Ashraf & Co.

What Ashraf & Co. does

Ashraf & Co. (popularly known as "Ashrafs") is a Kuwaiti family-owned technology distribution and services company founded in 1951 by Mohammedi Ashraf and Khalid Al Abdul Razzak, currently led by Chairman Abdul Aziz K. Al-Abdul Razzak and Managing Director Luai Al Abdul Razzak. The company operates through six divisions — Imaging, Medical Systems, Scientific & Labs, IT, Industrial (NDT), and Technical Support — distributing and servicing products from leading international principals across consumer/professional imaging (Kodak, Nikon, Hasselblad, Epson, Lexar), medical systems (Carestream, Olympus, ResMed, Sony Healthcare, Samsung Medison, Fujifilm, Ypsomed, Terumo, Bionime), scientific instruments (Shimadzu, JEOL, Oxford Instruments), IT solutions (IBM, OpenText, Kodak Alaris, Fujitsu, Invixium), and industrial non-destructive testing (YXLON, JME, Carestream NDT, NTP Europe, Shimadzu testing, Belec, MFE Enterprises, MR Chemie).

The company generates revenue through one-time distribution and resale of capital equipment, consumables, and software licenses, complemented by recurring revenue from annual maintenance contracts, service-level agreements, and a 24/7 Technical Support Division (ATS) staffed by 22 qualified technicians with locally maintained spare parts inventory. Go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales supplemented by government procurement channels, targeting Kuwaiti ministries, government hospitals, the country's largest banks, Kuwait Oil Company, Kuwait University, and a long tail of private healthcare providers, SMBs, and individual businesses. Distribution partnerships with international principals are typically exclusive within Kuwait and extend to some Middle East markets for IT, statistics, and security products.

Ashraf's competitive position rests on multi-decade exclusive distributor agreements, a 70-plus-year brand, and a service organization that earned it the Carestream Service Excellence Award in 2012 and 2013 and a "first in the Middle East" Golden Award from Carestream and Kodak. The company has no external investors, no parent company, no public listing, and no disclosed M&A history; growth is organic and supplemented by entry into adjacent verticals such as Diabetes Management and Surgical Imaging, both launched in 2021.

Name

Ashraf & Co.

Legal name

Ashraf & Co.

Website

https://ashrafkuwait.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1951

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Ashraf & Co. is a Kuwaiti family-owned distributor (founded 1951) that supplies and services medical, imaging, scientific, IT, and industrial NDT technology across Kuwait, serving ministries, banks, hospitals, and private businesses as exclusive partner for principals like Carestream, Kodak, Olympus, and Shimadzu.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Technology Distribution and Services

NAICS

Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (3345), Computer and Computer Peripheral Equipment and Software Merchant Wholesalers (42343), Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511)

SIC

X-Ray Apparatus & Tubes & Related Irradiation Apparatus (3844), Wholesale-Professional & Commercial Equipment & Supplies (5040), Wholesale-Industrial Machinery & Equipment (5084)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial Radiography & NDT Services (Gamma radiography, source handling, field inspection) (EUAKAIAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Radiation Detection Instruments & Systems (Portal monitors, spectrometers, contamination monitors) (EUAKAIAK), Cameras, Imaging & Drones Distribution (CRAOACAH)

Keywords

• Medical equipment distribution
• Industrial NDT solutions
• Imaging products distribution
• Scientific laboratory equipment
• Technical support services

Headquarters

HQ city

Kuwait

HQ country

Kuwait

HQ region

Middle East

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Product Distribution and Resale: Revenue generated through distribution and resale of technology products from international principals including medical equipment, imaging systems, scientific instruments, and industrial solutions. The company serves as the leading supplier of various globally acclaimed solutions in Kuwait.
2. After-Sales Service and Support: Technical support services including preventive, predictive, proactive and corrective maintenance services. Service level agreements are offered to customers for ongoing support.
3. Technical Support Contracts: Annual maintenance contracts and professional services for equipment sold through Ashraf & Co. platform.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Ashraf & Co. is a Kuwaiti technology distribution and services company that imports, distributes, and provides after-sales support for international brands of medical imaging systems, scientific laboratory instruments, industrial non-destructive testing (NDT) equipment, IT and enterprise content management solutions, and consumer/professional imaging products. The company operates through six divisions and supplies both government institutions and private-sector customers across Kuwait and parts of the Middle East.

