The Big 5 2009 Show Dubai News - Day 4

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NOVEMBER 26, 2009 [DAY 4]

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Alessa signs US $200 million JV with Huntair

Saudi and US firms to benefit from shared expertise after doing multi-million dollar deal Saudi business Alessa Industries has announced a joint venture with an investment of over US $200 million with US firm Huntair.

Ahmed Saeed Al Omari, CEO of Alessa Industries explained that the new company’s goal will be to share its collective industrial and market experience, in addition to increasing the manufacturing lines of Alessa Industries.

Huntair manufactures air handling equipment. Under the agreement, Huntair will also train Saudi engineers in the US. “This is our first joint venture in Saudi Arabia, and it is with Huntair, our premier brand. We are

CES Group president Eric Roberts and Alessa Industries CEO Ahmed Saeed Al Omari at the signing of the deal for the JV.

very excited about the development taking place in the Gulf and

so we are very excited to form this join venture,” said Eric Roberts,

president of the CES Group, which owns the Huntair brand.

Roberts said that CES comprised of over 30 companies and that the group was likely to look at creating other joint ventures to capitalise on the Saudi market. “[Alessa’s] direction to invest is based on market studies of the supply versus demand rates, which clearly convey the boosting demand for the production of high quality air handing units,” said Alessa Industries CEO Ahmed Al Omari. He cited the growing population and increased numbers of projects as reason for the boosted demand.

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MACHINES 69BIG AND FLASH KIT The best and biggest of this year’s Big 5 PMV in pictures

ECONOMY MINISTRY HEADS TO THE BIG 5 The UAE Ministry of Economy deputy manager, Yousuf Ali Hassan, yesterday visited the stand of UAE-based aluminium composites company Mulk Holdings, where he discussed finance, the role of government in encouraging industry and the wider construction sector with Mulk Holdings’ CEO Saadullah Khan.

The visit capped a successful Big 5 show for Mulk Holdings after, earlier in the week, the

company signed a contract to form a JV that will see Mulk aluminium composite panels manufactured and distributed throughout India.

“Even during a difficult year, India recorded 7% growth and we want to capitalise on that.

We aim to become the number one brand in India and, after aluminium, we’ll also introduce our other interests,” said Khan.

Companies from more than 50 countries are exhibiting

An ITP Business Publication on behalf of dmg World Media Dubai

Ministry of Economy deputy manager Yousuf Ali Hassan talks to Mulk CEO Saadullah Khan.

at this year’s Big 5, but Hassan’s visit to Mulk Holdings’ stand reaffirms the company’s status as a

UAE success story, supplying products to 44 countries around the world from its Sharjah HQ.

SHOW INFORMATION The Big 5 2009 show timings: 23-26 November 11am - 8pm The Big 5 venue: Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Visitors are encouraged to pre-register online at www.thebig5exhibition.com to ensure quick and easy access. On-site registration is available for trade and business professionals only. Persons under the age of 18 will not be permitted entry.

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Three more years of Big 5 Mapei owner DMG World Media and Dubai WTC celebrate the debut of new halls This year’s edition of the Big 5 marks the first time that the new Sheikh Saeed Halls and plaze and senior executives from show organisers DMG and Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) celebrated, by penning a new deal that will see the Big 5, Index, the Hotel Show and the Office Show continue at the venue for the next three years at least.

“In times of global economic challenge and financial instability, it is even more vital for corporations worldwide to continue to engage and interact. The Big 5’s international footprint clearly demonstrates that there is continued confidence in the vast opportunities available in the Middle East and we are extremely pleased to

The plaza area doubles up as a top party venue during shows.

continue to host these world class events and strengthen our partnership for the region,” said DWTC CEO Helal Almarri.

Almarri and DMG vice president of construction, Simon Mellor, led a media tour of the new Sheikh Saeed Halls explaining the roles they

Public holiday won’t reduce visitor numbers Show organisers have said that the Eid public holidays will not have a negative impact on visitor numbers to the Big 5 on Thursday.

“Last year we saw 58,000 visitors over the five days; so far, we know that the first two days of this year have been

records for the Big 5,” said Big 5 vice president of construction Simon Mellor. “We recognise that Thursday is a public holiday. A lot of people are very busy and may not have had the chance to come down – the holiday gives them that opportunity.”

would play in driving DWTC forward as a major international venue.

“We’ve now created this huge outdoor exhibition space which we’ll use for live music, demonstrations and more; it’s a multicultural space and has already been so successful over the past two months that we’re now extending the area,” said Almarri.

“It’s amazing how the plaza was used as an exhibition space during the day and, on Monday night, was turned into a party venue for 4500 exhibitors in just hours – most places would take days to turn that around,” added Mellor. “It just offers an exhibitor so much flexibility.”

Incredibly, Almarri revealed that the three new halls and the arena, which increase DWTC’s size by a further 50%,

took just six months to deliver from first idea to completion.

“You can really only do that with tight partnerships and a great in-house team.”

Both men believe that, once open in February, the DWTC Metro station will have a huge impact, not only in the way that people travel to shows, but in the perceived importance of the new spaces.

“We expect around 30% of exhibitors and visitors to arrive by Metro,” said Almarri, “and there’s direct access straight into the new halls which will make them prime spaces.”

The DWTC chief executive office also revealed that the new halls would soon introduce a series of mid-level coffee shops and restaurants to adorn the concourse levels and the boulevard. These will flow outside, with lots of seating for the winter months and there’ll be plenty of indoor dining areas for the summer.

“We now have 15 major spaces – including the outdoor area – and flexibility is really the key. Of course, we have shows such as the Big 5, Arabhealth and Gulfood which use all the spaces, but we can also comfortably run four or five exhibitions at the same time, he added.

avows dedication to region at Big 5 Hall 7 E291 Giorgio Squinzi, top boss of Italy-based sealant and construction chemicals company Mapei, has flown down to attend The Big 5 exhibition, in order to reaffirm his dedication to the region’s construction industry.

This is the fifth year that Mapei is an exhibitor at the show and Squinzi said the company has never been better placed to grow regionally.

Speaking to the CW Big 5 Daily, he said: “We’re here to stay forever. Despite the downturn our company has done very well in the region.

We’ve worked on the Dubai Metro project and we’d be delighted to work on the Abu Dhabi and other regional metro projects when they

come along. We’ve been heavily involved with rail construction worldwide including the majority of rail jobs in Italy.”

Mapei is working on the Dubai Metro, which is the first and largest driverless metro system in the world.

With Abu Dhabi’s construction market growing rapidly, Mapei is increasingly beginning to focus on work in the capital.

“We have a regional presence, with our head office and production facilities in Dubai, which serves us well as Dubai is centrally located, so production to neighbouring emirates is easier whether it be Abu Dhabi and Al Ain on one side or Sharjah and Ajman on the other,” he said.

Giorgio Squinzi is looking forward to expanding business here.

INFORMATION FOR THE EXHIBITION BREAKDOWN – BIG 5 Staff and Contractor Access Times At 20.00, when the exhibition closes, please be advised that you will not be able to bring trolleys and other wheeled items into the show until we have cleared the hall of visitors, (approx 30 mins). Exhibitors and packing helpers will be directed to wait outside in the loading yard behind.

Vehicle Access All large vehicles arriving at the venue on Thursday 26th November to collect products and display materials must assemble at car park C marshalling/ staging area. Assembly will commence from 1600hrs on Thursday. No large vehicles or cars will be permitted direct access to the halls.

Please do not issue contractors with exhibitor badges, security have been briefed to refuse access to all contractors prior to show close.

Contractors for space only stands will be allowed access into the hall at approximately 20.30hrs.

Please note the following:• The exhibition closes on Thursday 26th November at 20.00hrs. Work may continue in the halls overnight.

• Packing and wrapping starts at 20.00hrs.

• All stand electrical supplies will be

switched off at 20.30hrs on Thursday.

• The shell scheme will be dismantled from 08.00hrs on Friday 27th November, therefore all display materials and products must be removed from site by 08.00hrs on Friday 27th as they may be damaged or lost as contractors dismantle the shell scheme.

• For reasons of security, and in order that no discourtesy is shown to visitors, no items may be removed from stands before 20.00hrs on Thursday.

• Exhibitors and contractors are required to display their badges at all times during the breakdown period.

• Catering equipment, furniture, floral

etc, which has been hired, are the responsibility of the exhibitor until collected.

• Please collect remaining press packs from the press office (Al Wasl Press Room – between Halls 4 & 5).

• The evening of closing day is a critical time for security – please do not leave goods unattended at any time.

• All waste, including brochures, carpet, stand fitting etc, must be removed.

Any items left by exhibitors or their contractors will incur a charge.

• The hall must be cleared of all standfitting, including waste materials latest by 12 noon on Saturday 28th November.

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

3

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Nolte expands share Company’s market grows as downturn encourages flight to quality

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Zabeel Hall V11 Nolte Home Studio has managed to increase its market share over the last year, in spite of the challenging economic climate.

While the downturn has brought a series of difficulties in its wake, it has left companies like Nolte in a position of strength, suggested export director, Nolte Home Studio, Nicholas Heron. “The last year has been an experience – in general, a tough one. But it is also one that we will undoubtedly benefit from. We come out of this with greater market share globally.

“Those companies that would have enjoyed business simply because there was

loads of business to be had, are no longer there. And companies like Nolte, with a long history and a well established customer base, are stronger than ever,” Heron explained.

The family-owned company has over fifty years of experience manufacturing kitchens and bedrooms. “We are the second largest kitchen manufacturer to come out of Germany. At this moment in time, we produce around 700 kitchens every day, which go to over fifty countries worldwide,” Heron said.

A number of factors that set the company apart from its competitors, Heron continued. “One is that we are made in Germany. That pro-

vides a level of reassurance when our clients are making a purchase from Nolte. It means the product quality all the way through the process – from the door to the carcass, all the way to the hinge system – is going to be of recognised German quality.”

Reliability is the other key differentiator, Heron added.

“If we say something is going to be delivered in six weeks, it is going to be delivered in six weeks. Not five, or eight, or seven. That’s a very important part of our philosophy.”

Also set to work in Nolte Kuchen’s favour is the fact that it will not raise the price of its kitchen furniture next year. “Our new 2010 product

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BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

Nolte Home Studio increased its market share over the last year, according to Heron.

collection goes to market with 2009 prices. The competitors are going up in price, having not spent as much on innovation over the last two years. So we have a better product, more innovation, but at a price now that closes the gap on some of our contemporaries,” said Heron.

“We lead in innovation and we lead in product development and product investment. So whilst you can sympathise with many companies keeping their hands in their pockets, Nolte has done the opposite. That’s why we are growing our market share globally.”

As a result, the company is at The Big 5 to convey one clear message. “The message is that we are a very successful German kitchen and bedroom manufacturer that is committed to the building industry, not just in the Middle East but globally, and we are trying to show that by maintaining our presence on the market,” said Heron.

While it is too early to determine whether that message is being heard, Heron is positive about this year’s edition of Big 5. “It’s always difficult to judge what the end result will be, but the initial perception is that we are seeing some very good people.”

