30 years back, when the commercial and professional cleaning industry was at its infancy and its vast demands still unmet, ALBARIQ was founded with the sole aim of providing it with technologies and equipment that could transform the cleaning industry, always with a focus on the aftersales support and services.

After three long decades of highs and lows, changes and advancements, adapting and customizing, in April of 2025 it is time for ALBARIQ Equipment to look back at 30 years of providing world-class professional cleaning solutions to the Middle East. From its establishment in 1995, the company has grown from its nascent stages to become the regional market leader in cleaning machinery and equipment, renowned for quality, innovation, and excellence in service.

How it began

The journey of ALBARIQ literally began from one sweeper. In 1985 the founder of ALBARIQ, Erik Franzen, sold the first Brodd municipal sweeper into the Middle East market. Now 40 years later, these heavy duty sweepers still remain a cornerstone for the municipalities around the region to maintain the long stretches of highway with 2024 being a record year for this very same model. What sets ALBARIQ apart from competition was their market awareness and the ability to deduce future market requirements.

From the initial modest supply of municipal sweepers, ALBARIQ has gradually expanded to one of the region's most extensive cleaning machinery ranges. Today, ALBARIQ services commercial, municipal, and industrial clients, offering a variety of machines and equipment that are specifically configured to handle the region's unique challenges.

Today, their equipment range includes:

• Ride-on and walk-behind scrubber dryers for indoor and outdoor use.
• Heavy-duty sweepers for warehouse applications, parking garages, and city streets
• A complete range of vacuum cleaners, single-disc machines, carpet extractors, high-pressure cleaners, and steam cleaners.
• Specialized equipment such as escalator cleaners, chemical dispensers, and eco-friendly cleaning chemicals
• Comprehensive janitorial solutions are provided through TTS systems, including ergonomic cleaning trolleys, mop systems, and waste collection equipment.

With such a wide range of services, ALBARIQ can cater to businesses of all sizes, from small business offices to factories and municipalities.

Literally, from one sweeper to a whole range of equipment!

The motivation behind the 3 decade milestone

“At ALBARIQ we have always had a passion for our machines. We early on chose a strategy to work with a diversified product portfolio in order to offer the market the best possible solutions for each given application.”, says Joakim Franzen, Managing Director, ALBARIQ.

He further emphasises how to tackle tougher cleaning tasks, ALBARIQ offers American-made FactoryCat and PowerBoss brands. They are extremely durable and rugged and are designed to last for many years in our harsh climate — it is not unusual to see models between 10 and 15 years old operating daily. These can be found in a majority of the key commercial developments in the region “In the shopping mall, supermarket, and public spaces, we have enjoyed a good and long relationship with Italy's Fimap. Their latest products over the last couple of years have also been excellent, with premium models such as the GMG, MMG, and Maxima providing beautiful design, advanced eco-friendly technology, and excellent comfort for users.

Our sweeper ranges have expanded considerably. Broddson towbehind sweepers, or "sand eaters," and Fimap's Fimap 4 and Fimap 6000 versions have performed well in recent years, particularly in challenging conditions,” he adds.

Staying ahead of technology

When the world was grappling with the dilemma of adopting robots in 2023, ALBARIQ had already strided ahead and debuted its very first line of self-cleaning robots, designed with assistance from Gausium Robotics, a leader in robot cleaning technology. “It is a significant step in our emphasis on new concepts and intelligent cleaning technology”.

Light cleaning equipment and cleaning machines—which include TTS products, EuroVac vacuum machines, and EuroDisc single-disc machines—are a significant portion of ALBARIQ's offerings. Finally, there has been a high level of demand for green cleaning products, particularly our Zero line by Sutter from Italy. These green products align with our vision for environmentally friendly cleaning”, adds Franzen.

Regional Influence, Local Engagement

The next step in the journey of ALBARIQ was regional expansion and we see that what started off as a single branch has impressively grown and developed into a very advanced network that is now made up of seven distinct branches, all strategically located throughout the GCC region. These branches are strategically located in prime areas, such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Tabuk—which has been specifically set up to cover the ambitious NEOM project—and Doha.

The locations of these branches have been carefully chosen so that they can respond quickly and efficiently to the varied needs and individual requirements of clients within their respective regional boundaries.

