Top-notch quality and on-time delivery across the GCC

Kuwait

Motasem Abuhamad, partner and managing director of Gulf Center United Industrial Equipment Co. (GC), and Majed Yazji, partner and COO, talk to The Energy Year about the company’s activities and expansion plans in the GCC. GC manufactures and fabricates equipment for concrete, asphalt, soil screening, virgin sand screening, stone-crushing and recycling plants, and supplies engineering solutions for industrial, construction, environmental and remediation projects.

Can you give us an overview of your company’s history and main activities?
Motasem ABUHAMAD: GC was established in 1975. We provide plants, materials, and engineering services for the construction industry. These include, among other things, surface coating, spraying rubber lining and corrosion protection for water tanks. When the company began its activities, we were the only supplier in the crushing business and up to the end of the 1990s we had secured 90% of the market.
In 2002, we started expanding our business into different sectors. We started supplying concrete plants and, later, providing maintenance and repair services, as well as coatings and corrosion protection for components used in refineries and water plants. In addition, we developed innovative solutions that shortened coating time to a couple of hours, rather than two days.
2022 was a major turning point for GC. Due to the expansion in our offerings, we increased our capital by USD 3 million. In addition to capital increase, we established our local soil testing centre, allowing us to perform soil tests and analysis. The centre gave GC a key advantage over competitors in terms of response and performance.

What are some remediation projects currently happening in Kuwait and what is GC’s involvement?
Majed YAZJI: KOC released the largest soil remediation project in the world to treat the contaminated soil resulting from the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. 727 oil wells were destroyed, resulting in 20 million cubic metres of contaminated soil.
GC succeeded along with CDE – GC being CDE’s exclusive agent in Kuwait – in winning a contract valued at approximately USD 30 million for the supply of two washing plants to a local major contractor who had been awarded the contract to treat contaminated soil at two KOC zones. Currently, both plants are in the commissioning phase.
GC also succeeded in winning a contract worth approximately USD 4.5 million for the supply of more than 16 screening and crushing plants. They have been engineered and fabricated at GC’s premises for two major local contractors who were awarded the contract to treat contaminated soil at three KOC zones. All the plants are currently running successfully.

Can you walk us through GC’s other activities?
MY: GC has more than 120 employees and a rich business portfolio. Another key business line of ours is the supply of industrial equipment. We have delivered more than 20 sand-washing plants, together with maintenance and operation support whenever needed.
We have a broad reputation for on-time delivery and top-notch quality, to the extent that we have customers in Bahrain, the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia who call on us even though they have alternatives in their region. We have activities throughout the GCC.
We opened a subsidiary in Oman in 2010 to supply and operate an asphalt plant with the government, and we are planning to open another subsidiary in Saudi Arabia.
GC also provides rubber lining and coating services using MetaLine products, as we are their exclusive agent in Kuwait. With more than 60 years of experience, MetaLine offers protection, preservation and reconstruction of extremely impacted components. GC offers on-site self-processing repair and coating technologies for various industrial challenges, changing surfaces for the better.
Is GC involved in any other market besides their core businesses?
MA: In the power sector, we are agents for many renewable energy solution providers in Kuwait. Their core business is developing energy storage systems. At the moment, we are working with them to provide oil and gas players with lithium and container batteries.

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