Italy makes a strong show at Big 5 Hall 6 Italy has the largest international presence at The Big 5 exhibition, with a record 351 companies spread over 6258 m2 in total. “This is a substantial number, and it is also a marked increase over last year’s figures,” says Mariateresa Malakos from the Italy Information office.

Italy has been a strong supporter of the show since its inception. Malakos says the increase in the Italian trade delegation is indicative of the fact that the UAE and the

MENA region are still perceived as global growth hubs.

“This is a favoured market for Italian companies due to the ease of doing business here and the relative lack of regulatory or bureaucratic red tape. In Europe, a lot of new build is stymied by lethargy on the part of the authorities. Here things, are much quicker, dynamic and decisive,” she added.

In Italy, the construction equipment sector is represented by the Italian Construction Equipment

Manufacturers’ Association (UCoMESA), which was established in 1951 as a unified voice for the sector. It promotes technical standards as well as facilitating marketing activities. The association represents diverse product groups, including excavation, drilling, boring and piling machinery; crushing, grinding, screening, classifying and washing machinery; concrete machinery; cranes; road-making machinery; and ancillary construction equipment such as precast ma-

chinery, building materials production and testing.

In addition to these sectors, the world-renowned Italian marble industry, ceramics and sanitaryware sectors are also being showcased. “We have a diverse range of companies across a wide area of industries and markets,” notes Malakos. A particular focus this year is Italian expertise in the burgeoning home automation and controls sector, which has been boosted by the trend for energy efficiency and cost savings.

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Dow launches chemicals firm Dow Construction Chemicals unveiled to the Middle East following the acquisition of Rohm and Haas The Dow Chemical Company has launched its new Dow Construction Chemicals business at The Big 5, following the acquisition of Rohm and Haas.

The new company will combine the assets of Rohm and Haas with the Dow Wolff Cellulosics division of the firm, in order to better service the needs of the construction sector. “From the Rohm and Haas side, there comes a big part of the business and expertise in latex: the wet ready to use chemicals. We are combining and increasing our scope,” stated Dr Burkhard Kressdorf, commercial director EMEA, Dow Construction Chemicals.

Rohm and Haas was acquired back in April this year.

Dow believes the timing of the new company will pro-

vide both a challenge and an opportunity. “There is no denying we are in a crisis. From my understanding, the crisis in this area it is not as deep as it is in other areas.

“But this can be a good time as well; it is a time when you can work with customers and develop products, so it is a time where you can improve,” said Kressdorf.

Kressdorf added that the acquisition went relatively smoothly for such a huge deal. Rohm and Haas was a US $10 billion company and there was integration needed across many manufacturing sites and sales offices. This has bought with it clear positives. “This is an advantage because we get a bigger reach, and we have a larger size. We have an organisation for the first time only concentrated

on construction chemicals,” said Kressdorf.

“Our intention is to have our customers benefit from having more expertise. We are a business to business company and we are concerned about what customers need and what they require specifically in this region and what they need in terms of regulations,” he added.

The new company will operate worldwide, with its Middle Eastern base in Dubai. The company will use the Dow network of offices in order to operate in this region. Following the launch of the new firm, Dow Construction Chemicals is targeting certain key areas within the Middle East.

“We are definitely targeting Saudi, it is the next challenge I would say. Dubai

was an exceptional situation with a relatively small area being developed so fast and so intensely, but the building sector is very much related to population and Saudi is a high population country with a lot of projects and this is really where a lot of the future focus is,” he said.

Kressdorf also explained that the future of building materials now lies undoubtedly with prefabricated materials being brought onto site.

“You can build for centuries with cement and sand but that is an approach where you cannot guarantee quality because you are always changing the composition; you have a lot of dust and you have a lot of waste. That all favours the modern building materials that are prefabricated,” concluded Kressdorf.

Kressdorf: New company is clearly targeting the KSA market.

Diverse audience registers Ciat dreaming of interest in Greek panelling regional success Hall 8 D346 Manufactured timber panel specialist from Greece, Yiwtas, has had a great start to its first Big 5 exhibition.

Managing director, Panos Mattheos Giotas says that interest from across the region has been beyond his most optimistic expectations, with visitors from Syria and Jordan right through to India dropping by and registering their interest. “Obviously, we have had people from Dubai and Abu Dhabi as well as the other GCC countries, but I have been very impressed how broad the international element is too,” said Giotas.

The firm is on the lookout for both local and regional distributors and contractors in search of wood paneling solutions. “Many of our contracts are for residential units, but we are also in hotels too, which is a big po6

tential market in the Middle East,” Giotas continued.

Giotas said the Greek construction industry had been particularly badly hit in 2009, but he remained optimistic about export orders, particularly from the Middle East.

“Greece will take a little longer to recover, I think, but there are positive signs from other markets already, and exhibiting at Big 5 for the first time this year shows we have confidence in this market being amongst the first to recover,” said Giotas.

The company imports its raw timber from Scandinavia, Central Europe, the USA and Canada and handles the entire manufacturing process in Greece for its panels.

Giotas said the quality of visitor at Big 5 was encouraging, and conversations from both days of the event had the chance to turn into orders.

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

“I am confident that a lot of the contacts we have made on days one and two will turn into some real business, may-

be not at the show itself, but with a few more visits to build up relationships, I think we have some excellent leads.”

Giotas: Hoping to turn Big 5 enquiries into firm business.

Hall 4 C157 Jabal Omar Development Company (JODC) has invited construction suppliers to bid for the HVAC contract at the northern part of its US $2.7 billion (SR10 billion) flagship development. Ciat, a French district cooling company operating in the Gulf, is hoping to be awarded the contract to supply 15,000 air conditioning units to the project.

“The contract is expected to be awarded in 2010 and we are currently going through the design process,” said Ciat area sales manager Mahidine.

Names of other bidders for the contract could not be revealed. Jabal Omar Company contracted Saudi Oger to undertake the construction of the north part of the mixed use project, while the southern area of the development was awarded to Saudi Binladen Group in 2007.

The master plan of the development, which is also known as the Western Gate Road development, covers 230,000m2 and will accommodate around 40,000 people. The project, located near the Grand Mosque of Mekkah, consists of 39 commercial and residential towers.

Saudi Oger contract consist of the design concept, of the buildings, as well as infrastructure for the north part of the project, which consist of 15 six storey towers in addition to the hotels and parking areas, landscaping, commercial shops and centres; and supporting roads and bridges.

Construction started in July 2008 and the entire development is set to be completed

by Q3 of 2011.

JODC is a real estate company, established in Saudi Arabia, for the sole purpose of developing Jabal Omar.

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Reem Emirates Aluminum (REA) and its subsidiaries: Reem Emirates Glass (REG); Reem Emirates Metals (REM) & Reem Emirates Cladding (REC), boasts of its factory as the largest in the Middle East and GCC market, equipped with complete line of the most sophisticated equipments and state-of-the-art technology to be able to meet the ever increasing demands for architectural cladding elements.

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Paving over the cracks Forklift factory QPR’s instant asphalt attracts overwhelming interest at the show Hall 8 E351 Launching its patented high performance pavement repair solution into the Middle East for the first time at Big 5, QPR International has been overwhelmed by swarms of buyers, distributors and potential manufacturers. “The response has been truly staggering,” said Gary Cook, development manager, QPR International.

“I think the simplicity of the product is what is grabbing

everyone’s attention. Everything you need for repairing potholes, filling utility cuts and repairing damaged asphalt is in the bag,” said Cook.

Anyone familiar with walking or driving almost anywhere in the Middle East will be aware of the desperate state of much of the road and pavement infrastructure. Years of abuse by heavy vehicles and questionable finishing quality has left the road network

pocked with potholes and riven with crevices. “What’s really revolutionary about this product is that it can turn anyone into an asphalt engineer overnight,” he says. “There is no mixing, tacking or mechanical compaction required and it is a ready to use formula that can go straight from the bag to the repair area.”

The product has one special additive that sets it apart from its more cumbersome

Gary Cook, development manager: QPR can turn anyone into an asphalt engineer overnight.

competitors. “That ingredient means that QPR will adhere to concrete, steel and asphalt in wet conditions or summer heat, and can be open to traffic immediately, with no raveling or rutting needed; just a manual tamp or wheel roll, and it’s ready to go.”

Cook said the QPR product is already well established in North America, and has had a phenomenal launch year in Australia, so now was a great time to go global and in particular focus on the Middle Eastern market.

“The interest we’ve registered at Big 5 is evidence that this is a product which will be in great demand here, and the potential market size is massive.

I’ll be following up with some more targeted, strategic visits to the region very shortly.”

Cook says Big 5 has been the ideal launch vehicle for the product into the Middle East, and a fantastic springboard to markets further afield. “Last night was the first chance I had to take stock of all of the contacts we have collated. I’ve had quite serious discussions with people from 24 countries, and between 70 and 80 potential distributors have registered their interest.”

enjoys success

The UAE manufacturer of the world’s first Arab-made forklift truck announced massive regional expansion plans on Wednesday at the Big 5 PMV. Gulf Automobile Industry Corporation intends to relocate from its 14,000m2 factory in Abu Dhabi to a three million m2 facility at an undisclosed location in KSA.

“We are forecasting sales of US $13.6 million for 2010; the move to a larger manufacturing plant was necessary to meet the demand for our products, and while it make sense to be in Saudi Arabia, our biggest market, the UAE continues to offer us strong sales potential”, said Nasser Hamad Al Hajeri, chairman.

Gulf Automobile aims to sell 50-75 forklifts at the show.

Opportunity knocks for Aussie door firm Hall 8 E360 Australia’s leading automated door company, ADIS, is expecting the Middle East to become its largest export market within a couple years, according to Sherene Saw, business development manger. “Around 35% of our business is currently export work, with the largest geographical slice of that being Asia-Pacific, but the way demand is growing the region, and the types of new construction going on, it is simply a matter of time before the Gulf overtakes that in revenue and volume,” explained Saw. The company has built its 8

name providing automatic entry systems and doors to banks, shopping malls and hotels, as well as conventional commercial office space.

“No matter what anyone says about the economic situation, the opportunity that the Middle East represents is still massive. Dubai, Qatar and Abu Dhabi are still real hotspots for us right now, and we are just getting going in Iran,” added Saw. The company is exhibiting at its fifth Big 5 event and is interested in finding direct sales leads as well as interacting with its regular client base. “We’re really here to dis-

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

play our new products and meet with established clients and friends in the region – any new business that comes directly from the show is simply a bonus,” he said.

ADIS is on the cusp of striking out of its comfort zone of commercial spaces with its products, and is pioneering automated doors for residential units such as villas, apartments and throughout the home in general. “We have begun quite softly in Australia with a series of shopping channel television adverts, but I think this concept could really take off in the Middle East too,” said Saw.

The Middle East will soon be the biggest export market for an Australian access specialist.

UER

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The latest in flake ice cooling Japanese cooling towers are proving a popular option in the Middle East, says TTI managing director Hall 1 J51 Tamara Trading International LLC (TTI) has launched the latest models in its range of Nihon spindle cooling towers at the Big 5. These are the super low noise WA series and the heavy-duty KX series.

