.
Awal’s fabrication shop covers metal work, wood work, electrical assemblies, acid etching, sandblasting, spray painting, plastic fabrication and die making. Among its subsidiaries is Awal Commercial Enterprises which it says is a major supplier of raw materials to the signage industry in Bahrain.
Another subsidiary is Aida, an advertising agency in Bahrain which has Qatar Airways among its accounts.
A third subsidiary is Awal Al Jazira Advertising Agency which has opened its own office in Saudi Arabia with the aim of penetrating the signage market in a big way.