Product overview

Ashraf & Co. operates a multi-division product and service portfolio serving the Kuwait market. The company is organized into six main divisions: (1) Imaging Division offering consumer imaging (Kodak, Nikon, Lexar) and professional imaging products (Hasselblad, Epson large format printers, Hasselblad cameras, Noritsu mini labs, Bowens lighting, Lowepro bags, Velbon tripods); (2) Medical Systems Division providing healthcare solutions across dental, nuclear medicine, radiology/diagnostics, respiratory (ResMed CPAP/BiPAP/ventilators), urology, gynecology (Samsung Medison ultrasound), consumables/physiotherapy, surgical imaging (Sony Healthcare), diabetes management (Ypsomed, Terumo, Bionime products), and Healthcare IT (Fujifilm Synapse with REiLI AI); (3) Scientific & Labs Division supplying analytical instruments from Shimadzu, JEOL, Oxford Instruments, Cox Analytical, and others for research, testing, and analysis; (4) IT Division providing document management (File360, Process360, Case360, DataStoreDSX), enterprise content management (OpenText Content Suite), business intelligence (IBM SPSS, STATISTICA), enterprise search (Perceptive), ID/security solutions, OMR/OCR scanning, RFID/barcode, and IBM middleware solutions (Business Process Manager, Aspera, BlueMix, MobileFirst); (5) Industrial Division offering comprehensive NDT solutions including YXLON X-ray, JME pipeline crawlers, Olympus ultrasonic/phased array, Carestream digital imaging, NTP gamma radiography, Belec spectrometers, Shimadzu testing, MFE MFL inspection, and MR Chemie penetrant products; and (6) Technical Support Division providing 24x7 customer support with 22 technicians and spare parts. The company also distributes Invixium biometric solutions for access control and time & attendance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Medical Systems Division Comprehensive healthcare equipment, consumables, and IT solutions supplied to government hospitals and private healthcare providers in Kuwait, covering dental, nuclear medicine, radiology/diagnostics, respiratory, urology, gynecology, diabetes management, surgical imaging, consumables/physiotherapy, and healthcare IT.
• Industrial Division - NDT Solutions Non-destructive testing (NDT) and inspection equipment distribution for oil & gas, petrochemical, aerospace, and manufacturing customers, including X-ray inspection systems, pipeline crawlers, ultrasonic and eddy current flaw detectors, gamma radiography, MFL inspection, optical emission spectrometers, and destructive testing systems.
• Scientific & Labs Division Distribution of scientific and laboratory instruments for research and testing customers, including chromatographs, mass spectrometers, electron microscopes, XRF micro-scanners, water analyzers, and statistical software, serving analytical, environmental, petroleum, education, food, drug, forensic, agricultural, and nanotechnology labs.
• IT Division (Document Management & ECM) Enterprise content management, document capture and workflow solutions distributed and implemented for Kuwaiti government, banking, and enterprise customers, including OpenText Content Suite, IBM SPSS Statistics and STATISTICA, IBM Business Process Manager, Aspera, BlueMix, MobileFirst, Kodak Alaris and Fujitsu scanners, Invixium biometric access, and OMR/OCR/ICR, RFID/barcode, and microfilm equipment.
• Imaging Division Distribution of consumer and professional imaging products including Kodak cameras and film, Nikon DSLR and Coolpix cameras, Hasselblad medium format cameras and Flextight scanners, Epson large format printers and SureLab photo printers, Noritsu mini labs, Lexar memory products, Bowens lighting, Lowepro bags, and Velbon tripods for photographers, studios, minilabs, retail outlets, and hypermarkets.
• Ashraf Technical Support Division (ATS) 24x7x365 technical support and maintenance service for all Ashraf & Co.-installed equipment across medical, diagnostic imaging, IT, document imaging, and industrial product lines, with 22 qualified technicians, locally maintained spare parts inventory, computerized service delivery management, and customized service level agreements.
• Diabetes Division Complete diabetes management solutions for the Kuwait market, including Ypsomed mylife Clickfine pen needles, Terumo Medisafe Fit Smile blood glucose meters and Finetouch lancing devices, and Bionime Rightest glucose meters.