“These Japanese cooling towers have found favour in the UAE, the larger GCC and as far afield as Algeria,” commented TTI MD Jaffar Al-Issa.

The WA series is a spaceand energy-saving range, while the KX series can deliver up to 750TR per cell, which is three times higher than the standard models.

“These high-capacity towers are suitable for demanding projects such as district cooling, power stations and industrial plant – in short, the type of general infrastructure that is taking off in Dubai at the moment,” said Al-Issa.

In addition, the company’s Coldwell brand of closedcircuit cooling towers includes the FBH closed-type, ZNX evaporative condensers and FLW industrial coolers.

“Nihon cooling towers are renowned for their quality and high efficiency standards, which are hallmarks of Japanese manufacture,” commented Al-Issa.

In addition, the company has unveiled a new flake-ice machine with a capacity of 1000 kg/24 hours, and stateof-the-art microprocessor control. “This is the first innovation in the ice machine field to feature failure details and operational process on a touch-control screen.

“This innovation makes it easy for the customer to operate the machine as well as trouble-shoot. In addition, the breakdown protection for

such fittings as the reducer, water pump and compressor protect the machine from burn-out following a failure.”

TTI is also introducing a block ice machine based on a new aluminium plate system, with a capacity of 15 tons/24 hours. The advantage is that it speeds up the water-freezing process. The company’s containerised block ice machine fits into a single shipping container, and is easy to set-up and install, making it ideal for smaller entrepreneurs.

Commenting on the impact of the global economic downturn on the construction industry, Al-Issa said: “Although the market is in crisis, there are still prestigious projects in Dubai and the UAE. We have large projects under negotiation at present, and expect these to be awarded in a matter of weeks.”

Jaffar Al-Issa says the company is currently in negotiations over a number of large projects.

Leica takes wraps off Oecon mulls opening of laser measuring tools regional headquarters Zabeel Hall W21 Leica Geosystems has introduced its dot and line laser range, which consists of precision measuring tools. The firm had previously unveiled the Leica Lino L2 and has now added four additional products to the Lino range.

“We have seen a great reaction to the product at The Big

5 this week; on the first day we generated 85 leads, on the second it increased and got close to 100.

“The product is a very exciting one and as soon as people are coming to our stand and seeing how it works, they are saying ‘that is exactly what I need’,” revealed Philippe Matter, regional marketing direc-

Matter: As soon as people see a Leica, they want one.

10

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

tor, DSA precision tools division, Leica.

The new range includes the Leica Lino L2G, an alignment tool with a green beam laser, the Leica Lino P3, a three dot laser for easy and perfect plumbing and the Leica Lino P5, a classic layout tool.

The final product unveiled by the firm is the Leica Lino L2P5, a dot-line laser, which is an all in one layout and alignment tool.

The tools can have many advantages, according to Matter. “These tools will give you payback quickly. They can make tenders more accurate, meaning companies can submit tenders which are more precise and also bids which are nothing short of 100% correct,” he stated.

“As soon as people realise what this does, they want one,” concluded Matter.

Zabeel Hall C122 The Big 5 show offers the chance to meet international clients, and test the water for future investment into the Middle East market, according to an executive at Oecon.

The company offers mobile space products such as on site offices and accommodation for the construction industry. This has proved a tricky market to get involved in and has required the firm to identify niche areas. “There are already a lot of containers here in the Middle East, which have come from Asia,” revealed Myriam Troester, management assistant, marketing, Oecon. “These are mainly used for accommodation for construction workers so we are providing more upscale units such as office units and accommodation for engineers and managers.”

Depending on the success the company has in the region, it is considering opening an office in the future, according to Troester. “Our business has been pretty good despite the crisis and we have been expanding within Germany. We would like to open an office in the Middle East but we are still figuring things

out and testing the water,” she said. “We are hoping to make a number of contacts and build a network in the Middle East from the people we have met at The Big 5.”

OECON units are a container with a steel frame, and it currently has over 2,000,000 cubic metres of units delivered across the world.

Myriam Troester: ”We are providing more upscale units.”

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Keeping it cool at Doha Airport Thermal insulation solutions for first airport in the world capable of handling the giant Airbus A380 Hall 7 A305 Foamglas insulation products are being utilised at the Doha International Airport in Qatar for the tapered roof and chilled water pipeline.

This will be the first airport internationally capable of handling the Airbus A380, the world’s largest commercial aircraft.

“It is a high-profile project in terms of the application of our products, and therefore we are pleased to be talking about it at the Big 5,” said Pittsburgh Corning Europe Middle East assistant sales manager Abhimanyu Sudan.

Pittsburgh Corning Europe Middle East is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pittsburgh Corning Europe. It was established in Dubai in 2006, covering technical, sales and marketing activities. “Our comprehensive service includes sales and technical support, design and on-site technical training,” says Sudan.

Foamglas is a high-quality thermal insulation mate-

rial for structural engineering and for technical operating plants. The product is widely used in industrial applications internationally, and is now being targeted for the general construction industry in the UAE for cladding and wall-insulation purposes.

“This is a premium product. Our aim of exhibiting at the Big 5 is to generate awareness among construction-industry professionals. This will help counter the perception that, for this market, it is an alien material too expensive too specify. The Big 5 is the perfect platform for us to achieve these goals,” commented Sudan.

Foamglas comes with a formidable ‘green’ pedigree as it comprises 66% recycled glass.

As an inorganic insulation material, it contains no propellants that can contribute to ozone depletion, no flame retardants and no binding agents. Non-renewable energy used in its manufacture equates to a minuscule 4.24

Abhimanyu Sudan of Pittsburgh Corning hopes to dispel the myth that Foamglas is too expensive for the regional market.

kWh/kg. “In terms of the construction industry, Foamglas insulation stands to reduce the cooling load of buildings, and therefore has an inherent cost-saving that is quite significant in the long run,” said

Terrain’s drains make Big 5 exhibition debut Hall 2 F61 Terrain is making its Big 5 debut this week, showcasing its drainage pipes, fittings and associated products.

Visitors to Hall 2 can see a selection of products and systems from the Terrain portfolio, all designed to meet drainage, water, plumbing and piping requirements.

Leading the way will be the Terrain drainage range of soil and waste systems for commercial and residential applications. These also include selection of pipes and fittings in PVC and HDPE. “Exhibiting here is a significant step forward for us,” said commercial director Robin Appleby. “Our products are in use on a very long list of high 12

profile projects in this region, such as the Burj Al Arab in Dubai and the Bahrain World Trade Centre, that underlines the fact that we’ve extremely strong and well-founded links with the GCC.” Siphonic and water attenuation systems are also featured on the stand. These drainage,

collection and storage solutions allow rainwater to be controlled and managed.

The stand also reflects Terrain’s close association with the internationally-recognised Polypipe name and a number of products from the Polypipe range are being showcased at the Big 5.

Terrain and Polypipe show off their drainage solutions.

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

Sudan. Other benefits include a long service life, meaning reduced maintenance.

“The general slowdown in terms of major new projects as a result of the global financial crisis has resulted in

a renewed focus on quality in existing projects in order to improve their viability and longevity,” argued Sudan.

An important benefit of Foamglas, he added, is that its service life is potentially

every bit as long as that of the building it insulates.

Thereafter, the cellular glass material can be reused as bedding in road construction or filler for acoustic protection in walls.

Pioneer seeks to build up its brand awareness Hall 8 D359 Dominating the Australia pavilion’s skyline in Hall 8 is the cut-out steel shelled water storage solution from Pioneer Water Tanks, a division of the BlueScope Water Company.

The potable water storage tanks being exhibited at Big 5 have a strong pedigree in the Middle East, serving remote sites and labour camps in the Emirates for a number of years. Mark D’Mello, president of BlueScope Water, says he is here to build brand recognition and meet clients from further afield.

“We have been in the UAE since 1991, but Big 5 is a great opportunity to engage with our local customers, and is a good meeting point for clients

D’Mello: Labour camps and remote sites are big customers.

from the surrounding region.

We’ve been able to meet up with a great client who works exclusively in Kazakhstan, so it has been a good couple of days,” said D’Mello.

The company is using Big 5 to build awareness of its steel shell, impervious poly-

mer membrane lined water tanks, which are capable of holding an industry leading capacity of 2.6 million litres.

“The units are modular, so anything from 12,000 litres and up can be catered to. Labour camps and remote sites are our biggest markets.”

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NZ leads in home automation Home Tech teams up with Kristil Technologies to introduce specialist platform into Middle East Concourse 669 Home Tech, a division of the Al Fajer group, has teamed up with Kristil Technologies, a home automation technology company from New Zealand. The core of its system is wall-control networking functions that are integrated fully with lighting, security, audio/video and telephone data, among others.

“Kristil is a simplified home automation system designed to add sophistication and value to your home, while minimising energy consumption,” explains international sales director, Kristil, James Noble.

“Our wall controller includes comprehensive lighting control throughout the house. Automatic lighting functions can be activated by devices such as motion sensors, entry-control devices, light sensors and system timers. Most lighting types can be switched or dimmed effortlessly by means of the wall controller.”

All the switch panels themselves use simplifi ed, internationally-recognisable symbols for ease of operation. “When you have adjusted the lights to a desired level, the system can memorise these settings in the form of a ‘scene’ that can be replicated easily,” says Noble, adding that this adds to the overall functionality of the system.

This high level of control allows the home owner to monitor and regulate energy use, thereby realising significant cost benefits in terms of total energy savings.

“New Zealand is not normally known for its hi-tech, but this product is a cutting-edge global benchmark,” comments Madhu Sethi, Hometech business development manager. “This is an untapped market segment, both in terms of the construction industry in general and the home automation sector in particular.”

Sethi adds that a lot of incompatible systems have

Sethi (left) and Noble: New Zealand isn’t known for hi-tech, but Kristil is a global benchmark in home automation.

found their way onto the market, where they have been acquired by unsuspecting customers. “It is important to ensure that the technological base is in place, supported by the right back-

up,” he says. It is for this reason that Kristil Technologies has teamed up with Home Tech. In addition, the wall controller also incorporates a fully integrated, multi-area security system. “Security is

not that a high priority in the region at present, but it is definitely becoming more important,” says Sethi.

This is the first time that Home Tech has exhibited at The Big 5, and both Sethi and

Noble are excited at the scale and scope of the exhibition.

The company has adopted a strategy of introducing Kristil gradually until it gains market acceptance by word of mouth and reputation.

Al Kifah: There will always Tekla shows off its BIM be demand for batching approach to business Hall 11 C157 Batching plant and other concrete process equipment will always be in demand, according to Rami Adra of Dhahranbased Al Kifah batching plant.

Standing in front of a fully operational scale replica of a multi-product batching plant, he noted that many customers were attracted to the stand in hall 11 by the model’s whirring gears and gliding conveyors.

