Precast concrete (PCC) manufacturer Qanbar Dywidag seeks to penetrate the Bahrain market in an ambitious marketing drive that earlier saw it expanding its role to the western region of Saudi Arabia.

“We are studying the business potential in the Bahrain market where we already are supplying our precast products from our headquarters in Jubail,” said marketing manager Ahmad Sameh of Qanbar Dywidag Precast Concrete Company (QDC).
The Bahrain focus follows greater attention being paid to such booming Saudi cities as Jeddah, Yanbu, Makkah and Madinah.
The company’s second PCC factory in Jubail Industrial City commenced operations in May 2007 enabling it to serve new markets. 
“We are expecting a good output of precast concrete this year through this factory,” said Sameh.
QDC offers the construction industry complete precast solutions such as precast concrete walls, beams and column elements, prestressed hollowcore and double tee slabs, manholes and paving tiles, among other products, all of which, says Sameh, are manufactured according to high-quality control assurance as per international standards such as ACI and PCI.  
Sameh said products that contributed most to the 2007 turnover were precast concrete for housing and different types of industrial  structures involving the production of external insulated wall panels and internal solid wall panels plus prestressed hollowcare slabs and other precast concrete components. 
QDC started in 1981 in Jubail as a partnership between Saudi businessman Sheikh Abdul Razzak Mohammed Qanbar Al Ansari and one of the largest West German general contractors and PCC manufacturers Dycherhoff & Widmann AG (Dywidag) before it was bought over by the Al Ansari Group in 2002. Dywidag continues to provide technical support to the team.
“Demand for precast has been rising as clients realise the benefits of using PCC in their projects,” commented Sameh.
QDC has numerous major projects under way including the supply of complete wall frame systems for villas of Phase Five of the Bait Al Umar in Dammam and Al Khobar  as well as Phases Three, Four and Five of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation’s (Sabic) housing scheme in Jubail; Khurais CPF project of Saudi Aramco; sophisticated architectural panels for Dhahran Mall in Dhahran; Al Murjan Housing Compound in the Royal Commission (Al Jubail) area; hollowcore slabs and cladding panels for Al Othaim Mall in Dammam; full-frame structure for substations for Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery (Sasref) in Jubail;  King Faisal University (KFU)  and Prince Mohammed Bin Fahad University (PMU)  in Al Khobar,  among others.
Over the years, QDC has built a strong reputation for quality and competitiveness, completing many prestigious projects for the Royal Commission of Jubail & Yanbu, Saudi Aramco, Sceco, King Fahd International Airport, ministries and the private sector. Projects include hospitals, schools, factories, warehouses, showrooms, multi-storey offices, apartment buildings, single and multi-storey car parks, villas, shopping centres, mosques and boundary walls.
Sameh believes that prospects for the company are good as “the future of the construction business in Saudi Arabia lies in the sphere of precast industry, which offers a number of benefits.”
The official added: “Since they are produced under strict factory-controlled quality conditions, the quality of precast components can always be assured. They are nearly maintenance-free and come in a wide range of finishes. In addition they speed up construction and allow early occupation of projects, thereby offering early operation and return of investments.”