Insulation products manufac- turer Arabian Chemical Co (Polystyrene) (ACC PS) is extending its manufacturing facility in Jeddah and upgrading production capacity to 500,000 cu m per year, the company says.

The company, a 50:50 joint venture between EA Juffali & Brothers and The Dow Chemical Company, has been producing the Styrofoam brand of extruded polystyrene thermal insulation boards since mid-1986.

ACC PS is backed technologically by Dow’s R&D department which is now looking for next-generation innovation in blowing agents unharmful to the ozone layer. The product range at the Saudi manufacturing facility is wide and depends on specific applications requirements. For example, Roofmate has a minimum density of 32-35 kg/cu m with 300 kpa compressive strength and is suitable for roof application in the inverted roof concept.

Wallmate has 28 kg/cu m density and is suitable for cavity wall application. Floormate is produced in four grades each with different densities and compressive strengths to answer to requirements of floor application with heavy loads.

A special product exists for insulating all thermal bridges in buildings represented by the concrete skeleton. Thermal bridges contribute 35 per cent in transfer of heat flow to the inside of the house while they represent only 10 to 13 per cent of the building facades area.

The company has perimeter insulation for basements in buildings which work as a drainage board when provided with grooves and filter fabric. It manufactures pipe shells out of Styrofoam to insulate chilled water piping networks.

“ACC PS has created awareness in the Saudi private and public sectors about the benefits of Styrofoam thermal insulation as far as human comfort, energy conservation and environment protection are concerned,” said executive director for construction materials Hilal Kabbani.

“Styrofoam will help reduce electricity bills by up to 60 per cent in a two-storey villa when roof, walls and floors are well insulated in addition to good air drafts seals through windows and doors,” he said.

Kabbani said 30 per cent of buildings in Saudi Arabia get some kind of thermal insulation with staggering efficiency since there is still no compulsory insulation standard regulating the use of thermal insulation in buildings.

“Most GCC countries lack well-defined and enforced thermal insulation standards and the reason for that is the lack of incentives for home owners resulting from highly subsidised electrical tariffs by the respective governments.”

Uprising hurts exports
ACC PS had experienced growth in 2009 and 2010 but the export market in the Middle East this year got negatively affected by the popular uprising or by a noticeable slowdown in construction activities in some GCC states, said Kabbani.

However, the slowdown in exports was offset by activities in Saudi Arabia where ACC PS was able to conclude business in innovative products and applications in roofing, pipe insulation, thermal bridge solutions and exterior insulation and finish systems (EIFS).

Kabbani said products and applications contributing most to the company’s revenues were roofing offerings whether straight board or tapered boards. Roofmate excelled as a product in the inverted roof system. This application contributes more than 70 per cent of the total company sales when coupled with EPDM (ethylene propylene diene terpolymer) and TPO (thermoplastic olefin) waterproofing membranes.

The company’s growth strategy is based on expanding to new geography as well as embarking on developing new applications such as insulating thermal bridge in buildings.