About

Darat Al Saady Holding is a family-owned company rooted in Jeddah under which operate limited liability companies in Manufacturing, private equity investments, public equities and real estate Investments.

We take immense pride in our identity and heritage stretching over 45 years of existence.

Our story dates back to 1975 when our founder and chairman, Esmat Al Saady embarked on his entrepreneurship adventure with his first startup in manufacturing. CGS was born as a partnership between a visionary Swiss Entrepreneur, Albert Grünenfelder and Esmat Al Saady. Mr. Grüenfelder believed in our potential and aspiration, and built on them.

The partnership morphed into a long-term business engagement that stood the test of time up to this moment. CGS is the pillar of Darat Al Saady and its main business line that has been an economic powerhouse in the Kingdom ever since it started, with a market share over 50%. Soon after, CGS operations expanded to cover a wider area in KSA, Kuwait, Bahrain; and business dealings were made in Qatar, Sudan and Lebanon.

Al Saady Trading was our second venture taken in 1979. While it started as a factory producing bitchemen products, it evolved into a group that delivers sustainable, breakthrough sports systems and entertainment solutions.

Our goal is to become one of the region’s large family businesses through organic growth as well as mergers and acquisitions.

We have the entrepreneurial insight, corporate responsibility, business knowledge in Banking, Venture Capital investing, Insurance, Trading, Manufacturing, Construction and Real Estate Development to take our business to new heights.

Our investment subsidiaries are core to our work, fast-growing and derived from the world’s four corners due to the diversified geographic presence of the Holding’s leadership team in KSA, USA, UK and Dubai as well as varied investments in Germany, Netherlands, Canada, Japan and Western Europe.

We hold on to our founder’s legacy, we treasure it and are determined to keep it going for generations to come. We aim to grow the businesses at the fastest pace and plan for each generation to leave its fingerprint for the next.

Timeline

We have been in business for over four decades. Our businesses have steadily developed into Darat Al Saady Holding with a profound sense of commitment, integrity and confidence in what we do.

Here is a look back at how we progressed:

1976

It marks the birth of CGS, a joint effort put together between our founder Esmat Al Saady and Swiss Entrepreneur, Albert Grünenfelder, bringing forth a visionary company that not only saw a bright future ahead, but also helped nurturing it through innovative high-quality solutions for cooling in a country that will always require cooling.

1977

Al Saady Co. (previously Sand Still) was created to cater for the boom in infrastructure projects in Saudi. Sand Still specialized in bitchemen products and developed a niche product in asphalt camouflaging for military runways and helicopter pads for the Military and later for ARAMCO. The product was later developed into further niche asphalt products that were widely used locally. Around 65% of our total production was exported to neighboring countries in MENA. Sand Still later expanded its production to rubber particles (Caltex).

1985

The Fifth Group was an SPV set up in 1985 acting as an agent to multiple large multinational organizations on a project level. It operated mainly with the American Corps of Engineers. The Fifth Group worked closely with the likes of GE, Mitsubishi and Morrison Knudson and many others on large infrastructure projects throughout the Kingdom from Desalination plants in Tabouk to large Electricity plants in the South. It carried out major projects and entered into partnerships with: Grands Travaux de Marseille Co. in two mega projects; partnership with GE in the electricity sector; and partnership with Mitsubishi in the desalination sector.

1988

Saady Surfactant Industries was founded in 1988 to buy a factory in partnership with Dubois, a specialized industrial detergents manufacturer since 1920. As a leader in this sector, Dubois’s extensive experience has helped the company grow by supplying large governmental entities with high quality industrial detergents including military bases, hospitals as well as universities and schools.

1999

STS started its transition from manufacturing Bitchemen products to manufacturing quality rubber flooring for sports venues and other niche flooring. The company eventually evolved into a premier supplier of sports and entertainment products that specialized in supplying quality materials for major sports and entertainment venues throughout the Kingdom. Over the past two decades STS has carved its name and presence in the market. With the current boom in Sports and Entertainment, STS is very well established to maintain its forefront position in the sector.

