A wide range of industrial products is now just a click of a mouse away for professional buyers in Qatar and the region.

A strategic alliance between TrueValue USA and Bolts and Tools Center, Qatar, has opened up a wide choice of top quality goods for industrial buyers and contractors including the oil and gas sector.
“We are opening a mega industrial and construction hardware material store in May,” says Walid M Agal, regional business development manager, e-Industrial Suppliers.
“We doing it in association with TrueValue USA and colloboration with Bolts and Tools Center, Qatar.
“Bolts and Tools Center is a 30-year-old company in Qatar and have been a leader in industrial and hardware supplies. We recently tied up with TrueValue USA and we are now part of 6,400 stores worldwide and are a $2.2 billion company,” says Agal.
“With this strategic alliance in Qatar, we are fortifying ourselves to meet the regional and local demand in the market. This kind of direct tie-up is very much needed.
“We have over 1,500 brands which include some key industrial brands. Through this strategic alliance, we are able to satisfy the needs of professional buyers.
“We have the widest range of products. We have over 300,000 products. We have 70,000 products in Qatar and 300,000 in the US.
“So it is a major tie-up between operations as a TrueValue Bolts and Tools Center,” says Agal.
The products include safety, which is a major one.  Safety products and safety equipment are available, adds Agal.
Other products available include power generators, garage equipment, fasteners, anchoring, scaffolds, aerial works, storage system, flanges and studbolts, says Agal.
“We have, as I said earlier, a 30-year-old company in Qatar and now that we have become TrueValue Bolts and Tools Center, we have the network and contacts. “Certainly retail is important and we have a field sales force which targets the oil and gas sector. We have professional engineers who go after the electromechanical contractors, the construction contracting companies, the government and military.
“The unique thing which is offered in Qatar is our website. There customers find our complete priced catalogue with 300,000 products at the their fingertips.
“Customers can go and browse and look for items by their description or keyword. He can then find the product with their image and their price. If the item is available in Doha then the customer is supplied. If the item is not available in Doha, then it is shipped.
“We certainly offer standard manufacturer warranties as we are stocking only high quality products. We are an ISO certified company with certification from the US and Germany. And basically this is a very important part.
“We have a major service centre which services power generators, tower lights. We offer service contracts when we sell to the customers. We manage warranties and we service other companies’ equipment for a charge.
“Certainly this operation is more than industrial. Since many of the electromechanical contractors have their set-ups in the industrial area we felt it necessary to be positioned here which makes it easier for them.
“We certainly offer delivery service to clients in Ras Laffan and other areas. And we do service requirements within the region.
“The regional customers can go to our website and see what items they want. If they are not available, then they can contact us and we can find it for them and we can ship it to them.
“We are probably one of the major stockists of material in Qatar. We service Qatar, Bahrain and UAE from here.
On the popularity of the website, Agal said websites have to be marketed.
“The objective is not the housewife or student. It is targeted towards professional buyers who know what they want.
“If the customer asks for a brand like MSA or 3M, he knows what the brand and its quality means. He may wants it delivered in one week’s time and we are here to help him.
“Whether a customer is here or in Iraq or Turkey or in Germany, we certainly adjust to his requirements.
“Our customers are impressed by our professional operation offering Qatar and the region a world class setup right here to service all their procurement needs from the US.
“When you have buying from 6,400 stores then it is different buying from one store. The buying power is different.
“My pricing is also very aggressive and very competitive. My stock is more diversified,” says Agal.
Habits have changed and it is a seller’s market these days, says Agal
“The projects in the Gulf are unbelievable. The level of enquiries are unbelievable. It’s so great.
“Our job is to see how to balance and deliver. As a major organisation we are able to give support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as we are hooked up to our warehouses in the US.
“We know how much of a product is there in Florida for example and if there is a holiday there we can manage to procure it from say Chicago.
“We have major plans to expand. We are all over the Gulf and in Qatar. What we want to do is increase our market share. That is our objective,” concludes Agal.