Qanbar Dywidag Precast Concrete Company Ltd (QDC), busy with numerous projects in hand, plans to expand its production facilities and diversify.
“We plan to produce glass reinforced concrete (GRC) as our new product in the near future in addition to expanding our precast production facilities,” said the company’s marketing manager Ahmed Sameh.
“We intend introducing several other new product lines for the fast-emerging construction market in the Middle East and are keen on investing in newer technology for higher quality products.”
An expansion in production capacity is inevitable with current levels fast approaching the designed capacity of 180,000 cu m. Output in 2004 was 160,000 cu m against 110,000 cu m in the previous year and 95,000 cu m in 2002.
“Qanbar Dywidag has a market share of approximately 22 per cent in the domestic Saudi market,” said Sameh. “We cater to demand from all over the kingdom and our main market remains the Eastern Province and the Central Region. But we have also supplied to projects in Abha and Yanbu.”
Its customer list includes Saudi Aramco, Sceco, Sabic, the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, the Saudi Arabian National Guard, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Defence as well as some companies in the private sector.
“We are close to competing work on Al Ansari Compound in Al Khobar where we did the full building frame design including columns, beams and hollowcore for 50 villas and four apartment blocks of high-quality finishes,” said Sameh.
QDC, based in the Jubail Industrial Area and one of the Middle East’s leading precast concrete manufacturers, is also currently working on several major projects involving the supply of full building frames. Some of them are the King Faisal University Campus in Al Hasa and Dammam; 274 villas at the Sabic Housing Compound in Jubail; Al Dabbal Commercial Tower, Dammam; Arabian Drilling Company Complex comprising offices and residential units in Al Khobar; industrial facilities for Sabic affiliates; private housing projects and shopping malls including Dammam Mall.
Qanbar Dywidag has won contracts because of its comprehensive product range and the quality of its offerings. It describes itself as a one-stop shop for all pre-cast and prestresed concrete requirements.
The range includes:
• Claddings panels: available in a wide variety of finishes. They offer a choice of external surfaces and add architectural beauty to buildings plus other advantages.
• Wall frame system: a fast and economical option for housing complexes, schools and hospitals.
• Column and beam system: it offers many varieties to meet design requirements.
• Hollow core slabs: they offer a fast and economical solution for suspended floors and roof construction, both for concrete structures and steel structures on steel or concrete beams
• Prestressed double tee slab: it has a span of up to 30 m and is an economical option for projects requiring large spans.
• Precast boundary wall system: it offers a wide variety of designs and finishes combined with a repetition of units. It makes boundary walls especially suitable for precasting.
• Paving and interlocking tiles: they are produced in a wide range of colours, sizes and textures to suit every application.
• Standard products: they are manholes, barriers, benches and other items offering high quality and durability.
To offer quality assurance for its concrete, Qanbar Dywidag has put in place facilities including a fully calibrated, tested and computerised batching plant, which is next to casting facilities in the factory complex. This ensures there is no critical concrete transportation. The company also imposes maximum material control throughout factory procedures and enjoys maximum safety because of minimum activities on site.
“The fully calibrated and tested QC laboratory at the factory ensures ‘real time control’ at any time. Daily testing is conducted for each production batch to achieve a high-quality product in accordance with our specifications, which are based on international standards including the American PCI and ACI standards and British standards,” says Sameh. QDC is also an ISO 9001-2000 company.
Qanbar Dywidag Precast Concrete Company Limited was formed in 1981 as a partnership between a leading Eastern Province businessman, Sheikh Abdul Razzak Mohammed Qanbar Al Ansari, and one of the largest West German general contractors and precast concrete manufacturers, Dycherhoff & Widmann AG (Dywidag). On January 1, 2002 Sheikh Abdul Razzak bought Dywidag’s entire share and became the sole owner of QDC. Dywidag has been retained for technical support. QDC has partnerships with Qanbar Stetley and Qanbar Readymix.
Sameh says awareness is growing about the advantages of using precast concrete, especially in the construction of showrooms, apartments, hospitals, schools and shopping malls.
About raw materials, Sameh says the company is very selective, sourcing within Saudi Arabia construction chemicals, mechanical fixings, aggregates, sand, cement steel and water. Only a portion of embed formwork accessories was imported.
“The Research and Development Division is constantly studying the market and introducing new systems and products to meet current demands,” he says.
“Our engineering department is advising clients on the feasibility of PCC usage during design and execution, and our professional engineering team prepares designs as per client requirements.”
And although the company faces problems from increases in the prices of construction raw materials, it is heartened by the fact that the precast concrete industry is a driving force, one that won’t slow down.
