CPC and Arabian Roots form JV named Roots Steel

Under the agreement in which CPC will have a 70-30 percent majority stake in Roots Steel, three factories will be set up in Damascus, Cairo and Abu Dhabi at a total investment of $80m, $27m per factory.

Total production capacity envisaged is 300,000 tons per year or 100,000 tons per factory. Target dates of production are November 2008 for Damascus, February 2009 for Cairo, and March 2009 for Abu Dhabi.

The formation of Roots Steel is in line with CPC's mission to target the markets of Saudi Arabia, Europe, other Middle Eastern countries, South-East Asia and the United States, said CPC's Business Development Director and spokesman, Dr. Faysal Alaquil.

'CPC has the Middle East's highest standard in the field of contracting and construction. Our business vision and philosophy is to serve as a catalyst for a [One stop shop] outlet providing all the needs of modern construction,'
Dr. Alaquil said.

Arabian Roots, founded in 1981, is a leading wholesaler, manufacturer, retailer and special service provider in the Saudi market, focusing on building materials, including among other things, metal works, fences, doors, railings, grids, false ceiling supports, adhesives, paints, coatings, waterproofing membranes, power tools, electric generators, and mobile cranes.

Arabia Roots CEO, Eng. Ousama Fansa, said Roots Steel would greatly benefit from his company's well-developed regional distribution and marketing network and outlets that cover the GCC (Saudi, UAE and more recently Qatar), the MENA region (with Egypt, Syria and Lebanon), and a presence in Malaysia.

'Arabian Roots is fast extending its footprint in the Middle East,' Fansa said. 'Sales figures have touched the SR900m mark.'

CPC offers complete turnkey projects covering engineering, construction, and contracting. Its expertise is available as turnkey contractor, joint venture partner or main sub-contractor.

CPC started its activities less than three years ago with seven companies. After the implementation of the company's plans in addition to strong success indicators, CPC expanded to the neighboring markets Syria, Egypt and UAE. CPC's upcoming plans are to enter into Algerian, Moroccan and Indian markets. Today, CPC owns 15 companies, 14 of which are construction products factories and one transportation company.