Speciality Engineering Chemicals (SpEC), UAE, says the ongoing construction boom in the Middle East and parts of the Far East is providing it greater opportunities to market its recognised brands as well as the impetus to introduce new products.

The majority of the plant’s production goes to markets outside the UAE, said sales and marketing manager Simon Wallace. The official said most sales abroad were in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Vietnam, Thailand and Lebanon.    
Production at the Jebel Ali facility began in 1997 and the company offers a comprehensive range of specialist chemical construction products for concrete repair, flooring, coatings, joint sealants, waterproofing, grouts and adhesives. In addition to the Jebel Ali facility, the group has manufacturing facilities in Sharjah, UAE, and the UK.

SpEC is a manufacturing subsidiary of Bardawil, a group with more than 50 years of experience in the construction chemicals industry. SpEC stresses that its executive management has over 40 years of related experience in the construction chemicals industry in senior positions with major international companies, enabling it to recognise very well the requirements of both consumers and distributor partners.
“The challenge we face is penetrating our existing and new markets with a viable alternative offer to our major competition,” said Wallace.  “Our strategy is to provide quality products, at good prices and be readily available through a carefully selected, well-trained distributor network. We’re well placed to serve the markets we’re dealing with.”

Through Bardawil, SpEC has sister distributor relationships with Emirates Specialities, UAE; Al Bahar & Bardawil, Kuwait; Bardawil Specialities, Qatar; Bardawil & Co, Lebanon, and Transasian, Kazakhstan. It is represented elsewhere in the Gulf in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain.
“Some of our best-selling products are presently SpECtop SRE500, a solvent-free, high-build epoxy coating; SpECtite CW100, a flexible cementitious waterproof membrane, and SpECtite PVC Waterstop, a range of elastomeric PVC waterstops,” said Wallace.

“These products are selling particularly well in our focus markets because of the current high demand, our consistent product quality, our competitive pricing policy and the exceptional support of our distributors.
“SpECtop SRE500 sits in our range of flooring products, which have been designed to improve the performance and characteristics of both new and existing floors in the industrial/commercial environment. SpECtite CW100 and PVC Waterstop sit in our range of waterproofing products, which have been designed as waterproofing systems for both civil engineering and building structures.”

The company plans to increase production of its more popular brands including its SpECseal 625 product. 
SpECseal 625 is a two-part polysulphide joint sealant that can be used for sealing high movement joints in building facades where low modulus and high early movement accommodation characteristics are critical. It is available in gun and pouring grades for heavy-duty construction and civil engineering structures and has full related technical compliance.

Also emerging from SpEC’s Jebel Ali facility will be SpECcoat FP, which Wallace described as a form of epoxy coating for formwork protection. “Formwork is an expensive consumerable item for any contract utilising reinforced concrete. This coating can for a very small cost extend the re-usable life of bare or marine plywood formwork from 3-8 re-uses up to 25 to 30 re-uses. The cost advantages are considerable,” he said.

The company insists it has been careful to formulate products to high standards, incorporating the highest quality raw materials, all carefully sourced from reputable suppliers worldwide.
“SpEC is committed to product development and programmes to meet industry’s needs. A key feature of our success has been our flexibility and ability to react quickly to local demand and individual bespoke requirements,” it says.

Adds Wallace: “Our products are formulated in such a way they have measurable qualified properties. When mixed they will display the technical properties listed on the data sheet. Many of our products are independently tested for quality to prove that our data sheet is correct.”
SpEC products have already been installed in a number of projects in the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and the Far East.

Projects using the company’s chemicals for concrete repairs include Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Building; Shopping Mall on D Ring Road, Doha, Qatar; Kuwait International Airport Runway Repairs; Waste Collector North Beirut Channel; Spinneys Supermarket, Beirut, and Al Ayoun Sports Centre, Kuwait.

The company’s flooring products have been use by projects including the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA); the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA); Airport Fuel Supply Centre, Hong Kong; Hong Kong International Terminals Ltd, Landmark Plaza, Sheung Shui, Hong Kong; Zayed University Chemical Laboratory, Shuaiba Refinery in Kuwait and Kuwait International Airport.

Some of the projects utilising SpEC’s coatings were the Masirah Water Supply scheme of the Ministry of Defence, Oman; Shopping Mall on D Ring Road, Doha, Qatar, and Damascus Medicine Factory.
Among users of SpEC joint sealants were Kuwait International Airport and the Tan Tuan International Container Terminal, Vietnam. SpEC waterproofing products were used, among others, by the Emirates Hills Infrastructure Package 5E, UAE; the Dubai Airport Free Zone project FZ005 and the Kuwait Free Trade Zone.

The company’s grouts went into projects including Waste Collector North Beirut Channel, Dubai International Airport - air bridges, Procter and Gamble, Vietnam, and Schools Maintenance, Beirut.
Its adhesives were applied in Damascus Medicine Factory, Shopping Mall on D Ring Road, Doha, Qatar; Saida Waste Treatment Plant, Beirut, and the Masirah Water Supply scheme of the Ministry of Defence, Oman, among other places.

SpEC clearly intends to develop its position as a quality supplier of construction chemicals, and there are ample projects that are coming up and which offer it the opportunities to do just that.
“Our recipe for success includes: responsible distributor partners, dedicated sales and marketing resource, and stock to support this effort,” says Wallace. “We have made significant progress since our move into Jebel Ali and we’re expanding at a manageable pace. We’re delighted with our progress.”