In a strategic move to significantly boost the delivery speed and flexibility of its fiber optic solutions in Saudi Arabia, Swiss cabling specialist, Reichle & De-Massari (R&M), has opened a new 1,500 square meter solution, assembly and production facility in MODON Industrial City 2 in Riyadh. This expansion follows the establishment of the company's first of its kind patch cord assembly facility in 2012 at its regional hub in the Dubai Airport Free Zone (DAFZA). “R&M is today recognized as one of the top three cabling vendors in the region thanks to our strong local presence, together with Swiss engineering,” said Manzoor Ali, Managing Director, R&M Saudi Arabia, Bahrain & Yemen. “A few years ago we had a vision of becoming the leading cabling vendor in Saudi Arabia and to achieve that vision we have been investing ‘in the country for the country.' Having this new facility in Saudi Arabia is testimony to our commitment to the market. It will allow us to become more customer-oriented and to add value to the local market with our expertise.” R&M develops and produces passive cabling solutions for communication networks and has established itself as a leading producer of high quality copper and fiber-optic solutions. Around two thirds of R&M's sales revenue is generated abroad. In 2014 sales reached around CHF 211 million. More than five percent of sales revenue is invested in R&D annually. The Swiss-headquartered company is wholly owned by the Reichle family and is managed as an independent family business. According to Ali, the Riyadh facility will be focused on customization to meet the needs of the mainly fiber to the home (FTTH) local market. “The concept is very simple,” he explained. “We use our core products/single components from our Headquarters located in Wetzikon, Switzerland and then adapt and assemble a localized product that will fit exactly what our Saudi customer requires. We also do have access to local suppliers in case it is required for our solutions. Moreover, our new facility in the Kingdom has dedicated Quality Control personnel. Every raw material batch is strictly monitored and this ensures that Swiss quality is maintained.”
R&M has been active in the Middle East since 1998. The company has a well-developed customer base which includes a number of large scale government and private sector customers in Saudi Arabia. R&M has already been serving these customers, bringing their product requirements from abroad. The growing market demand for its connectivity solutions promoted R&M to establish the production facility in Riyadh. Currently R&M has a local presence in Riyadh, Jeddah, Jubail and Al Khobar. It's important to point out that the new production facility has been set up specifically to meet the volume of demand seen from customers in Saudi Arabia. “The facility has been established to deliver customized products for the country and to ensure the highest standards of delivery speed, quality and reliability,” said Jean-Pierre Labry, Executive VP, R&M Middle East, Turkey and Africa. In the first phase, Ali explained that there will be a focus at the facility on products that depend upon “Fiber to the x (FTTx)” technology to connect the central office of telecom service providers to the end user. For this, R&M will provide all passive connectivity solutions with a quality that is guaranteed to meet all the requirements for telecom infrastructure. Manzoor Ali, who has been with R&M for seven years will lead the Saudi operations. His expertise lies in the field of telecommunications and he has over 21 years of industry work experience. He is supported by a team of Saudi and international experts with skills in different areas of telecom and IT. The company has a network of distributors, resellers and installation partners in Saudi Arabia and those partners are present in many vertical markets, offering data center, office cabling and telecom solutions. The new facility, which became fully functional the first week of February, is able to address a portfolio of cabling products that include fiber optic patch panels, distribution boxes and cabinets. The total production capacity for R&M in Riyadh is the equivalent of one million fiber ends per annum. Alongside its production facility, R&M will be launching a training academy to take care of local training requirements for its customers and partners. “Our state-of-the-art facility in Riyadh is still in its beginning stage,” said Ali. “Once it is fully functional, we could have at least 20 technicians working in a single shift. This will be in addition to the back office support staff required for the smooth operation of the facility.”