The advent of modern process control equipment has presented new opportunities for the firm. “Our customers can choose between a variety of control systems, including semi and fully automatic,” he says. Concrete for Saudi Arabia’s numerous high-rise towers needs to be precisely con14

Hall 8 D339

A giant model has attracted visitors to the Al Kifah stand.

trolled, with the right quantity of admixtures and placticisers to produce a mix that will not crumble. Ice crystals are often added in exact amounts, in order for it to be laid in the Kingdom’s extreme temperatures. This means automatic process-controlled mixing

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

which can guarantee a uniform product, every mix.

“Some contactors just want a batching plant for a couple of years and then they want to throw it away. We can’t compete with that. Our plant is an investment that will last twenty years or more,” he said.

Tekla is showcasing its Building Information Modeling (BIM) solution at this year’s Big 5 exhibition. According to Tekla, BIM can reduce operational costs and reduce waste over the lifecycle of a project.

This is the seventh year that Tekla has exhibited at Big5, and sees it as an important platform to reach regional and international construction companies.

“Big 5 is one of the most important exhibitions that cater to the construction industry, providing global players a common platform for networking and business development,” said Tahir Sharif, MD, Tekla Middle East. “With investments in the construc-

Tekla: BIM saves you money.

tion sector remaining positive across the Gulf, companies are now adopting 3D technology and Tekla is playing a central role in helping corporations realise the benefits of using industry best practices, such as Tekla BIM to effectively manage the life cycle of projects.”

Globally, the industry may be suffering, but the company believes the region has endured the economic challenges to emerge stronger.

As well as running live demonstrations of its entire product range at its stand, Tekla is hosting senior managers to discuss specific customer issues in a one-to-one environment. “The UAE is set for a revolutionary change in the construction sector, as BIM technology is increasingly demanded for use in all projects moving forward.

Tekla will use the platform provided by Big 5 to help the construction industry realise the benefits of implementing BIM technology across projects,” added Sharif.

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Dubai is great for family Senda: Stainless firms, says Hormann KG beats ceramics Zabeel Hall Q111 More foreign companies should be encouraged to come to Dubai, Germanybased construction supplier Hormann KG has said.

Christoph Hormann, owner of the European manufacturer, insisted that Dubai and the rest of the UAE helps businesses, especially those that are family-owned, retain full control over their local operations. “It is integral that some businesses need to have full ownership of their companies. Other places in the Middle East force you to have sponsors,” said Hormann.

He added that the proposed new ownership laws that could allow companies to gain 100% ownership out-

16

side a free zone could make the UAE even more attractive to firms. “I guess a lot of companies may change their policies if the new law comes into place and move outside of the zones. The ownership law will be very good for businesses in general because it gives them more freedom.”

Hormann is a manufacturer of sectional garage doors, industrial doors, operators, dock levellers, fire and smoketight door assemblies, frames and entrance doors.

The company has recently opened a UAE subsidiary to provide its solutions to the region. “The numerous expansion prospects available throughout the Middle East’s resilient property and

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

construction markets influenced our decision to set up a permanent base in the region. The global crisis has not deterred us from pushing

forward with our long-term growth plans, and we feel that the Middle East in particular offers exceptional potential within the coming months,”

Hormann: Dubai lets family firms keep control of operations.

Hall 3 E141 Senda is set to introduce a new eco-friendly system in sanitary ware, it was revealed at The Big 5. The product, which is currently being tested, will combine a toilet and basin into one system.

“The water you use to wash your hands will be disposed into the toilet and then used to flush the toilet. This significantly saves water,” said Nuno Morais, export manager for Senda, a supplier of stainless steel sanitary ware.

According to Morais, stainless steel can be recycled and it is also lighter than ceramics, a material traditional used for sanitary wear, so more products can be packed into one container and trans-

Morais: Stainless is best.

ported from place to place.

“I think the preference for this material is a trend that is growing, not only here in the Middle East, but in Europe, because it is long-lasting and it is resistant to vandalism.

Nothing is 100% anti-vandal, but for commercial projects, stainless steel is a very good function,” added Morais.

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Innovation from Carl Stahl Pultron factory German wire rope manufacturer unveils two new products at show German wire rope manufacturer, Carl Stahl has selected The Big 5 as the global launch pad of two new products, XLED and Tennect.

Both are being presented on the company’s stand, I113 in Zabeel Hall. “We have two new products and it is the first time that we are presenting them; we haven’t even launched them in Germany yet. We think that these products are particularly well suited to this market,” said general manager, Carl Stahl, Andreas Urbez.

X-LED combines the company’s X-TEND mesh, a flexible and transparent stainless steel weave characterised by high load capacity and low self-weight, with an ultra modern LED light module system. This creates a modern architectural illumination system that is transparent and, uniquely, three-dimensional.

“The basis of X-LED is the X-TEND net and then we have introduced LED elements. The advantage of X-LED compared to other LED solutions is that you can bend it in three dimensions,” Urbez detailed.

“Also, because of its transparency, weight is not as im-

portant as in existing systems.

The wind goes through it, which is a big advantage. The other advantage is that because of its transparency, you can install it in front of windows, whereas, if you install a video screen in front of an office window, you can’t look out. Finally, with this product,

you are not limited with regards to size,” he elaborated.

The second new product, Tennect, is a standardised fastening system. “Tennect is something new, and is made specifically for membrane structures. The advantage with this product is that engineers do not need to cal-

The new X-LED is a modern architectural illumination system.

culate the forces and then design accordingly any more.

This element is already calculated and already designed, so they can drag and drop our product into their drawings,” Urbez explained.

The product may be positioned at the higher end of the cost spectrum, Urbez continued, but the overall benefits are undeniable. “As is often the case, the product itself is not the cheapest one, but if you think about the whole process, it becomes cheaper than existing products.”

Founded in 1880 as a manufacturer of natural fibre ropes for agricultural use, Carl Stahl broke into steel wire ropes forty years ago, and currently consists of three main divisions: lifting, micro-cables and architecture.

The company operates a production facility for lifting equipment in Ras Al Khor. The micro-cable, branch can create wires with a thickness of as little as 0.01mm. “This is something very special. Your hair is eight times thicker than this wire! It is used in medical applications, to pull out teeth, for example, but also for micro invasive surgery.”

to open in JAFZA Stand No: 8 E348 Pultron Composites, a manufacturer of high performance fibre reinforced plastic composite rebars, revealed at Big 5 that it is on track to open its flagship Middle Eastern manufacturing plant in Dubai in Q1 next year.

“The plant is in the final stages of construction as we speak and will open early 2010,” says Dr. Salwan Al-Assafi, general manager, Pultron Composites Middle East.

The company says it expects huge interest from the GCC when marine and infrastructure projects come onstream next year. “Pultron has manufactured the FRP composite rebar, which trades as MateenBar, for 25 years, and although demand has been strong from Middle Eastern customers we found we had a problem with long lead times in shipping from that far away,” says Al-Assafi.

“We decided to open a local manufacturing facility five years ago so that we could be faster to market, more responsive to customer needs, and open in time to capitalise on the major infrastructure projects” he adds.

The material is highly resistant to chemical attack, does not rust (eliminating the risk of rust stain leeching which ruins surface aesthetics), and is more cost effective than stainless steel in corrosive environments. It is also non-magnetic and nonconductive, so has a variety of industrial applications where steel is unsuitable.

The company has already had some local success, and is looking forward to using the locally produced materials on government projects.

“We are supplying MateenBar for a smelter in Abu Dhabi, and the major infrastructure works around the Jubail Industrial Complex, and a large tunnel in Saudi Arabia,” says Salwan.

Because rebar is deployed in many of the region’s ongoing infrastructure and port projects, Salwan says demand for Pultron products in the Middle East has been unaffected by recessionary blips. “Even compared to lower quality rebar we are more cost-effective, so business has remained brisk and the outlook is strong for when we open in 2010,” concludes Salwan.

Hormann opens door to ‘made in the UAE’ Zabeel Q111 Hormann, a German manufacturer of doors for private and commercial buildings, is now able to offer one-week delivery of its automatic sectional garage doors within the UAE. “For the first time, we can offer a limited range of automatic sectional garage doors that are produced here in the UAE and can be delivered within a week,” explained managing partner, Hormann, Christoph Hormann.

The garage doors are available in any size, and in two colours, with different glazed options. “We call it ‘made in German, assembled in the 18

UAE’. Normally, if you want a high-quality product from a European market, it takes ten weeks,” Hormann continued.

The company is divided into three main divisions: commercial doors, garage doors and hinge doors. Also part of the Hormann Group is Schorghuber, a manufacturer of quality timber doors designed for high-end projects such as hotels, embassies and palaces. Examples are being showcased on the Hormann stand, Q111 in Zabeel Hall.

Hormann established a dedicated Dubai subsidiary a year ago. The Middle East is of vital importance to the company, Hormann commented.

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26 2009

“This region is very important to us as it is still a strong economy. It is important for us to be here because more and more of our customers from around the world are doing business here. This is a market that will still be strong in decades to come,” he predicted.

Managing director, Hormann Middle East, Darius Khanloo, noted that the logistics sector would hold particular growth opportunities.

“Logistics will be big business in this part of the world, with the new airport and Logistics City. And we can provide a compete set of solutions for logistics companies.”

Christoph Hormann heads up a German manufacturer of doors.

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Pods, present and future Outsourcing of Projects can’t ignore factory-produced kitchens and bathrooms

services a must

Stand: 11B141 The future of large-scale construction lies on the factory floor rather than on the building site, according to one offsite build specialist.

Opting for pods makes construction on a project cheaper, requires less labour, produces a higher quality and reduces build times, said Unipods sales and marketing director Mike Usher.

“Last year at the Big 5 it was still fairly conceptual but this year we’re here with out four-by-three-metre luxury bathroom and kitchen pods,” said Usher.

“These are the largest we can produce due to transport but anyone visiting our stand can see just how big they are.”

PMV companies in the Middle East need to look more closely at outsourcing servicing for their vehicles, an industry insider has claimed.

“The major challenge with servicing over here is the philosophy of some of the companies,” said Matthias Arend, regional sales manager, Liebherr.

“Some companies here tend to try and do the servicing themselves, mainly because they think it will be a big expense if they hire a company to do it. It will cost you more to get Liebherr to do it, but it will be done the following day,” he added.

“It is a question of money and a question of standards, if you do it yourself then you

20

The main message that Unipods is trying to deliver at the Big 5, said Usher, is just how broad a range of pods could be produced by the firm in its giant Ras Al Khaimah factory.

“It’s ideal for student dormitories, such as those we’re producing for two Abu Dhabi universities; however, we go right across the spectrum.

“From dorms at a pair of Abu Dhabi universities through to pods with Villeroy and Boch fixtures and fittings, we can go as luxurious or as simple as the client requires.

The King’s Palace in Riyadh, for example, has 40 pods and we’ve done top-end hotels.”

The key, explained Usher, is that pods need to be implemented from the design stage

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

to have most impact and they should only be used on projects that require repetition.

Usher said that bathroom and kitchen pods took around two to three months to manufacture, from design

stage to delivery, with installation on-site requiring just 15% of the labour normally required. Once dropped in place, a simple ‘plug and play’ system makes installing MEP a painless process.

Unipods is showcasing its 4x3m kitchens and bathrooms.

could be waiting weeks for a part and then it will take you longer to fix something. With us the servicing is done properly,” said Arend, speaking at The Big 5.

