AS PART of its expansion plan, Construction Products Holding Company (CPC) and Arabian Roots Company have formed Roots Steel, a joint venture to produce pre-engineered steel structure buildings in Egypt, Syria and the United Arab Emirates. Under the agreement, in which CPC will have a 70-30 per cent majority stake in Roots Steel, three factories will be set up in Cairo, Damascus and Abu Dhabi at a total investment of $80 million. Total production capacity is estimated at 300,000 tonnes per year, or 100,000 tonnes per factory. The Cairo factory is expected to begin operations in February 2009. "The formation of Roots Steel is in line with CPC's mission to target the markets of Saudi Arabia, Europe other Middle Eastern countries, Southeast Asia and the United States," stated CPC's Business Development Director Faysal Al-Aquil. "CPC has the Middle East's highest standard in the field of contracting and construction." Al-Aquil added that his company's business vision and philosophy is "to serve as a catalyst for a one-stop-shop outlet, providing all the needs of modern construction." Arabian Roots, founded in 1981, is a leading wholesaler, manufacturer, retailer and special service provider in the Saudi market. It focuses on building materials, including metal works, fences, doors, railings, grids, false ceiling supports, adhesives, paints, coatings, waterproofing membranes, power tools, electric generator and mobile cranes. Arabian Roots CEO Osama Fansa said Roots Steel would greatly benefit from his company's well-developed regional distribution and marketing network and outlets, which cover the GCC (Saudi Arabia, UAE and more recently Qatar), the Middle East/North Africa region (with Egypt, Syria and Lebanon), and a presence in Malaysia. Moreover, Arabian Roots is fast extending its footprint in the Middle East, with sales figures touching the Saudi Riyal 900 million mark. CPC started its activities less than three years ago with seven companies. After strong success indicators, it expanded to the neighbouring markets of Syria, Egypt and the UAE. Today, CPC owns 15 companies -- 14 of which are construction product factories and one transportation company -- and has plans to enter Algerian, Moroccan and Indian markets.