2008

Darat Al Saady International was created in 2008 to streamline the family’s global holdings and investments in multiple asset classes and regions. Darat Al Saady International is effectively the family’s investment arm outside of Saudi Arabia and has actively been growing the group’s AUM with plans to overtake Darat Al Saady Holding as the main source of income for the family office.

2016

Darat Al Saady Holding was established in 2016 as part of the Group’s restructuring to place our Saudi Operational and Real Estate Holding under a holding company. Darat Al Saady owns the family’s shares in CGS Group as well as Al Saady Co. and any new ventures in Saudi.

2020

Ebda is a modern active lifestyle company for which Darat Al Saady has joined forces with Dallah Group & Muhaidib Group to leverage the opportunity within Saudi Arabia for healthy living. Adventure Led, Sport Driven and Wellness Inspired, Ebda is all about Discovering yourself and Discovering the world around you; we encourage residents and visitors to travel domestically to experience our diverse Kingdom but equally Ebda seeks to provide state of the art facilities and active lifestyle options in the heart of the community. Ebda focuses on four main areas: Urban, Desert, Mountain and Water creating a variety of international standard projects, developments and brands that are Saudi born and Saudi first. Together this partnership wishes to create a healthy, happy nation through encouraging activity, adventure and community.

FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN

It is easy to start a project, but bringing it to fruition is what really counts. It takes more than ambition to set a target and keep your eyes on it. Commitment, perseverance and integrity were- and still are- our ticket to success.

Esmat Al Saady is the Founder & Chairman of Darat Al Saady Holding, the parent company under which operate CGS, Al Saady Co. and Darat Al Saady International.

Prior to starting his own businesses, Esmat Al Saady was an Air Force Pilot and Aviator Trainer. He received his professional fighter pilot training under the Saudi Ministry of Defense. He later served in the Air Force and was later appointed Squadron Officer and Combat Training Operations Unit Officer.

He was one of the first aviators to fly a lightening supersonic aircraft in the 1960s. He worked for multi-national defense companies before moving to Riyadh to fill in the position of Manager at Abdul Latif Jameel Group for a period of three years.

He started his entrepreneurial venture at a young age. His first business venture was in manufacturing in 1975. Ever since, he approached any mission he took on with great commitment and integrity, and is known for his reliability and determination.

He attributes his success to his hard-won experience and the fine education he received throughout his life, which started at the age of 6 when his father sent him to Lebanon to complete his elementary and middle school studies. His academic journey continued at the Seven Palaces schools when he moved back to Jeddah in 1956.

Esmat Al Saady has six children. Their life path and accomplishments remain his biggest achievement.

Corporate Social Responsibility

At Darat Al Saady
Holding:

We believe in the impact of human activities onto our world, hence our pledge to be socially responsible through our ethical corporate governance and practices.

Darat Al Saady is a family business and is truly run as such. Our practices have helped us retain our associates for decades since we treat them all like family.

Multiple generations have worked in our organization. They embrace the strengths of the many previous members who sought a different direction or have retired, by staying in touch with them.

We honor our legacy and will continue the work of our founder by sharing, improving and developing it.

We are committed to taking initiatives for our community’s welfare and finding solutions to the social and environmental challenges it faces.

Our long-standing history of reliable and active community involvement proves it.

We support education and therefore collaborate with specific sectors, like colleges and schools, institutes for vocational training, as well as institutes that support arts.

We allocate 2.5% of our Group’s returns to help people become more independent and help them learn how to continue the journey on their own.

Our founder has always believed that teaching people how to earn an income is far better than giving them one.

We regard education as ultimate power to sustain development, build knowledge, create opportunities, and drive innovation for a better life.

It is our focal interest in our community involvement as it is the seed out of which growth is achieved.

We have collaborative relations, personal and corporate, with colleges and universities in the US, Europe and India to help fund scholarships to our community, as well as fund scholarships through the university.

We also collaborate with Arts educational establishments in KSA and France, and give a great attention to Children Special Needs institutions.

Our Faith is our drive and so are our humanitarian values and ethics. We support low-income families through healthcare, food and education to raise their living standards and make sure their basic needs are met.

Make an Enquiry

Got something in mind? Let’s talk!

Enquire Now