BDL, a pioneering company in the field of IT distribution in the Middle East, has shown steady progress since its onset in Saudi Arabia nine years ago.

The company has announced it will open a new branch in the UAE to coincide with the opening of Dubai GITEX 2007 activities. The branch will be added to the chain of BDL offices in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. "BDL will be present in the Free Area in Jabal Ali, in addition to its presence in the local market in Dubai", BDL General Manager Tamir Ismail said. "The new branch will work in its full effort in distributing all trade marks that lies under the distribution rights owned by BDL, and our services will not be confined to logistic support" he added.

"Dubai branch will work under the supervision of an independent general manager", Mr Ismail pointed out. "A highly qualified team with special experience in distribution markets will lead the work", he said. "We have signed contracts with a number of international suppliers of first class products within the area of mobile computing", he added.

Regarding the tasks assigned to the new office, Mr Tamir Ismail said the company will try to meet the needs of Dubai markets in particular and GCC markets in general with the exception of Saudi Arabia. "The strategy of the company in Saudi Arabia and Egypt will remain as it is", he said. "The new office will have the privilege of distributing some of the products currently distributed by BDL, in addition to other more important products. "We are approaching Dubai with a concentration to bring our company to the status of one of the best three distributors in Dubai within the coming two years" he added.

Experts in the region expect BDL will play a pivotal role in developing Dubai markets, thanks due to its experience in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Dubai office will also utilize the experience of BDL, especially its strength in the field of mobile computing. "Our strength in distributing notebooks is derived from their high prices, which have yielded great earnings in the Kingdom", says Ismail. "We are the sole distributor for two of the best component manufacturers, namely MSI and ASOS. We, therefore, cover 60% of the markets".

Ismail expects the revenue of Dubai office during the first year to reach US 20 million. "We look forward to become a regional distributor of an international level, equipped in this respect with a thorough knowledge of all current regional distributors", he said. "We will not be content by just dumping the markets with products through our office in Dubai, but we are rather here to create real growth and spreading to the furthest selling point in the markets".

It is worth mentioning that BDL is well known in the IT distribution markets with more than 2700 customers in the GCC countries and Egypt. It has manpower of 228 employees currently, which is subject to steady increase in light of its current expansion. It has been awarded a number of prizes from major companies such as Linovo and MSI.

It has five strategic storage sites in Riyadh, Jeddah, Al-Khober, and Cairo, with total space of 34000 square feet.