Rockwood GM on sustainability practices & moving forward

Rockwood International LLC has a strong history and part of the prestigious Al Reyami business group, the company is a renowned supplier of machines for the steel fabrication industry. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Rockwood’s operations cover the entire Middle East. Their engineering strength, service capability, and peerless reputation for quality have helped position themselves as a leader in the industry all across the region. In a recent interview with International Metalworking News- Middle East & Africa (IMNE), General Manager of Rockwood International Rupal Safaya shared the company’s journey, its sustainability practices and the growth trajectory going forward.

IMNE: Which products and services does Rockwood International deal in?

SAFAYA: Rockwood International, a member of Al Reyami Group of Companies is an engineering firm providing machinery and automation solutions in the field of welding/ fabrication. With our customer focused approach, we have successfully established a wide range of products from simple portable machines to robotic automation.

Some of our products include programmable folding machines, chamfering and decladding machines, programmable marking machines, nozzle cutting and welding solutions, grinding, polishing and finishing machines, CNC drilling & cutting machines, shot blasting machines, CNC pipe cutting machines, welding automation for tanks and pressure vessels, profile bending solutions, pipe edge preparation machines and stainless steel welding cleaning solutions.

IMNE: Which markets within and outside UAE does the company serve?

SAFAYA: Our extensive sales and services network with offices in UAE & KSA reaches out to the entire Middle East and East Africa region. While we are headquartered in Dubai, our technical services locations are located in Saudi Arabia.

IMNE: What is the company's annual production?

SAFAYA: Rockwood works as a systems integrator, procuring machines from Europe, USA, Korea, and Taiwan. Our technical team integrates, installs and maintains these machines. Annually we sell hundreds of machines per year in addition to multi-machine integration and turn key projects.

Our products are targeted towards various sectors of the steel fabrication industry. From sheet metal to structural to pressure vessels and pipes, we have solutions available for most of our client’s needs. We understand that the steel fabrication industry is a very competitive sector in the Middle East and holding the best technology in Machinery and Automation hold the key to success.

IMNE: Which are the company's top three performing products?

SAFAYA: Over the past few years Rockwood has been actively engaged in providing more specialised machinery within our three sub-sectors of fabrication for oil & gas, sheet metal and construction, in addition to moving up the value chain and working with our clients to provide bespoke machinery solutions on a turnkey basis. In 2013 our best performing products were welding automation solutions for the Oil & Gas fabricators and multi-machine projects executed on a turnkey basis for our clients.

IMNE: How has the company dealt with the recent financial crunch? Buty Niemowl?ce