The Zahran Holding that we know today has humble beginnings that trace back nearly 40 years. It was in 1975 when the company was founded by Sh. Ghurmallah R. Al Zahrani. Opening its doors under the name Zahran Operation & Maintenance Company (ZOMC), the company’s initial specialization was much narrower than it is today. At first, the focus was largely on providing various maintenance and agricultural services for local businesses, along with associated hygiene and trade services.
Drive and ambition led ZOMC through its early stages. Exhibiting steady growth with a strict adherence to company values and vision, ZOMC saw its classification rating increase and, in turn, began a focus on a larger scale of work. Bids were made and secured on larger, more complex Operations and Maintenance (O&M) contracts…and the company began to build a genuine name for itself.
In just a few short years since the business’s inception, ZOMC had executed and completed a substantial number of contracts with high-level clients, including many within governmental and private sectors. This exceptional early performance did not go unnoticed, as ZOMC was named one of Saudi Arabia’s and the regions’s most prominent private companies. For such a young company, the future was extremely bright.
1988 – A Visible Transformation
ZOMC’s next generation saw it capitalize on an ever-changing business landscape. Shifts in market composition, demand, and consumer behavior were prevalent; there was a rapidly growing demand present for O&M services in Saudi Arabia. ZOMC’s response was a transformation into a government‐like entity in an attempt to reach as many sectors in as many Saudi locations as possible. The clients were waiting for their turn to be served, and ZOMC expanded its business at the perfect time. The newly-added list of clients included: the Ministry of Health (hospitals and clinics); the Ministry of Defense & Aviation (military bases and barracks); the Ministry of Education (universities and residential complexes); and the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs (city works and hygiene services).
The following 7 years saw ZOMC grow into one of the largest and most prominent O&M companies in Saudi Arabia. The company gained the trust of vital governmental and private sector clients with their steady line of operational and maintenance services. Exceptional service, streamlined day-to-day efficiency, and unmatched quality were the calling cards that attributed to this new level of growth.
1995 – A New Beginning
Saudi Arabia’s developmental boom of the mid-1990s led to an even greater increase in demand for various services and products. To keep up with an even wider spectrum of client needs, the Zahran Holding Empire was created. It was structured as an umbrella containing a number of specialized companies underneath it, each with its own unique value to the clients. The subsidiaries under the Zahran umbrella represented the following fields: general trading, construction and contracting, security services, healthcare and medical services, environment and regulation services, and supply services.
The subsidiaries operated with strict daily efficiency and a commitment to collaborating with only the most qualified and well-known workforce. Although they all worked together seamlessly as a team, each one began to distinguish itself individually, the collection of which brought about great benefits for the Zahran brand image. At this time, Zahran Holding was ranked as the 67th largest company in Saudi Arabia.
2005 – A Global Breakthrough
Feeding off of the confidence and success of their previous expansions, Zahran took another huge step forward in 2005. With the support of Chairman Sh. Ghurmallah R. Al Zahrani, the Board of Directors mainly Sh. Bader Al Zahrani & Sh. Mazen Al Zahrani went forward with “Zahran – From Local to Global”, a visionary multinational plan that would lead the company to today’s levels. The transformation from an exclusively Saudi entity into an International player was underway.
The resulting re-launch saw the company gain numerous assets in a number of prosperous sectors, not just Operations &Maintenance. Utilizing sound planning, timely execution, and the resources they’d built up, Zahran introduced itself into new frontiers, including real estate investment and development, financial investment, ICT, energy development, media and advertising, and project management.
Zahran has worked hard at forging strategic alliances with multiple international companies with the purpose of consolidating its efforts across the board. These relationships have become increasingly vital and will play a major role in the continued growth of the company. In 2007, the Group came in as the 26th largest company in Saudi Arabia. Presently, more than 25,000 highly skilled and qualified individuals are proud to call Zahran Holding their place of work.
2014 – Business Development & Expansion
Due to the expansion of the Group’s activities in new business sectors in four continents; Asia, Africa, Europe and North America, the company’s Board of Directors decided that it is now time to get ready and be prepared for the full structural development of the company’s business both domestically and internationally.
As a result, upper management has attracted and recruited new qualified senior managers with exceptional talents from local and international markets to contribute with the development process and its desired objectives, which resulted in record time notable achievements in the evolution of Zahran business to engage in large-scale projects worth Billions of Saudi Riyals.
For example but not limited to, Zahran has won new mega contracts in the fields of Air Navigation Systems, Airports Construction and specialized professional recruitment in highly sensitive government sectors.