Apart from sustaining its remarkable and visually pleasing showroom, as well as its extensive and wide-ranging service network, ALBARIQ has effectively established a highly advanced logistics and distribution center located within the Jebel Ali Free Zone. This center, which possesses a location selected for strategic purposes, serves a definitive and instrumental role in guaranteeing the timely and effective delivery of an extensive range of machines, spare parts, and consumable items to a multitude of locations throughout the entire region.

Service First: The game changing philosophy

 In a market that is flooded by new products and technologies every year, ALBARIQ realised early on that emphasizing on after sales support is going to play a pivotal role in shaping long term client relationships. This emphasis began early, before other companies in the industry caught on. Whereas other companies primarily sought to make sales as soon as possible, ALBARIQ recognized that retaining customers and establishing longterm brand equity occurs after the sale.

ALBARIQ established one of the largest and most sophisticated service departments in the Middle East. They invested heavily in modern workshops and employed qualified service staff. Through this, the company was able to offer full customer care, from installing the equipment to starting it up, periodic maintenance, and prompt assistance if something went wrong.

In the commercial cleaning industry, downtime can be costly—such as healthcare, hospitality, and manufacturing—equipment failure directly affects operations. By offering reliable service and quick turnaround, ALBARIQ ensured that its customers not only returned but also recommended their services to others.

After sales service also proved to be a differentiator when most players competed on price. Their value proposition extended beyond the machine, offering peace of mind and a steady supplier- client relationship—something that is priceless for many businesses. Another important aspect of after sales service was that With its service technicians constantly interacting with end-users, ALBARIQ could gather valuable real-world data to inform procurement choices, product design, and training modules. This continuous feedback loop allowed the company to refine its offerings and improve customer satisfaction.

A Company Built by Its People

Can a company succeed without its people?

The answer is a loud resounding NO.

At the core of ALBARIQ's success is its exceptional team. “In 2025, during the celebration of our 30th anniversary, we gathered our team from across the region to celebrate the individuals who have enabled us to be where we are today. Most of our staff have served with the company for a decade or more, and their singular commitment has significantly influenced our culture and our capabilities, emphasizes Franzen. From leadership to logistics, from technicians to customer service teams, the people at ALBARIQ have built a work environment based on mutual respect, shared objectives, and a strong community spirit. Some of today's leading figures began their careers with the company and have grown with it throughout the years.

We believe that investing in people—training, opportunity, and recognition—is vital to long-term growth.

Looking Ahead: Smart, Clean, and Sustainable

“We're beyond proud of where we are today, but we're certainly looking to the future,” says Franzen. With the industry moving into sustainability, automation, and smart connectivity, ALBARIQ is completely committed to investing in new concepts and infrastructure to meet what's on the horizon.

“ALBARIQ was established in April of 1995 in the UAE, when it was started by Mr. Erik Franzen. I was the second staff member and the initial one in Sales. The past 30 years have seen us develop into a top distributor of Professional Cleaning equipment within the UAE, KSA, and Qatar.

Our prosperity is the result of hard work, passion, and authenticity. We started with the Broddway road sweeper, now BRODDSON, one of the top towed sweepers in UAE and KSA. Over the years this has evolved to more than 14 prominent brands of cleaning equipment and chemicals for several markets.

From day one our focus was always on aftersales service, but since 2018 when Mr. Joakim Franzen took over management we have pushed investments into our service structure to a completely new level. We innovate to gain customer confidence and never forget, THE CUSTOMER IS KING!

Success derives from believing in what you do. Promise only what you can fulfill so that you can trust.

We anticipate strong growth in UAE and KSA Cleaning Industry to continue in the coming 5-10 years as a result of increased Facility Management.

I'm grateful and still enthusiastic for having spent the past 30 years with ALBARIQ. I attribute my achievements back to my mentor, Mr. Erik Franzen, and my motivation..

Jayakumar Menon, General Manager, ALBARIQ

“We are adding more robot cleaners for the larger areas and introducing high-efficiency scrubber dryers that minimize resource consumption. We’re also completely revamping our computer systems so we can serve customers quicker and keep everything humming smoothly. and increasing our warehouse and service capacity to keep pace with what people around here need. As our customers’ needs evolve, we need to continue to step up because we're all about excellence, service, and quality,” he adds.

Looking back since ALBARIQ started things off, ALBARIQ has become the number one go-to for hundreds of customers across the region. With 30 years of success under our belt, we’re still all about the same things that brought us here: great products, great customer service, always improving, and being completely honest. With a solid foundation, visionary partners, and a clear vision for what’s next, ALBARIQ is poised to continue leading the cleaning equipment charge in the GCC for years to come.