An expansion project at Qatar National Aluminium Panel Company (Q-Nap) will raise annual production capacity to 1.5 million sq m by year’s end, the company says.

Q-Nap will also be adding degreasing and colour coating lines, the first time such a facility has been introduced in the company. Earlier the company used pre-coated aluminium coils it bought from various sources for its processes.

The Qatari company uses Korean technology for making aluminium composite panels which sales and marketing coordinator Nabeel Abdullah says enjoy growing demand in the Gulf states. As much of 75 per cent of the panels that Q-Nap makes are ordered by Qatari firms and all of its capacity is now being utilised for production, necessitating the expansion project.

By the end of next year Abdullah expects demand in Qatar itself to rise to 1.5 million sq m. By that time, Q-Nap will have more capacity to meet some of the requirements in the country and the Gulf region. Its current capacity is a minimum of 500,000 sq m which can be expanded to 1 million sq m depending on demand, the official says.

Abdullah also expects a surge in demand for Q-Nap’s innovation called Sinco, a new generation of composite panels for building facades. It has a corrugated aluminum core, is light in weight, enjoys high rigidity and provides fire safety and heat and sound insulation while also being fully recyclable. The product is a Class A2 material under the DIN 4102-1 testing standard and has been certified by Greenguard Environmental Institute as one that has low chemical emissions, which makes it suitable for Leed projects.

'Sinco is a smart solution for those looking for economical, durable and environmentally friendly products. Demand for Sinco is in continuous increase and we expect it will comprise 53 per cent of total Q-Nap panels by the end of next year,' said Abdullah.

Q-Nap’s aluminium composite panels basically come under three categories – non-fire rated (panels with a polyethylene core), fire rated (mineral core) and fire rated with DIN 4102-1 Class A2 certification (Sinco). The products are approved by the US Green Building Council, AEM Consultants and the Civil Defence Department of Qatar. An in-house laboratory checks quality through various stages.

The company offers fabrication and installation services backed by technical support. The company’s panels are used in facades, sign boards, false ceilings and interior partitions among other things.

Equipment at the Q-Nap plant

Qatar projects

QNap is currently executing a number of Qatar projects including Barwa Commercial Avenue, one of the biggest jobs it has undertaken. Supplies commenced in January 2010 and will be completed by the end of this year with the quantity of panels delivered likely to exceed 200,000 sq m.

The company is also working on the Barwa Al Sadd project, where it will provide panels for a cladding area of 50,000 sq m. Supplies have been going on since mid-2010. Q-Nap panels are also being delivered to the Al Rayyan and Al Raffa projects for a total area of 20,000 sq m. By the end of 2011, Q-Nap will be supplying 8,000 sq m of panels for Jaidah Tower. Other ongoing projects in Qatar are Lotus Tower (5,000 sq m) and Woqood petrol stations where the company has so far supplied 15,000 sq m of panels and is expecting to deliver more with more petrol stations likely to be included in the project.

The company recently completed delivering 5,000 sq m of supplies for the Royal Tower and 8,000 sq m for the Woqood Tower.

Overseas, the company has shipped consignments to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and North Africa. The company expects exports to grow following an intense marketing campaign it launched over the past two years.