Our History | ARTOC

Four Decades of Achievement

After decades of the Egyptian economy being dominated by central planning and trade relations with the Soviet Union, ADEL GABR CONSULTANT COMPANY (AGCC) was established to act as a gateway to Egypt for American and European companies.
In cooperation with an American multinational, AGCC modernized all the key international airports in Egypt.
In cooperation with Australia, AGCC brought modern training to government entities.
In 1974, AGCC introduced modern building technologies to Egypt for the first time, utilizing tower cranes, flying forms, scaffolding, framework and pre-cast concrete walls. This revolutionized buildings in Egypt.
In 1977, AGCC delivered major turnkey construction projects by combining foreign management, domestic subcontractors and ARTOC’s own engineering expertise. This allowed multifaceted projects to be completed in record time.
In 1979, AGCC supplied and installed power generation equipment in various locations across Egypt, supplied and installed hydrogen and oxygen plants, water treatment plants and provided a wide range of services to companies and government departments across Egypt.

The 1980s witnessed ARTOC consolidating its position as the leading supplier of specialized vehicles throughout Egypt to both private and public sector entities. These included, but were not limited to, refuse collection trucks, firefighting vehicles, and ambulance and maintenance vehicles.
In 1983, in cooperation with French technology, ARTOC supplied and installed the first microprocessor traffic control system in the centre of Cairo.
In 1984, ARTOC invested taking a 16% share in a newly established company Alphametal Steel Structures, which spawned Alphametal Contracting, Alpha Team and Alphametal Research.
In 1985, ARTOC supplied over 160 incineration plants at hospitals throughout Egypt and conducted a major upgrade of the water distribution systems in the cities of Dakhlia and Aswan governorates.
In 1987, with a Dutch company, ARTOC supplied and installed 68 compact portable water units to provincial districts and towns.
In 1988/89, with part World Bank financing, ARTOC delivered storage and transport facilities for grain to Sudan including silos, conveyor systems and grain bagging equipment – all designed and manufactured in Egypt.

The 1990s was a decade of expansion for ARTOC with a host of exciting and unusual developments. ARTOC established ARTOC Sports, ARTOC Time and ARTOC Electronics to serve both local and regional markets.
In 1993, ARTOC invested a 30% share with Owens Corning in Egypt’s first concrete pipe manufacturing facility.
In the same year, ARTOC established ARTOC Auto and signed an exclusive agreement with Skoda of the Czech Republic to import the cars to Egypt.
The 1990s witnessed ARTOC pioneering the export of engineering products from France, the Czech and Slovak Republics and the USA to North Africa and Asia, notably Algeria, Tunisia, Singapore and Thailand.
Since the late 1970s ARTOC was involved in a cross-section of privatization projects. In 1997 ARTOC owned 4.8 percent out of a 30 percent float of Egypt’s mobile phone licence –70 percent was owned by the Government.
In 1997, ARTOC supplied mobile clinics to the Ministry of Health taking modern healthcare and family planning to rural areas.
In 1998, ARTOC manufactured and exported grain storage facilities and sugar plants to Iran.
In the same year, ARTOC delivered and installed over 70 large capacity irrigation pump stations on the Nile River in Sudan.

ARTOC Prague became a leading intermediary exporter for Europe of aerospace and ground support equipment, machinery, turbines and transport products to North Africa and the Middle East.
ARTOC publications in Arabic took top spots in Egypt and English editions were distributed in the region, UK and the USA.
In 2003 ARTOC undertook a “build-operate-transfer” contract with the Egyptian Civil Aviation, building a million-passenger annex at Hurghada airport on the Red Sea.
In 2003 ARTOC inaugurated its new headquarters in Mokattam with satellite offices in Giza, Garden City, Alexandria, Heliopolis, Tenth of Ramadan City, Prague and Bratislava.
In 2003 ARTOC established Emaar Misr, owned 100 percent by ARTOC and ARTOC shareholders and then brought in Emaar of Dubai for a 40 percent share. Significant land acquisitions followed.
ARTOC Petroleum, another ARTOC subsidiary, consolidated all ARTOC’s activity in oil and gas.
In 2005, via its subsidiary Emaar Masr, ARTOC launched the Uptown real estate project. In 2006, after acquiring Sidi Abdel Rahman from the State in a public tender, Marassi was launched.
In 2007, ARTOC sold its shares in Emaar Misr just before the global financial crisis.
In 2009, ARTOC diversified its telecom investments. After selling its ownership in Owens Corning, it increased its shares in Alphametal Group to become a majority shareholder from 16 percent to 74 percent.

Notwithstanding the social unrest of the 2011 – 2014 period in Egypt and across the region, ARTOC maintained its business and its commitments to its staff, stakeholders, shareholders, customers and business partners.
In 2012/13, ARTOC established a UK and US presence, focused on investment in startups in the technology field.
In 2015/16, ARTOC exited its investments in the consumer sector and enhanced its real estate acquisitions.
In 2017, ARTOC exited its oil and gas operations and following a visit to the Silicon Valley enhanced its technology investments in mature and global companies utilizing advanced technology in communication, delivery, sensors and services.
In 2019, ARTOC invested in global startups and created a dedicated team to follow AI, data mining companies, bioscience development and much more. Moreover, ARTOC is now in the early phase of recognizing Egyptian startups and focusing on that landscape in more ways than one.