After an “exceptional” year in 2006, aluminium systems supplier Reynaers is busy with several high-profile projects and holds high expectations for this year, the chief of its regional office has said.

Reynaers Middle East managing director Ali Khalaf said the company was confident it would satisfy architects’ requirements with strong technical back-up and support from the company’s Duffel (Belgium) headquarters.
“Our expectations are high. We could do better than 2006 in terms of volume. The demand is there. The trend is towards high-rise buildings, which need good technical support, and we are able to provide that.”
Such technical support, coming from headquarters, was crucial in the successful completion of Reynaers’ star project of 2006, the Doha Sports City Tower, for which the company supplied approximately 300 tonnes of aluminium.
The supplies came in the form of profiles and accessories from the Reynaers’ CW86 curtainwall system and the conventional curtainwall CW50.
CW86 is a unitised product commonly used for high-rise structures. “Reynaers ME used it for the first time but we will have the same for our Abu Dhabi Airport project,” said Khalaf.
The Doha Sports Tower had a total service area of 30,000 sq m. The 300 tonnes of aluminium that went into it made up a large portion of Reynaers ME’s total supplies of 700 tonnes of the metal for 2006.  That was the year the company completed in Syria the Damascus Mall project through its authorised fabricator Intex Glass and Aluminium. Before 2006, the company had completed a skylight project in Syria with the same fabricator.
The company’s tally of projects in 2006 included one on Tala Island, Bahrain, where it supplied material for several thousand windows and doors. It also delivered material for three tall towers in the Seef area and the headquarters of Al Ayam publishing house, all in Bahrain.  Other projects during the year included Al Bahar Tower in Kuwait and one in Egypt that was accomplished through its authorised fabricator Miobeca.
The company’s ongoing projects in the region include the Abu Dhabi airport project where it is working on the Etihad airline terminal and for which it will use its CW86 system. Its fabricator in the UAE is Folcra Beach, Abu Dhabi.
Another prestigious project is the Ruf car showroom being built near the Formula One race track in Bahrain. Reynaers will provide the façade with a sunscreen and all its inputs will be customised.
The company is also supplying material for three towers in Dubai, all higher than 35 storeys. In Bahrain, it is working on a 35-storey project in Mahooz and is in the final stages of a project in Jordan. It is in the process of supplying a project in India which comes within the scope of Reynaers ME.
Reynaers is keen on having a strong presence in Saudi Arabia. “Our target in the kingdom is to find new customers (fabricators),” Khalaf said.
Turnover in 2006 was $5 million, which the company hopes to overtake in 2007. Last year’s turnover was double that of 2005.
Commenting broadly on the outlook for the next few years, Khalaf said: “Our expectations in the Gulf are good because the market will continue with the same trend of construction for the next five to seven years.”
The company is seeking new business in the region. It is expecting additional projects in Syria and hopes to participate in other North African projects. In 2005 the company had supplied material for a project in Libya through Belgian fabricator JAP and would like to be involved in more schemes there.