As well as providing servicing, Liebherr also offers a whole range of cranes for both the construction and oil and gas industries.

“We have big machines, small machines, we provide concrete mixing plants, trucks and pretty much every type of crane,” explained Arend.

The firm revealed that its main reasons for exhibiting at The Big 5 were to meet people operating in the Middle East region and to sign contracts for the Middle East as well.

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INTERVIEW FLORIS SMITH

FLORIS SMITH Examining the differences between streets and roads & the similarities between a city and a home

By Jeff Roberts

E

ven as a young boy on his grandfather’s Johannesburg farm, DSA Architects’ newest director of architecture, Floris Smith, knew he wanted to be an architect. A fascination with practical pieces of machinery and a talent for freehand drawing combined to show him the architectural light at the tender age of 15. Mentored by people like Aldo van Eyck and Edmund Bacon at the University of Pennsylvania, where he attained his Masters degree, Smith returned to South Africa to become a young partner—and eventual chairman—of the prominent South African firm of Meyer Pienaar & Partners.

That was in the 1980s, when contextualism in architecture was a relatively new discovery for South Africa.

Smith admits to us that that was when he realised buildings were part of a larger urban fabric and that built space and public space required thoughtful integration. The lessons he learned under the careful tutelage of Penn’s architectural greats were invaluable then and continue to serve him in his work today. He gave Middle East Architect an hour of his time.

from a different direction but he espoused similar values in architecture, which had to do not with the form, but with the underlying principles. If I design an office building, it’s not merely an office building; it’s a place of work. The design of any building is simply the final expression of a fundamental realisation about what that building is really about.

Who inspired you?

Critics say contemporary Arabian architecture is an exercise in kitsch. Your thoughts on that?

FS: Louis Kahn. He played a massive role in the development of South African architecture. During the late 1950s and early 1960s a number of South African students did their Masters degrees at the University of Pennsylvania in Louis Kahn’s studio. Two of them happened to be my erstwhile partners: Willie Meyer & Francois Pienaar.

Kahn was a great architect. I really admire his work. He built fantastic buildings. So he was a great inspiration.

That was also the reason why I followed in their footsteps and went to Penn. There was a tradition in the firm.

Aldo van Eyck, the Dutch architect, came

When you sit down to design a new project, what are the first issues you consider?

FS: First, it’s to realise what you’re actually working with in an archetypal sense. If you do a school or university, you’ve got to understand, in a spiritual sense, what that’s all about.

Then you’ve got to consider the site. You’ve got to relate the building to where it is on the planet so you’ve got to consider climatic and ecological issues as well. Then, you’ve got to understand the client’s objectives. I see design as a process through which you achieve clearly stated objectives. The objectives may be defined by the client, the architect or the public. All those things have to come together. Really good architecture satisfies all three of those parts of the equation: client needs, public needs and architect needs.

From an urban design or ‘macro’ level, there seems to be a considerable lack of care for the public

FS: I think its fair criticism and I think it would apply to many projects in the region.

We’re involved in a number of private villa projects where the clients want to express them in a sort of Andalusian or Moorish style. We accept that as a directive but before designing anything, we study the principles in that architecture very carefully.

It’s too easy to just take a building and slap a style onto it. That’s like wallpaper architecture. At DSA we go beyond that.

Because of our research-based approach, we consider ourselves like a radio: You can put us on any station and we’ll play.

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

25

INTERVIEW FLORIS SMITH

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Designs for the Al Qasr Hotel in Dubai’s Madinat Jumeirah.

A colleague of mine once told me, ‘There’s no such thing as bad architecture, there’s only bad architects’. In the hands of a good architect, a building can achieve any style.

Just by giving it the right proportions, balance and composition, you can elevate it to a much higher level. It all depends on the talent of that particular designer.

What do you see in the architecture of the Middle East?

FS: Well, from an urban design or ‘macro’ level, there seems to be a considerable lack of care for the public realm. I read a good analysis recently that talked about the difference between ‘roads’ and ‘streets’. Dubai is very much a city of roads. The street is the traditional public realm of most cities, with squares and piazzas et cetera, and you simply don’t find that here. There seems to be a lack of concern about what happens at street level at the foot of all these towers.

Very often, it’s almost a standard pattern here where you’ve got a podium enclosing four or five levels of parking and the tower sitting on top of them. The interface of that podium at street level is completely dead; completely blank. It’s a pattern that is being repeated all the time and, unfortunately, the result of that, once all the buildings are finished, is that the street level will remain completely dead. To me, that is an aspect that is neglected here.

In Dubai in particular, I find an incredible lack of walkability. Although, when I bring that up in discussions, people tell me ‘Dubai is an extreme climate. You have to internalize everything’. I don’t agree with that. From October to April, it is very pleasant outside.

I think the buildings, particularly at street level, could provide more shaded colonnades, arcades and pedestrian-friendly edges.

Architecture-wise, I’m shocked to see 26

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

‘icon’. So you’ve got a place that’s bristling with icons to such an extent that nothing stands out anymore. Now, a building stands out if it’s not an icon.

It’s a bit of a pity. Architects and clients don’t seem to want to learn from the lessons of the region. The traditional architecture of the region had limited openings on external walls; any glass is inset to keep the sun off of it; the walls are generally thick and wellinsulated; courtyard solutions are used extensively.

I’m interested in what makes people react positively to the environment, as well as ecological What’s your take on the recent focus on ‘green’ architecture?

FS: I started practicing in 1977, which was shortly after the oil crisis in 1975. In South Africa, energy was very expensive so from the outset I was always forced to limit the amount of glass in the external wall. Early on, we applied early principles of orientation and protecting the glass from direct sunlight.

Sustainability seems to be the flavour of the month in the region. But for me, sustainability is like having good morals. I’ve practiced it for 30 years. It’s not a new thing; it is orientation, aspect, light, ventilation and other basic principles.

There are two parts to sustainability: There’s sustainability in a biological or scientific sense, but also in a psychological sense too. I think sometimes we push one at the expense of the other.

What I mean is, as an architect, I’m interested in what makes people react positively to the environment as well as ecological sustainability. I think the psychological aspect is often neglected.

One of my professors at Penn once said: ‘there are certain things that cost nothing per square foot: light, air, proportion. They’re free.

Use them’.

What are some examples of your favourite projects?

FS: One of my favourites was the South African Reserve Bank in Johannesburg. That was almost the pinnacle of my work in South Africa. We were selected from a shortlist of 50 architects and we landed this very prestigious project.

Another one is Nelson Mandela Square.

There was a large shopping centre in a particularly affluent part of the city, but it had no heart. So, the local authority appointed us to come up with a heart for the district. It’s almost the size of St. Mark’s Square in Venice.

The square itself is underpinned by 2,000 car park spaces below; it contains a bridge into the shopping centre and a lot of how glass buildings are still being perpetrated all over the place.

First of all, every client wants his building to be an

retail and F&B at square level. It has the 5-star Michelangelo Hotel at one end and at the other is the Council Chamber and Library Building.

It’s become a very popular meeting place.

In Australia, I was a partner in a smaller firm and worked on several harbour-front mansions, commercial headquarters and industrial buildings. That taught me a lot of very good lessons because the work was much more commercial in nature. I came from the luxury of designing public buildings and had to learn very quickly how to design buildings that could actually make money for clients. 5

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BUYER’S GUIDE CONCRETE

STAND STRONG CW Big 5 Daily discovers the benefits of emerging concrete technologies and how significantly they are set to improve the quality of buildings in the Middle East

By Sarah Blackman

R

ecent events, such as the building collapse in Deira, Dubai, have proved that compromising on the quality of building materials, such as concrete, can lead to disastrous consequences.

Substandard systems may be acceptable for construction companies who wish to cut corners but, for contractors planning to construct buildings that will stand the test of time, new technologies designed to improve the life-span and quality of concrete have emerged.

“Customers are not only checking investment prices.

Attributes like quality, flexibility, sustainability and service reliability are more important to them,” insists Rupert Plersch, managing director of KTI Plersch, which specialises in concrete cooling.

STRENGTHENING YOUR CONCRETE English Indian Clays manufactures High Reactivity Metakaolin (HRM), which is a chemical admixture that is formed upon the thermal treatment of kaolinite (a clay mineral).

Metakaolin prevents Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR) - a concrete related problem that has a well documented history all over the world. This is caused by the reaction of highly alkaline cement paste with non-crystalline silica, which is found in many common aggregates, such as sand or crushed rock.

The product of this reaction is a gel that surrounds the aggregate in the concrete mix. This gel increases in volume with water and exerts an expansive pressure inside the material, causing loss of strength of the concrete, finally leading to its failure.

HRM is a pozzolan – a material which, when combined with calcium hydroxide, forms compounds possessing cementitious properties.

Experiments have shown that a mineral admixture like Metakaolin reacts with calcium to further lower the PH, reducing the potential for the formation of the ASR gel.

“We have seen a significant number of developers moving towards Metakaolin. It is the first choice of pozzolan in developed markets like Europe and the USA,” says English India Clays country manager for the UAE, Pramod Pillai.

The admixture, which can enhance concrete strength to more than 12,000 pounds per square inch, was first used in 1962 for large Brazilian dams. And, the product was incorporated into The Californian, a 23-story, US $200 million condominium tower that opened in September 2005 in Los Angeles, to prevent the tower from damage caused by earthquakes.

HRM is a Dubai Municipality certified product and has been use in UAE for eight years.

“The Hycrete forms a long-chain hydrocarbon, which plugs all capillary pores and mechanically attaches itself to the sides of the structure to prevent water from entering,” reports Hycrete vice president of international sales Peter Condy.

STAY COOL The high temperatures we experience in the Middle East can also cause damage to concrete before it even gets to a construction site. Therefore, concrete cooling is needed to prevent early setting.

KTI offers flake ice plants, mobile ice storages and ice delivery systems to meet this demand. Since 1992, the company has produced more than 1000 plants for concrete cooling all over the world and 90% of them were installed here in the Middle East.

“Depending on the recipe of the mixture and required concrete temperature we supply chilled water and ice directly to the batching plant,” explains Plersch.

ENVIRONMENTAL ADVANTAGES WATERPROOFING NEEDS The use of waterproofing chemicals is also vital for protecting concrete from long-term damage. It is easy to assume that buildings in the Middle East do not need protection from water absorption and corrosion due to the lack of rain. But, if we dig a while a few metres deep, especially in cities near the ocean, then we will find water, which can put foundations and ultimately a whole structure at risk of deteriorating.

Hycrete is a company that offers a liquid, which is designed to repel water and other contaminants which could attack the rebar of a structure.

So, strength and durability are key selling points when it comes to building materials. But, with the growing concerns for the environment, many contractors are looking for products, which will help reduce carbon emissions produced during construction activity.

“The developers are starting to see the real value of the green movement,” says Condy.

“In a relatively small project, for example, hundreds of tonnes of carbon emissions can be eliminated with the use of our technology. It is a task bringing the developers on board, but it is progressing.”

