Quality and customer satisfaction are the key factors behind the success of National Industrial Gases Plants (NIGP) in Qatar and the Gulf region.

NIGP is an industrial and medical gases manufacturing company in Qatar which also provides a wide range of safety products. The company was established in 1952 by Mohammed Almana, president of the M H Almana Group.
“We have the best high-tech machineries at our plants to ensure top quality products,” says A D K B Charles, NIGP manager, gases, welding equipment and safety products division.
“We also have highly qualified personnel to run the plant for us so that there is no compromise on quality. We have staff from the UK who are experts in their field,” he says.
“We work 24 hours a day, six days a week and our deliveries are assured 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This is good for our customers.
“The customer gets top priority from NIGP. We value our customers and we ensure that they do not face any problems,” says Charles, who has been with the company for 26 years.
“NIGP is already ISO9001 and ISO14001 certified. We are now going in for further certification. We are planning to seek certification for gas production and accredition for analysis,” he said.
“At present we supply our products to companies like Qatar Petroleum, RasGas, Qatar Gas, Qafco, Qapco, Qasco, QChem, QVC, Qafac, Hamad Hospital and to major companies and government departments. We have also started exporting to countries in the Middle East.
“We are also increasing the capacity of our plants and building a plant in Dubai.
“We also started trading in welding and medical gases. We have done very well with welding gases in particular,” says Charles.
“NIGP is also bringing and selling protectors. We do bulk supply and we have over 75 retailers. We are also going for abrasive garnets in a big way.
“In 1983, we started selling high purity gases from the UK. We did the buying and selling in 24 hours which was unique in the Middle East.
“In 1982 we started selling refrigeration gases and within a year we had captured 90 per cent of the market share and we have maintained this even today.
“We have also done very well with our safety and protection products. We import nerly 1,500 containers and we are chartering vessels for garnets. Our main concentration is bulk supply,” says Charles.
Safety is a very important factor for NIGP and the staff is well-equipped to handle all safety related aspects, says Charles.
“We provide comprehensive training for our staff. We send them to specialist firms for training. We hold monthly meetings on safety.
“We have a no smoking policy in our company. We only allow our staff to go to the plant with the correct protective gear. We have good security at the plant which ensures that all safety rules are met.
“Most importantly, we are a proactive company. We train people to take care of themselves through training. We have written instructions for the staff and we have highly qualified people to ensure a safe environment.
Protecting the environment is very crucial to NIGP, adds Charles.
“We have a proper system in place to control gases. We also have proper equipment to recover gases from cylinders. Our special equipment collects the hazardous gases which we send for disposal.
“We always tell our customers to close the valve while returning the cylinders. We always educate our customers about the environment.
“Our message to our customers is ‘trust our gas’,” says Charles.
Some of the company’s activities are:
Cryogenic liquids: It has facilities for manufacturing cryogenic liquids such as nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide in vacuum insulated ISO tank containers, semi trailers, skid mounted tanks of various capacities with vaporisers of different flow rates. NIGP also supplies Dewars in different sizes for the liquids.
Gases: The company manufactures oxygen, nitrogen, acetylene, carbon dioxide, argon, liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen, medical oxygen and breathing air. It is also the major wholesale dealer for all refrigerant gases, such as R11, R12, R22, R134A, R403B, R404A, R407C, R408A, 8502, Isceon69L etc.
High purity gases and calibration gas mixtures:  NIGP at present is a leading supplier of high purity gases. It has commissioned its new facilities for making high purity gases and calibration gas mixtures with a name Quality Specialty Gases.
Welding, cutting equipment and consumables: Apart from gases, NIGP is one of the major wholesale traders for welding items in Qatar. It is also the sole agents and distributor for many standard international products for welding items like Murex, Esab, CEA, TienTai etc. It also keeps a large stock of regulators, welding and cutting machines, welding electrodes and rods, welding, cutting and tig torches, welding helmets, welding goggles and welding gloves from the UK, US, Germany, Japan, China, Taiwan and India.
Safety Products: NIGP is one of the major wholesale traders for safety items in Qatar. It is the sole agent and distributor for many standard international products for safety items like North, Centurion, Faithful, Tuf, Uvex, Iles Optical, 3M, MSA and always keep a large stock of poly cotton/100 per cent cotton coveralls, Nomex coveralls, safety helmets, welding goggles, safety spectacles, safety harnesses, safety shoes, ear plugs, ear muffs, face masks, working And chemical gloves etc from the UK, USA, Germany, Japan, China, Taiwan and India.
Fire Blanket: The range of Fothergill Engineered Fabrics heat resistant materials covers virtually all thermal insulation and thermal protection applications. They provide cost effective and in many cases safer alternatives to fabrics in current use, since they contain no asbestos or respirable fibres. The company is registered as complying with the stringent standards of BS EN ISO 9002 and the Civil Aviation Authority to assure customer confidence and satisfaction.
Garnet: The company is the major supplier of abrasive garnet in different sizes. Hydrostatic pressure testing of cylinders:  NIGP has new facilities for hydrostatic pressure testing of cylinders. It test scylinders in different sizes for different usage by volumetric expansion method according to BS 5430 and the above facility is certified by M/s ABS.
Fabrication of gas equipment: NIGP is equipped with all kinds of fabricating equipment for fabricating cylinders racks, manifold quads and trolleys for different types of cylinders. It fabricates and supplies 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 15, 24, 45, 48, cylinders quads with and without manifolds for industrial and high purity gases according to the requirement from customers.
Cylinders: NIGP is very keen in keeping in stock of cylinders in 1 litre to 68 litres of water  capacity in steel and aluminium materials (1 litre, 3 litre, 5 litre, 71itre, 10 litre, 20 litre, 32 litre, 42  litre, 50 litre and 68 litre with the filling pressure of 140, 200 and 300 bar.
NIGP is always encouraging the customers to use refillable cylinders instead of disposable cylinders which SPFC144 are not good to the environment if improperly disposed off.