Al Fahhad Zegwaard Co., a wholly owned Saudi company first began life as a Saudi Dutch joint venture in 1979 and continues to maintain Dutch management today.
Although operating primarily in the Kingdom, the company also undertakes projects in Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Bahrain.
Its growing Middle East reputation for quality may also lead to the company undertaking specialist maintenance work including catalyst handling later this year in a fertiliser plant in Syria.
Al Fahhad Zegwaard continues its programme of expansion having recently commissioned new purpose-built headquarters in Dammam, and opened a new office in Abqaiq to complement its existing branch offices in Jubail and Yanbu.
Over the past 20 years, the company has built up an impressive list of clients, such as Saudi Aramco, due to its proven expertise in petroleum, petrochemical and industrial maintenance, and general and environmental services. Thus the company handles hazardous wastes including oil, paint residues, acids and alkalis.
As well as Saudi Aramco, the company undertakes work for several Sabic companies including Hadeed, Ibn Sina, Safco, Petrokemya and Sadaf.
Integral to the company's operations is the key role it plays in specialised industrial cleaning in the petrochemical and refining sectors which include hydroblasting, vacuum truck services, tank cleaning, catalyst handling, bundle pulling and abrasive waterjet cutting.
The company's catalyst handling division, formed in 1986, performs catalyst change-outs operating under normal and inert atmospheres on a wide variety of reactors.
The company's stringent administrative and operational control systems for the disposal of solid and liquid waste require that every batch of material is registered and manifested at collection. The waste materials are then transported to the official MEPA-approved landfill disposal areas where a complete disposal and audit trail is maintained.
Liquid and sanitary waste material is collected by vacuum trucks and tank trailers fitted with hydro-jetting devices for unblocking and cleaning out sewer lines and associated systems.
Al Fahhad Zegwaard's new integrated administration and workshop facilities represents an investment of SR6.5 million ($1.75 million) near Dammam in a location popularly known as Area 91.
Built on a prime green field site close to the main highway to Jubail and Dammam, and the main highway to King Fahad International Airport, the massive new facility is the realisation of several years of planning by the company to centralise all operations, increase efficiency and bring economies of scale to its wide range of activities.
According to Frank van Kooten, general manager of Al Fahhad Zegwaard since 1987, the transfer of operations to the new facility has gone extremely well without interruption with workshops operational by May and all administration functions seamlessly transferred from the old Dammam offices by August.
The new facility covers an area of 35,000 sq m in comparison to 10,000 sq m for the original facility. Designed and constructed to the highest standards with plenty of additional space for further expansion, the new brick and pre-engineered steel structure includes 10 workshop bays and a tyre shop to service its fleet of almost 100 trucks and 40 specialist vehicles.
With the company investing $1 million each year on specialist equipment, it was a company priority that its workshop facilities should be the best in order to maintain its fleet in top condition.
A computerised spare parts department handles an inventory of nearly $1 million. There is a paint shop and grit blasting shop, as well as engine, hydraulic, denting and mechanical workshops. As befitting an environmental company dealing in waste management and environment protection, van Kooten included an oil separator area as part of the facility to ensure all sump oil from his fleet of vehicles is disposed according to stringent regulations.
Van Kooten's background in civil engineering also assisted in the design of the facility with his attention to the detailed layout of the workshops, administration areas, and the staff quarters.
The main workshop area with the 10 bays is unusually high, at 8.5 m, to ensure coolness. The outside yard is 190 x 230 m providing space for manoeuvring the larger vehicles and ancillary units.
Van Kooten says that business for last year and this have been roughly on a par with increasing competition from other contractors. Despite the intense competition, Al Fahhad Zegwaard has established its own reputation for efficiency and has worked with prestige clients such as Saudi Aramco for several years on a range of services including catalyst handling and maintenance.
Al Fahhad Zegwaard recently established an Abqaiq branch to meet specialist vacuum cleaning and hydrojetting requirements for Saudi Aramco and investing in a new fleet of ''super-suckers'' and hydroblasters.
Each super-sucker costs around $200,000 with the company then customising these machines further for specific service job requirements.
Al Fahhad Zegwaard's fleet of trucks and vehicles are supported by a team of 270 staff many of whom are Saudi nationals. According to van Kooten, a new cadre of Saudis is emerging within the company filling technical positions and applying the latest technologies at the facility and working in the field.
One of the main advantages of the company is its proven ability to combine industrial cleaning with waste management and disposal using the latest technological developments. This turnkey approach providing a comprehensive range of specialist services with state-of-the-art technology reduces the need for additional sub-contractors on any particular project.
With the new premises, Al Fahhad Zegwaard is set to enhance its professional reputation throughout the Middle East.
