Al Tatweer Factory has capitalised on the many fine qualities of gypsum blocks and expects to double production by the end of this year. Al Tatweer is a relatively new organisation, having commenced production only in June 1999, and is part of the Al Rashid Group which is considered among one of the top 100 companies in Saudi Arabia.

Al Tatweer is in co-operaion with French company Alpha Platre from whom it has also bought machinery. The Saudi company has been able to do well because the gypsum blocks it manufactures are light in weigh and highly resistant to water and moisture, don't need plastering and have the ability to insulate sound and heat while also being able to be quickly installed.

The blocks are easy to cut and are widely used in prefabricated buildings. They enable internal water and electrical conduits to be introduced. Places they can be used are in interior walls and external double walls with different insulation materials.

They are also suitable for villas, offices, schools, hospitals, and exhibitions and in renovation work. Each block measures 66.66 x 10 cm and three blocks equal exactly 1 sq m.

According to the company's description of its products, the sandwich blocks have polystyrene as one of their constituents. "They are therefore good insulators and are used in doubling existing walls on the inside or outside. When used in external walls, there is a reduction in heat transmission when compared to ordinary sandwich blocks," it says.

Another gypsum block product is the water-resistant block used in bathrooms, kitchens, basements, car parks, hotels and hospitals. They have best effects when used in the first layer of ordinary walls, it says. Also marketed is the waterproof block, which Al Tatweer says is used in "damp communal buildings such as hospitals, schools, sports halls and swimming pools as well as in animal houses and abattoirs. It is highly recommended for external walls."

Several other products figure in Al Tatweer's manufacturing range including the standard block, which is a "solid block, used in internal walls and doubled walls and is a perfect insulator for heat and sound."

The range includes the hollow block whose weight is 75 per cent of the normal solid block and is commonly used in internal walls and renovation; the extra-hard block which is a highly impact resistant and particularly used in hospitals, schools and university buildings, while also being a good insulator of heat and sound

"If the specifications of these very hard reinforced blocks equal those of the water-resistant blocks then they can be used, especially for external walls, says the company."