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

29

BUYER’S GUIDE CONCRETE

Ice plants have been built in the gulf to keep concrete

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friendly products. Today, around 5% of the company’s turnover goes into research and development and 70% of that 5% goes onto research of green products alone.

“In the last 18 months there has been a lot of talk about green products in the UAE with lots of regulations coming in about them and we’ve been quite lucky as a lot of our products are already Leed compliant,” says Mapei business development manager Laith Haboubi.

Metakaolin also has environmental advantages. Firstly, it can reduce the amount of cement used in a concrete mixture - a producer can replace up to 20% of Portland cement with Metakaolin. This replacement provides a 13% reduction in carbon emissions produced when manufacturing concrete.

In addition, when Metakaolin is used in a concrete mix, the colour of the concrete is lighter than when it is made with more traditional cementing materials, thus resulting in increased light reflectivity and, in turn, a much cooler building.

protected from high temperatures.

MARKET OUTLOOK In most cases, Hycrete removes the need for exterior waterproofing products which contribute to carbon emissions. Additionally with Hycrete, concrete is reusable after the life cycle is completed, thus eliminating the need to take the material to a waste site or land fill.

Chemical giant Mapei, whose product line includes concrete admixtures, strives to produce environmentally

The competence of technical people will be tested and managements will look carefully at their formulations and quality of ingredients.

With many construction companies tightening their belts during these troubled times, are they likely to invest in concrete technologies in the near future?

Pillai doesn’t think so. “We are yet to see any improvement in this field. Our only hope now is that projects, which are on hold, will re-start,” he says. “I am not predicting significant increase in demand in the short-term.”

“There will be a slight increase in the demand as we head into the last quarter, but nothing like it was prior to the abrupt slowdown we experienced,” adds Condy. “I don’t think the volume and the frantic pace will ever reach the level it was prior to the downturn.”

Despite this bleak outlook, the downturn has produced a batch of healthy competition within the concrete sector.

“It should be pointed out that the higher quality concrete producers in the area have maintained their high level of quality, producing excellent concrete,” says Condy. “These companies have elected not to compromise on quality and their prices have not changed much.”

“Concrete companies will emerge more competitive from this experience. The competence of technical people will be tested and managements will look carefully at their formulations and quality of ingredients,” adds Pillai.

So, the focus is not just on the cost of building materials but on the life-span of these products. And, if this continues, the construction industry can expect its buildings to remain on solid ground. 5

CONCRETE CONTACTS Mapei Mapei was formed in 1937 in Milan and now operates over 53 plants world wide in 26 countries. The business is divided into nine product lines ranging from the ceramic line, which includes adhesives, natural stone and marble. It also has a building line, which includes water-proofing, mortars, concrete admixtures, cement grinding aids and sealants. www.ibs-mapei.ae KTI Plersch KTI Plersch is a German refrigeration contractor, which was founded in 1923. It is specialises in concrete cooling equipment and has installed more than 1500 plants since 1986. KTI offers water chillers, flake ice plants, mobile, ice storages and ice delivery systems from transporting concrete to the desired place. The company cools down fresh water

30

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

from 45°C to less than 1°C, by using its ice bank system. The water is then turned to flake ice, which is suitable for storing or delivering to the mixer. www.kti-plersch.com Kryton Kryton specialises in waterproofing for concrete structures. It manufactures a technology called Krystol, which blends in with the concrete rather than coating it and then a chemical reaction takes place. Krystol reacts with un-hydrated cement particles in the concrete to from millions of needlelike crystals. These crystals grow to fill the naturally occurring pores and voids in the concrete, which permanently blocks pathways for water. Kryton was the first company to produce a crystalline admixture complete with dissolvable bags. www.kryton.com

KEY BUYERS PROGRAMME A new feature of this year’s edition of the Big 5 show is the Key Buyers’ Programme, designed to add extra support for the industry’s 300 biggest buyers – the people managing projects valued at over US $500 million each that are based in the Middle East, North Africa, Iran and India.

These heavy-hitting deal-makers get fast track access into the show and are hosted in a private lounge, with executive suites available to conduct meetings in private.

The Key Buyers are also given more complete and detailed information on all exhibitors prior to the show, making it easier for them to pinpoint, find and discuss business with the exhibitors that are of interest to them throughout the Big 5.

“Our exhibitors want to see the key buyers and we’re excited to see what the results will be this year,” said DMG World Media vice president construction, Simon Mellor.

Buyers enjoy the business class experience offered by The Big 5’s inaugural Key Buyers Programme in the dedicated lounge area.

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ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS

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Make a stand, be green Seminars at The Big 5 ‘Green Stand’ are reinforcing the importance of sustainability in construction seminar contextualising the UAE’s place in the global effort to go green.

Finlan pointed in particular to the energy needs of the region. “There is a vast gap between the available power generation, and the projected demand,” he warned. “I’ve seen a change over the year, with developers being unable to do projects because of the energy requirements.”

As a result, he pointed out that any developer that wanted to turn a profit in the region had to look at creating low energy buildings.

New building codes come into force in Abu Dhabi in 2010 which will explicitly in-build sustainability. Finlan warned that developers would need to be able to prove they can meet the criteria, and that computer modeling would help do this.

“You need to consider the relationship between buildings, you must look at the masterplan,” he urged. “After that, you should then look at what can be done with passive design in individual buildings. Modeling can be used to take away the ‘opinion’, you can actually see the effect on cooling loads from the design.”

EMS environmental and sustainability manager Sam Keehn volunteered to provide a definition to the term ‘sustainability’, something which has not always been forthcoming from the industry. “Sustainability is about meeting the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations (of all species) to meet their needs too,” he suggested.

Keehn explored the cost benefits of sustainable (or high performance) buildings, pointing out that in the US, some firms had

lower insurance premiums because the plumbing and electrical systems would be of a very high standard.

Crucially, Keehn produced statistics demonstrating the financial returns from developing green buildings. On average, green buildings have 8% higher occupancy and have 13.5% higher market value per square foot – from an average cost premium of 1-7% Keehn also pointed out that the concept of environmentalism was still very new in the region and that there was a lack of non-biased scientific data that could be confidently applied to the region. “Frankly, sometimes we have guess,” he admitted.

13.5%

higher market value per square foot for green buildings

Education is a key to spreading the word about sustainability.

‘

Going green’ is a term on everyone’s lips, and this year The Big 5 has been reinforcing just how important it is to construct in a sustainable way. This year, the exhibition’s dedicated Green Stand has been hosting seminars aimed at raising awareness of green building and more importantly, how to do it.

KEO’s Loic Finlan, who is a building physicist in the consultancy’s strategy, planning and urban development department, opened the proceedings with a

1-7%

premium for green buildings

BIG 5 GREEN STAND SCHEDULE Thursday, November 26th, 2009 11.00

Grant Donald (Silk Tree International) “Green Building” Tarek Zakaria (ABB)

12.00

“Sustainable MEP Solutions” Bill Jolly (KEO) Closing (Karan Yadav, EcoVentures)

Q&A Loic Finlan, building physicist, strategy, planning and urban development, KEO, talks with us about green design and planning How seriously do developers take the need for green planning?

A proportion takes it very seriously, although I’m not sure that all developers do. It used to be that most developers were more interested in building quickly and looking for a simple design process. There’s been a change in the last one and a half years though as developers are finding they need to change in order to comply with new regulations.

Are you seeing an increase in clients looking for a comprehensive masterplan to boost sustainability?

Traditionally, it would be difficult to sell the idea. Now it’s not really optional anymore. We’re trying to manage the level of risk to a project by getting approval for projects for clients.

We’re also working on projects for Abu Dhabi Municipality, such as the Mohammed Bin Zayed City. With the new codes

coming in, we’re doing all the checking and can ensure a smooth development process.

Do developers find the premium associated with ‘green’ design discouraging?

Now, they can have their cake and eat it. High-performance buildings do indeed have a cost premium. However many developers here are master developers working at the masterplan level. There, you can reduce your infrastructure and utility costs, so you might find that overall premium for a sustainable, masterplanned development really isn’t that great.

How effective do you think the new building codes in Abu Dhabi will be?

I hope that the new regulations will have an impact in the medium term. I think implementing the new building codes, which are very thorough, may be tricky for many at first. 5 BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

33

IN DEPTH GAIA AWARDS

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THE FINAL FRONTIER In today’s final report on the Gaia Awards 2009, we take look at the finalists who caught the attention of the judges.

By James Boley

W

ith the sheer number of products submitted to the judges this year, you can’t help but feel sympathetic to the team, who had to whittle done dozens of great entries to a final shortlist.

Nevertheless, after long consultation, the judges were able to pick out the cream of the crop exhibiting here at The Big 5.

The Finalists for this year’s Gaia Awards represent some of the most innovative and sustainable products on the market today.

Fifteen products made the final cut, including several from the Gulf, showing the region is on track to becoming a sustainable hub of manufacturing and making a real difference to the steady progress of green building advances. 5

THE FINALISTS We catch up with Gaia award finalists, to learn what innovative products have made them into one of the Gulf’s crop of green businesses Greywater Gardener 230 from Green Precast Systems & Technologies

Portable Evaporative Cooling units from Constromech

Stand Number: 10 A97 Green Precast is distributing the Greywater Gardener developed by Australian firm Waterwise Systems. The system takes greywater from a residence and uses it to irrigate the garden.

Stand Number: 1 E20 / 4 C161 Manufactured by Port-A-Cool, the system is made from recycled plastic and cools air without releasing harmful chemicals.

Eco-Efficient House from IDM Stand Number: 2 B75 Spanish firms Modulab and Ingeniería y diseño de Edificaciones Modulares (IDM) have developed a modular construction house made entirely from wood. In the right conditions, the house can reduce energy consumption by 50%.

Kristil Home control system from Al Fajer Establishment Stand Number: Concourse 669 / 8 A369 / 2 G74 This New Zealand-developed home automation system can be used to reduce energy consumption for systems such as air-conditioning and lighting – by up to 75%.

Atco Flex Ducts from Atco ME Stand Number: 2 G71 This locally manufactured product is Greenguard certified to improve indoor air quality.

34

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

Bauwerk Parkett FSC Certified flooring from Walls and Floors Middle East Stand Number: 7 C302 German parquet flooring sourced from sustainable forests now has a Middle Eastern distributor.

Low-emissivity glass from Avic Special Glass Technology Co., Ltd Stand Number: 10 H124 Chinese firm Avic’s Low-E glass reflects sunlight, reducing interior cooling loads.

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IN DEPTH GAIA AWARDS

Insulated Concrete Precast Walls by Jehan Gulf Stand Number: 9 C51 UAE-based Jehan’s insulated concrete precast walls are manufactured by applying concrete to either side of the 3D panel in the pre-cast yard. The end result is better thermal and acoustic insulation over standard pre-cast walls, thanks to the unique EPS core.

HOOK from Nuova Osmo Stand Number: 5 B221 This tap can be switched on and off simply by touching it.

It can also be programmed to switch off at a preset time of use anywhere between 5 and 60 seconds.