Quantifiable outcome

• First in Middle East to receive golden award from Carestream and Kodak for excellent service performance
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration21 records

AI capability6 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

24 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• YXLON InternationalcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership for X-ray inspection equipment for industrial applications including mobile, portable, and stationary X-ray machines and CT systems for NDT applications.
• JME (JME Pipeline Inspection)coreTechnology or IntegrationJME is regarded as the market leader for development and manufacture of high quality inspection systems including pipeline crawlers, betatron portable X-ray systems, and digital X-ray inspection systems.
• OlympuscoreTechnology or IntegrationDistribution partnership for Olympus ultrasonic flaw detectors, thickness gages, phased array systems, eddy current equipment, remote visual testing products, and XRF analyzers.
• Carestream HealthcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExclusive distributor for Carestream NDT solutions including digital radiography systems, industrial X-ray films, chemicals, and NDT X-ray film processors for aerospace, petrochemical and industrial testing.
• NTP EuropecoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership for radioactive sealed sources and gamma radiography equipment including gamma ray projectors and isotope crawlers for pipeline radiography.
• ShimadzucoreTechnology or IntegrationDistribution partnership for Shimadzu analytical instruments including chromatographs, spectrometers, elemental analysis systems, universal testing machines, hardness testers, and fatigue testing equipment.
• IBMcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership for IBM products including Business Process Manager, MobileFirst platform, ASPERA file transfer, BlueMix cloud platform, and Audit Base ICMS solutions.
• Invixium (Canada)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExclusive distributor in Kuwait for Invixium biometric access solutions including IXM TITAN, Touch 2, Sense 2, Merge, and Mycro biometric devices for enterprise access, industries, and time & attendance.
• OpenTextcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership for OpenText Enterprise Content Management solutions and Content Suite platform for digital transformation and information governance.
• Kodak AlariscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution of Kodak document scanners, capture software, and imaging solutions across workgroup, departmental, and production scanner categories.
• FujitsucoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution of Fujitsu document scanners including ScanSnap family, workgroup scanners, departmental scanners, and production scanners.
• JEOLcoreTechnology or IntegrationDistribution of JEOL electron optical instruments including transmission electron microscopes, scanning electron microscopes, and bench top SEM for scientific research.
• Sony HealthcarecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution of Sony medical devices including surgical imaging solutions, medical monitors, printers, cameras, and recorders for radiology and surgical applications.
• ResMed (Australia)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution of ResMed respiratory and sleep therapy products including CPAP/Auto CPAP devices, BiPAP ventilators, home ventilators, and respiratory masks.
• Samsung MedisoncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution of Samsung Medison ultrasound equipment for gynecological applications.
• YpsomedcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution of Ypsomed mylife Clickfine DiamondTip pen needles for diabetes management.
• TerumocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution of Terumo diabetes products including Medisafe Fit Smile blood glucose meters, Finetouch lancing devices, and related supplies.
• BionimecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution of Bionime Rightest glucose meters including Wiz/Wiz Plus and GM550 models.
• Fujifilm (Synapse)coreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership for Fujifilm Synapse Enterprise Imaging platform including VNA, Radiology PACS, Cardiology PACS, EIS, 3D visualization, and AI-enabled platform REiLI.
• KodakcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLong-standing distribution of Kodak consumer and professional imaging products including cameras, film, and imaging equipment.
• NikoncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution of Nikon digital SLR cameras, compact cameras, and accessories across Kuwait.
• HasselbladcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution of Hasselblad medium format cameras, lenses, accessories, and Flextight scanners.
• EpsoncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution of Epson scanners, large format printers, SureLab photo printers, and DiscProducer products.
• LexarcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution of Lexar memory cards, USB flash drives, and card readers.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AIT_Kuwait
• Facebookfacebook.com/Ashrafandco1951
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ashraf-co

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ashraf & Co.