Saudi Arabian Amiantit : News

AMIANTIT INAUGURATES $10 MILLION FACTORY IN INDIA

Joint venture in Goa to produce fiberglass pipes using Amiantit-owned technology

Dammam, March 2004 – The formal inauguration ceremony took place on March 21st 2004 for the newly-built manufacturing facility of Amiantit Fiberglass Industries (I) Pvt. Ltd (AFIPL), a joint venture between Saudi Arabian Amiantit Company and the Salgaocar Group of Goa, India.

The plant is producing Glass Fiber Reinforced Polyester (GRP) pipes and storage tanks using the Flowtite method, the industry's leading fiberglass pipe production technology, for which Saudi Arabian Amiantit Company owns the world patents.

The modern production plant at Navelim, Bicholim, Goa, is on a 260,000 square meters site with a built-up area of more than 20,000 square meters. Cost of the project is US$10 million, of which $5 million is funded by the promoter's equity and $5 million by a term loan from Corporation Bank.

AFIPL is a board-managed company chaired by Eng. Fareed Y. Al-Khalawi, President & CEO of the Saudi Arabian Amiantit Group, with Mr. Shivanand V. Salgaocar as Vice Chairman. Other board members are Mr. Wehbe Rafih, Mr. Helmut Weidel, Mr. Vijay Hede and Mr. Shyamkumar Natarajan.

The inauguration took place in the presence of Mr. Manohar Parrikar, the Chief Minister of Goa, H.E. Mr. Saleh Mohammed Al-Ghamdhi, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mr. Shripad Naik, Minister of State for Finance of the Government of India, Dr. Suresh Amonkar, Minister for Health, Government of Goa, Mr. Ramarao Desai, Minister for Industries, Government of Goa, Mr. Shivanand V. Salgaocar of the Salgaocar Group of India, and Mr. Wehbe M. Rafih, representing the Amiantit Group of Saudi Arabia.

Thanks to the assistance and co-operation received from all Government agencies in Goa, the project was completed within 6 months from the date of application to the Goa Industrial Development Corporation for the land at Navelim. The continuous filament winder, which is at the heart of the manufacturing process, was commissioned on the December 10th 2003 and the first tank fabricated entirely from in-house components, including the pipe, was dispatched at the end of December 2003.

The joint venture will provide direct employment for around 300 persons in the State of Goa, and indirectly benefit more than 1500 people in and around 25 villages in the vicinity.

AFIPL manufactures and markets a variety of corrosion-free pipes and storage tanks for both underground and aboveground applications. These products conform to international standards and typically last about 50 years. The plant is presently servicing an order from Reliance Industries of India for underground storage tanks ranging in diameter from 1900 mm to 3200 mm and capacities from 15kl to 70kl.

Flowtite™ pipes are produced using the continuous filament winding process, by which diameters from 80 to 4000 mm can be produced in lengths of up to 18 meters with pressures ranging from 1 to 32 Bar. GRP pipes are produced by combining glass fiber reinforcements, thermosetting polyester resin and specially selected fillers in determined portions, resulting in a flexible structural composite conduit designed to convey fluids.

The pipes are used globally in pressure/gravity systems such as raw water pumping mains, drinking water supply pipelines, sewerage force mains, and in waste water treatment plants. They are also used for slip lining/re-lining in the rehabilitation of networks, in sub-aqueous applications, in desalination plants, penstocks and power-plants, for fire hydrant lines, and have many other Industrial applications.

The main features of GRP pipes are that they are strong and durable, non-corrosive and maintenance free, with no worries about leaks or failures. Existing records document reliable performance over a period of 35 years. GRP pipes are light weight and easy to install, as opposed to steel pipes and tanks that require cathodic protection and periodic surveys for over 50 years in corrosive soils.

With group sales in excess of US$ 400 million, Amiantit is the largest manufacturer of GRP pipe and tanks in the world. It is also a leading manufacturer of epoxy pipes, ductile iron pipes, concrete cylinder pipes, pre-stressed concrete cylinder pipes, reinforced concrete pipes, cement mortar lining fpr steel pipes, polymer concrete pipes and thermoplastic pipes.