PowerGlaz from Gulf International Trading Group Stand Number: 11 A147 Manufactured by Romag Holdings, PowerGlaz is a range of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), allowing solar power modules to be mounted to a building. Distributor GITG also picked up a bronze award for its HyPM Fuel Cell.

Misting system/fog system from Brumstyl Stand Number: 4 E156 Instant cooling can be achieved with French firm Brumstyl’s misting system, which can recycle water, doubling the number of nozzles in one pump.

Plastic Separation System for PVC window recycling from Hamos

Nortec from Lindner

Stand Number: Zabeel G110 German recyclers Hamos have developed a system that can separate the seals and rubber from a PVC window offcut and convert the remainder into 99.995 % pure PVC, which can be used to manfacture more windows.

Stand Number: Zabeel M121 Nortec raised-floor panels are made from gypsum fibre can be used to integrate cooling systems invisibly. By using water, less supply pipework is required than for air conditioning systems or conventional ventilation systems.

Dedicated Outdoor Air Systems (DOAS) from Desiccant Rotors International Stand Number: 1 A30 The DRI Ultima DOAS can dehumidify a room – without using any energy at all. Using the system can earn a project points for LEED.

E1 LEDs from Etap Stand Number: 2 G52 Belgian firm Etap’s energy efficient LEDs can be used to light interiors with very low energy usage, while lasting far longer than a conventional light source.

Welcome to Swiss Building & Construction Solutions!

Hall 7 – Booth No. 7A301 – 7C302 of switzerland

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

35

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CARES Sustainable Reinforcing Steel Scheme Requirements for sustainable products are increasingly being adopted by construction industry clients who now have a duty to know what has been done in their name. To achieve CARES sustainability certification, a reinforcing steel manufacturer’s or processor’s product as well as his quality and environmental management system must be assessed and approved by CARES. This includes assessment to the relevant product standard and to environmental issues such as global warming emissions and raw material use.

Product traceability to production source and manufacturing process Reinforcing steel products produced by CARES approved firms are fully traceable throughout the entire supply chain, from hot metal to delivery of steel to the construction site. CARES requires an unbroken chain between the steel producer and the construction site, thus enabling the local end-user to know the production source and manufacturing processes used.

All reinforcing steels produced by CARES approved firms are uniquely identified.

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The responsibility for compliance with legal requirements and standards rests absolutely with the approved firm. CARES assessments and on-going audits provide assurance that these requirements continue to be met.

Details of approvals are maintained in an updated form and appear on a list of approved firms kept on the CARES website (www.ukcares.com).

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For further information about CARES and an up-to-date list of manufacturers and suppliers holding CARES certification please consult the CARES website: www.ukcares.com Alternatively, contact the office:UK Certification Authority for Reinforcing Steels, Pembroke House, 21 Pembroke Road, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 1XR

Telephone - 01732 450000 Fax - 01732 455917 E-mail - general@ukcares.com

NZ & AUSTRALIA REGIONAL VIEW

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WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM

Australasia Kiwis keen to show they’re green Some of the best of New Zealand’s construction industry are leading the charge towards sustainability Hall 8, New Zealand Pav Hailing from a land renowned for sprawling expanses of untouched natural beauty, it is hardly surprising that the Kiwi contingent exhibiting at this year’s Big 5 is focusing on green and sustainable building solutions.

Backed by the New Zealand government’s economic development agency, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), and Tradex Exhibitions Ltd, companies exhibiting include Framecad Solutions, Pultron Composites, Global Timber Homes, AHI Roofing, Structureflex, Scottsdale, Howick Limited, Kristil, All Proof Industries, Ultra Corporation Limited and Chant Productions.

“This year’s Big 5 couldn’t have come at a better time, now that we have a conclusion to the Free Trade talks between New Zealand and GCC – the doors are open for more opportunities for Kiwi companies in this region – we are confident this recent development will be good for business at the show,” says NZTE’s Dubai-based trade commissioner Wayne Mikkelsen.

The GCC is New Zealand’s seventh largest trading partner and participants are hoping that the show will help to forge stronger

New Zealand Ambassador to the UAE, Trevor Matheson.

38 38

BIIG B BIG IG 5 SHOW SHO SH S HO H OW D DAILY AIIL AIL A LY NOVEMBER NO OVE OV VE V EM MBE MB B BE ER 26, 26 6,, 20 200 2009 009 009

20-40% PERCENT CHEAPER PULTRON COMPOSITE REBAR IS VERSUS STAINLESS STEEL

“New Zealand is one of the few countries...with the ability to increase its wood wo production.” relations with wi companies based in the UAE throughout the wider Gulf region. and through “For New Zealand building and construction companies, the Big 5 is the constructio to showcase their perfect opportunity opp sustainable products to the Gulf unique, sust adds Mikkelsen. region,” add “This is the th sixth year that we are participating at Big 5 and every year we participatin have grown our networks and the awareness products,” explained Rob Moule of our produ FrameCad Solutions, a company that from Frame advanced steel frame design and delivers ad building solutions. s “Our in integrated manufacturing system allows us to produce cold formed steel frames for fo buildings with consistent accuracy determined by the system, not the skill level of factory workers or on-site assemblers. We’ve been looking

through reduced delivery times.”

One area in which New Zealand boasts particular expertise is in the use of wood as a construction material. Highlighting that know-how is Global Timber Homes, the company in charge of building the US $4 Kiwi companies hope to capitalise on free million Rubies restaurant at Al Raha Beach Resort in Abu Dhabi.

And Global Timber Homes general forward to Dubai’s Big 5 this year and we are manager David Moon believes that this sure it’ll be another success.” project marks just the beginning for the Pultron Composites is currently setting use of timber across the Middle East. up the MENA region’s first state-of-the“High quality New Zealand timber is an art Fibreglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) environment friendly option and it is known composite rebar manufacturing facility. for strength and durability.

Pultron FRP rebar, branded MateenBar, “Combined with excellent processes is a strong and durable composite and smart technology, timber can create reinforcement providing a solution for concrete reinforcement where corrosion can sustainable high quality buildings. New Zealand is one of the few countries in the dramatically limit the lifespan of steel. ability to increase and “In the GCC CC region where corrosion world with the ab is a serious problem, composite sustain its total to wood production,” is an environmentally nmentally friendly concludes Moon. whole, New Zealand and necessary ary solution. Pultron “As a wh composite rebar ebar is 20–40% cheaper has a strong stron commitment to sustainability, reflected in green than stainless ss steel, does not rust sustainabili solutions such as wood from and has non-conductive n-conductive and nonbuilding solu sources, composites, steel magnetic properties, operties,” says renewable sou technology for reducing Pultron’s Middle ddle East framing and te GM Salwan Al-Assafi . energy cconsumption, all of which “When our ur will be b on show,” concludes NZTE’s Mikkelsen. newly built factory NZTE “New in Jebel Ali Free “N Zealand companies have a strong focus on Zone becomes mes hav versatility, innovation operational early ve and next year, wee will an cost efficiency, which are appealing to focus on rebar bar Wayne Mikkelsen, Consul General w this production and & NZTE Trade Commisioner. th region as it seeks competitive advantage and will be better er able co to serve the region differentiation.” 5

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NZ & AUSTRALIA REGIONAL VIEW

World first in water sterilisation GAIA Gold Award winner is safer, smarter, cleaner & greener, says executive director Gosse Product report: AIS Australian Innovative Systems (AIS) is presenting the world’s first electrolysis system to treat fresh water at this week’s Big Five, a product which won the exhibition’s Gold Gaia Award for innovation in reducing impacts on the environment.

The company is the first in the world to develop a way to convert the trace salts and minerals naturally occurring in fresh water into chlorine instantaneously through electrolysis.

AIS executive director Elena Gosse said the system eliminates the need to add any chemicals, removing the risks involved with chemical handling including transport, storage and dosing.

“It is a safer, smarter, cleaner and greener way to sterilise fresh water,” she said.

“It can be used for any application including drinking water, food processing plants, cooling towers, reverse osmosis, desalination, irrigation water, recycled water, sewerage treatment, swimming pools; anything that needs water to be sterilised.

“The best part is that we have designed this system to be modular, which means it’s scalable and can be retro fitted to existing systems, so it can integrate simply and easily with any existing system,” added Gosse.

Without delving too heavily into the technical aspects, here’s how it works: The fresh water passes through positively and negatively charged electrode plates.

Through electrolysis the naturally occurring chloride molecules are split and create chlorine to treat the water.

The anode material is coated with a highly active catalyst. It is this unique coating which enables the system to convert the small amounts of salts and minerals in fresh water at such a low voltage; making the process energy and cost efficient.

The Ecoline can also be used on closed systems, as it manages chloramine build up.

As chloramines pass through the Ecoline system they are oxidised and converted back into natural salts. It effectively recycles the chloramines back to its natural state, restoring the natural balance of the water.

AIS’s electrolysis system can be used for any application that requires fresh sterile water.

Green concrete membranes Light without power Product Report: Radcrete Australia’s Radcrete Pacific claims that their Radcon Formula #7 waterproofing product has created a significant milestone in green waterproofing solutions.

The company said its product was recently recognised by Ecospecifier as a “green product” and can add ratings points for LEED, BREEAM and PEARLS. Radcon #7 is sprayed onto finished concrete, soaks into the structure and forms a membrane inside the concrete itself. It becomes part of the concrete and continues to waterproof for the lifetime of the building.

Radcon Formula #7 can add ratings points .

Radcrete’s Executive Director Michael Rorke said most traditional membranes have a lifespan of five to 15 years, after which time they have to be removed.

“For a building with a 100 year lifespan, this could happen 10 to 15 times, thereby creating massive amounts of waste and using precious landfill space, whereas Radcon will not create any landfill whatsoever,” he said.

“The product also has no shelf life and therefore no wastage and the subsequent issues of disposal. It also protect structures such as bridges and water tanks from corrosion which also results in a reduction in the amount of waste created by the demolition of the building.”

Rorke added that Radcon #7 is non-toxic and emits no VOC gases. Any surface residual will biodegrade and as a non-hazardous product it is easily transportable.

He said the product is also efficient in terms of saving energy during application.

“Radcon is about 100 times faster to apply than traditional membranes. We can easily do 7,000m2 in a single day whereas traditional membranes would do about 100m2.

“Even for reasonably large jobs we use a backpack sprayer that requires no form of energy. All round that provides lots of benefits,” explained Rorke.

The company is exhibiting at Big 5 for the second time in conjunction with their UAE based distributor, Wadi Rum Décor.

Product report: LWP International Australia’s LWP International is showcasing its high performance photoluminescent (HPPL) materials, or “glow in the dark” products, under its Lumenite trademark.

HPPL materials consists of a base chemical or rare earth metal that absorbs ambient light when available, and then emits light upon the light source being removed.

With new technology and a different base chemical LWP International says it has developed high performance photoluminescence which is around 20 times brighter and, because of its slow

release characteristics, can remain visible for up to 50 hours. There are a wide variety of potential uses for HPPL materials including non-electric ‘visual guidance’ systems as an inexpensive, environmentally friendly, failsafe alternative to powered emergency evacuation systems or signage.

The product is also ideal for safety vests, safety stickers and a wide variety of other uses, said a company statement.

