Al Howaish Industrial Co Ltd’s (Hesco) composite metal insulated panels have made the company a strong force in the construction field.

The Jeddah-based manufacturer, founded by the Howaish brothers Abdul Rahman, Abdullah and Saad Adel Al Howaish, has over 25 years supplied hundreds of thousands of square metres of the product in the Middle East and is looking forward to maintaining its strong market position this year.
Its insulated metal roofs and wall claddings have been installed in more than 21 power and desalination plants alone, while many government offices, factories, cold stores, warehouses, hospitals and housing colonies have opted for the protection and strength Hesco’s insulated panels offer.
Hesco has been able to stand tall in its field thanks to support from its technical partner British Steel PLC, which is recognised as a world expert in protected metal cladding.
The Saudi company’s production facilities use the most sophisticated and the only continuous foam injection line in the Middle East. The German-made plant produces Varifoam, the brand name for insulated composite metal panels.
“Varifoam provides designers and builders with the freedom of choice, freedom of application and freedom from the worries of corrosion,” says a Hesco spokesman. Varifoam has been exported to a number of Middle East markets as well as to England.
The secret of Hesco’s success lies in its production facilities and technical finesse. According to the company’s spokesman, Hesco has the most modern and the only fully automatic continuous foam injection line in the Middle East capable of producing 2 million sq m of foamed panels per year – more than all competitors in the area put together.
The company utilises more than 50 years’ experience achieved by its partner, British Steel PLC. Hesco has supplied almost every power plant or desalination plant constructed in Saudi Arabia since its establishment in 1981 and has been specified and approved by the world’s best architects and consultants. “With the experience of more than 21 power and desalination plants…no other company can show such an impressive reference list and international reputation,” notes the spokesman.
The company’s manufacturing process, quality and procedures are examined and approved by Lloyd’s Register of Shipping, the world’s oldest, largest and most respected classification society. It has well-qualified staff – more than 20 architects and engineers in various positions
Varifoam’s many features have endured it to a wide range of markets. As the spokesman points out, it is very flexible and can be profiled or flat. It can be used for roofs, walls, partitions, fascias and cold stores and it has the best thermal properties. A wide range of U-values can be achieved from 0.49 W/M2/deg C up to 0.10 W/M2/deg C.
Varifoam can span longer spaces with even the thinnest Varifoam panel of 55 mm thickness spanning 5 m. Any length can be produced. Hesco manufactured and erected the longest foamed panel in the world at 25 m.
Varifoam is fire-tested and the only foam cladding panel in the Middle East that meets the German DIN standard BI Classification Fire Test.
It lasts longer. Its free maintenance, life-lasting performance and colour stability are maintained and guaranteed by the use of Kynar PVF-2 or Versacor TF, acknowledged as the best protected metal sheets ever produced in the international market and which are certified by independent organisations to have a life expectancy of more than 35 years.
Varifoam has been tested by independent laboratories and proved to have achieved the best results in a wide spectrum of performance known in the industry.
Hesco’s Variwall panels have been developed for adaptability to a wide range of components for designers. The windows are shop-assembled so that the openings are precise and glass fits securely. Insulation and glazing can be done inside the building.
The company’s Varipanel system is a single-skin sheeting for use as roofs, walls, fascias and internal metal decks. The Varipanel standard profile has a boxing appearance matching the exterior profile of Varifoam insulated panels.
The company has developed several special products including Variquiet, an acoustical metal panels system for the control of noise pollution, and Varistyle, a ceiling and wall liner panel that has the advantage of a concealed fastening system together with strength and insulation properties. It is produced in a variety of profile shapes and colours to suit the design of the building’s interior.