Two of Saudi Arabian Amiantit Company's manufacturing facilities in the Eastern Province wound up 2006 with contract awards amounting to a total of over US$ 33 million received between them in the last quarter of the year. The total amount is made up of 26 orders for various projects across the Kingdom adding up to US$ 33 million. 

The majority of the orders are for GRE (glass reinforced epoxy) pipes and fittings that are being produced at the Amiantit Group's manufacturing facility Bondstrand Limited (BSL), while the remaining orders are GRP (glass reinforced polyester) pipes and fittings that are being manufactured at Amiantit Fiberglass Limited (AFIL).

"These contract awards enabled Bondstrand and AFIL to start 2007 with full order books and it is gratifying to see that most of the orders come from within the Kingdom, which is and always has been our core market, " said Eng. Fareed Al-Khalawi, President & CEO of the Amiantit Group. "Furthermore, since most of these orders are for the Bondstrand plant, it totally justifies the investment that we made in researching and developing GRE pipes specifically for the gas and oil industries."

Eng. Fareed went on to say "With the Kingdom and other GCC countries enjoying a boom similar to the early 1970s, there is renewed activity in upgrading existing infrastructures and initiating new projects for the oil and gas industries and municipal water and sewage networks. With this in mind, I am confident that this year will continue as it started and we shall see 2007 close with excellent results."

Amiantit GRP and GRE pipes are corrosion resistant, as well as being strong and durable, yet light in weight, easy to install and environment-friendly.  The world patents for Flowtite, the technology used in the manufacture of fibreglass reinforced pipes, is exclusively owned by Amiantit.

While GRE pipes are supplied to countries with oil and gas reserves, Amiantit's environment friendly GRP pipes are in demand worldwide for transporting potable water and in sewage systems. Because they are corrosion resistant, GRP pipes also have industrial uses including transporting highly corrosive seawater for cooling systems. To meet increasing global demand Amiantit has GRP manufacturing facilities strategically located in countries as far apart as Germany and India, and South Africa and Brazil.