30 million preforms daily

Visiting one of the largest plastics processors for PET in the region

In the Al-Kharj industrial zone, around 100km south of Riyadh, the Zahrat Al Waha For Trading Company produces preforms and closures under its Oasis brand as one of the largest converters in Saudi Arabia. With an enterprise value of US$270 million and a process volume of 300 tonnes of PET and 40 tonnes of HDPE per day, the giant, which has been listed on the stock exchange since 2016, is of immense importance in the plastic packaging sector not only nationally, but also in the entire Gulf region. And now the company is completing a new production facility for the manufacture of flexible film and labels, which is due to go live in three months. Plenty of reasons to take a look and ask some questions.

Meeting with Zahrat Al Waha For Trading Co. (Oasis)
We met: Ahmed Hassan Ahmed Ali, Quality Director

The Al-Kharj industrial area near the administrative district of the same name in Riyadh province is characterised by expansion. The large red buildings, four in number, stand out visually from the others. They are the Oasis factories. When the processor began its activities in 2012, preform and cap production were still under one and the same roof, exactly where we met Quality Director Ahmed Hassan Ahmed Ali for an interview.

“We started with a Husky HPP 4.0 line back then,” he recalled. Mr Hassan, a qualified chemistry graduate has been part of the company for nine years now and has been working in the plastics sector since the millennium,” explained Mr Hassan with a smile. Since then, he has been responsible for ensuring quality at Oasis, which is achieved primarily through significant investments in well-known suppliers.

What once took place in the same factory is now separate. The preform and closure production sections are meanwhile in separate buildings in the industrial estate, as is a warehouse and, more recently, a factory for the production of film and labels, which is about to be commissioned. As a result, the packaging producer soon wants to position itself as a turnkey supplier for the beverage market.

A total of 18 Husky HyPET 400 and 500 systems with 96 and 144 cavities process 300 tonnes of PET daily to produce 30 million preforms, i.e. almost 110,000 tonnes of material per year. On the HDPE side, around 14,400 tonnes are processed into closures on eleven Husky HyCap 3.0 systems with 96-cavity moulds from both Husky itself and Corvaglia. During the plant tour, we see a Packsys Global slitting-folding machine for 29/25 closures. The inspections are carried out by IMD Vista equipment.

“For the preform area, further IMD Vista inspection systems are to follow in the future. At present, we only have one here,” says Mr Hassan. The current capacity utilisation is 85%, we were told. The portfolio includes 42 different preform and six cap versions. PET and PE raw materials are sourced entirely from Sabic, while masterbatch suppliers are Polyone and Colormatrix. “Everything we produce goes exclusively into the water bottling sector,” says Mr Hassan.

The annual turnover is US$160 million with an average annual company growth of 10%. The company employs 250 people and has a total area of 80,000m2, of which around 20,000m2 is used for production.