The company encourages anyone with an interest in the safe evacuation or movement of people in the event of loss of normal lighting, to visit the Australian pavilion.

LWP’s high performance photoluminescence is around 20 times brighter than its competitors.

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

39

NZ & AUSTRALIA REGIONAL VIEW

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Framecad: steel frames in a flash Originally created for large-scale developments, Framecad has found a huge value in disaster relief Product report: Framecad The world’s fastest steel fabrication machine was unveiled at this week Big Five by Framecad, a New Zealand company specialling in cold formed steel frame building solutions.

The machine, which is called the ‘Framecad F300i’, is capable of manufacturing framing at rates up to 700m per hour.

Framecad CEO Mark Taylor said the machine can achieve capital payback in as little as three months, based on producing framing for one average house per day. He believes it will “revolutionise steel frame manufacturing globally”.

“Based on the trials we’ve conducted, builders who use this technology will achieve huge gains in production efficiency and quality and there are very significant cost savings compared with traditional framing manufacture,” he said.

Mr Taylor added that the Framecad F300i will encourage more builders and building companies to switch from masonry construction to steel framing.

“The combination of speed, efficiency, and flexibility of the building system, coupled with the reduction and waste and often increased sustainability make light gauge building solution a very attractive building solution.”

He said the Framecad F300i also forms

CEO Mark Taylor: The Framecad 300i can achieve capital payback in as little as three months.

the centre of a fully self-contained Mobile Factory Solution, which enables quick start on site production of steel framing in remote locations or hard-to-reach sites.

Housed in a modified 6.1m shipping container, Taylor said the Mobile Factory can be airlifted into virtually any location and made operational within 24 hours.

With its own diesel generator and

“Builders who use this technology will achieve huge gains.”

computer-operated steel frame fabricating machine, the factory can manufacture precision engineered framing at a rapid rate.

Framecad Middle East regional manager Rob Moule said speed of deployment is not the only benefit, particularly in remote areas and less developed countries.

“There is a seriously unfilled need for the manufacturing of pre-engineered structures that can be produced, assembled and maintained by the local labour force - even where skill levels are low and there is no reliable infrastructure,” said Moule.

“The production process is computer controlled and every piece of framing produced is numbered and coded so it can be easily assembled on site.”

Moule said the Mobile Factory was originally designed for commercial building companies wanting to build multiple homes in large-scale developments.

“However recent events such as the tsunami in Samoa and Tonga and the earthquake in Indonesia have highlighted the potential for the Mobile Factory to assist in disaster relief,” he said.

“A major need in these crises is for housing.

Mobile Factory fast tracks the establishment of housing via rapid deployment; rapid startup; and low skill level support requirements.”

It’s a polymer gate mate Renewable Conergy Product Report: D&D Technologies Australian gate hardware designer and manufacturer D&D Technologies is promoting its range of polymer gate hinges at this week’s Big Five, which they say have significant benefits over steel based products.

Justin Francis of D&D Technologies said the concept of polymer hinges may seem strange to new markets but is already widely accepted in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, France and the UK. “Generally, once a contractor tries our gate hardware and sees the advantages

“The benefits of polymer...no rust, binding, sagging, staining, bending, chipping...are obvious to the savvy contractor.”

40

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

first-hand, they don’t go back to their conventional products,” he said.

“The benefits of polymer – no rust, no binding, no sagging, no staining, no bending, no chipping, no welding – are instantly obvious to the savvy contractor.”

“When contractors also discover that our gate hardware is extremely easy to install, and will save time and money on call-backs, it’s really a straightforward decision,” added Francis.

D&D Technologies also produces a range of convenient gate accessories, magnetic gate latches and gate locks, stainless steel architectural-style locks and stainless steel latches and accessories aimed largely at modern glass gates and fencing.

A refreshingly risk-free investment, all D&D products are backed by the company’s lifetime warranty.

“Even for reasonably large jobs we use a backpack sprayer that requires no form of energy. All round that provides lots of benefits,” explained Francis.

The company is exhibiting at Big 5 for the second time in conjunction with their UAE based distributor, Wadi Rum Décor.

Company Profile: Conergy Based in Australia, Conergy is an international manufacturer and systems integrator in the photovoltaic, solar hot water and small wind energy market.

Overseas, the company is focussed on promoting its solar hot water systems and has already realised solar systems with a total power output of more than 800MW across four continents.

In the components sector Conergy also produces crystalline solar modules, inverters and mounting systems, as well as high efficiency flat plate collectors, tanks and complete solar hot water systems.

“With efficient products, reliable suppliers and consistent investments in its international sales networks, Conergy also has optimum customer access in all the world’s major renewable energy markets,” said a company statement.

“The solar company thus occupies a key position in the solar value creation chain.”

The Conergy Group as a whole is one of the world’s largest conglomerates solely dedicated to developing renewable energy technologies. In Australia, it is one of the country’s most dominant business-tobusiness distributors of solar and wind energy solutions.

800MW TOTAL OUTPUT OF CONERGY’S SOLAR WATER SYSTEMS ACROSS FOUR CONTINENTS

Conergy is a leader in renewable technologies.

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NZ & AUSTRALIA REGIONAL VIEW

Autex sounding out local market Acoustic wall coverings quietly take UAE schools and cinemas by storm, possibly homes too Product report: Quietspace New Zealand’s acoustic wall covering manufacturer, Autex, has been gaining momentum in its first year in the UAE, snapping up four school contracts for Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority, and a key contract in Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island for Ferrari.

“We are very big in the education and cinema fields in New Zealand and Australia, and we have had some real success for our first year with an office in the UAE,” explained Ernest Pereira, business development manager for the Middle East, Autex.

The company is at Big 5 displaying its Quietspace acoustic wall linings – designed to help children hear better in the classroom, but which has found its

“Our coverings are tested and guaranteed to do the job, others just put the acoustic tag on.”

way into the residential market as people increasingly realise the value of a quiet living environment for their families as well.

“The fabric is made from polyester using recycled fibres which is something very new to this region,” said Pereira.

Autex is looking to maximise its time at Big 5 by meeting with the architects and interior designers it hopes will specify its materials in the construction proposals.

“There are cheaper, but equally much poorer, products out there in the market claiming to be acoustic insulation, which is our biggest challenge. Our coverings are independently tested and guaranteed to do the job, others just put the acoustic tag onto inferior wall coverings, which makes competing on price very difficult,” added Pereira.

The logistics of manufacturing in New Zealand and exporting to the Gulf has encouraged Autex to look into building a plant in the region. “If we bring the knowhow and technology to the Middle East and manufacture locally we will be able to deliver substantial cost savings to customers in the region, so much so that it will put our cutting edge product on a par with the cheaper, inferior products selling for six dirhams a square foot,” explained Pereira.

“We would probably initially look outside

Autex is looking inside the UAE and possibly Saudi Arabia for its Middle East production hub.

of Dubai but within the Emirates, or perhaps Saudi Arabia for our production hub, as that’s a massive potential market for us too,” explained Pereira.

In 2010, Autex’s Middle East headquarters, in Dubai’s Airport Free Zone, is looking to expand its business by 50% - 75% and Pereira says that contacts and relationships made at Big 5 will only serve to help that goal.

50-75% PERCENTAGE BY WHICH AUTEX HOPES TO EXPAND BUSINESS IN 2010

Evvco’s environmental conduit reduces CO2 footprint Product report: Evvco Australian company Evvco is introducing a new range of environmentally friendly conduit to the Middle East, which the company claims has the potential to reduce the carbon footprint of the region’s buildings.

The PVC-Free Environmental and Safety Conduit conforms with BS/EN Standards and can help to achieve environmental ratings, including both LEED and Estidma compliance.

The range, manufactured from recycled polymer, is used in diameters up to 150mm to carry electrical and data cabling in surface and in-ground applications.

Evvco claims the product offers low carbon footprints and minimal green house gas emissions whilst retaining the polymer’s inherent characteristics of being lightweight and high impact resistent.

The product was a finalist in Australia’s 2008 Building Product News environmental awards and has already been used in one of the country’s largest building projects, the 87,000m2 ANZ bank headquarters, located in Melbourne. The main contractor for the project is Bovis Lend Lease and the Evvco range was installed by Maxim Electrical.

“Bovis lend Lease are building to the highest environmental standards to achieve a five star environmental rating and they specified no PVC and no halogen content,” said Maxim’s project manager Warren Coombes.

“It is all HFT product, including the conduit that is buried in concrete and which will never see the light of day once it is poured.”

The product weighs about one-eighth of the equivalent product made of steel. It is also very easy to transport, lift, bend and install.

“Ease of use can be a big factor in an installation involving more than 25,000 lengths of conduit, or more than 100,000 metres, with inside diameters of 25, 32 and 40 mm,” he said.

Albatech is exhibiting the range at this week’s Big Five in the Australian pavilion.

87,000 SQUARE METRES OF BUILT SPACE IN ANZ’s HQ IN MELBOURNE

Evvco’s new range conduit offers a low CO2 footprint and minimal greenhouse gas emissions.

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

41

CARES and Post Tensioning

?

CARES Approved Installation

or High Risk

• Approval of post-tensioning contractor, method statements, post-tensioning kit, materials.

• Non CARES approved post-tensioning contractor may result in incorrect installation of post-tensioning system.

• Trained installers.

• Non-CARES post-tension kits or materials may not meet standard requirements.

• Verified compliance of post-tensioning kit and components with standards and codes.

• Traceability of post-tensioning kit components: anchorages, strand/bar, duct and grout.

• Maintenance of testing and installation records.

• Failure of post tensioned system or compromised structural performance and reduced durability due to incorrect or incompatible components or unsatisfactory grouting.

• No traceability with difficulties to proper recourse on non conformity or failure.

Why take the RISK? For further information about CARES and an up-to-date list of manufacturers and suppliers holding CARES certification please consult the CARES website: www.ukcares.com Alternatively, contact the office:UK Certification Authority for Reinforcing Steels, Pembroke House, 21 Pembroke Road, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 1XR

Telephone - 01732 450000 Fax - 01732 455917 E-mail - general@ukcares.com

Confidence in Post - Tensioning Construction CARES is a UK based, internationally recognised certification body fully, accredited and operating independently for the benefit of all key sectors of the supply chain for construction materials and products. The key products covered by CARES are reinforcing steels, prestressing steels and associated products, for their manufacture, processing and stocking and distribution including installation against defined product standards and design codes. The CARES certification schemes ensure that products supplied to the construction industry consistently satisfy the customer’s requirements.

Importance of correct materials and products.

Importance of using an approved installer.

Traceability of people and products.

The installation of post-tensioning systems is a highly specialised operation requiring a CARES approved post-tensioning contractor. CARES approved post-tensioning contractors are regularly audited at head office and on site to ensure installation procedures are adequate, trained post-tensioning personnel are used and that a qualified post-tensioning kit is being installed.

The CARES scheme requires traceability of post-tensioning kit components to a location within the structure and the use of personnel whose training has been verified by CARES.

Post-tensioning system components carry large forces (over 20tonnes per strand) and any weakness due to substandard or incorrect components can be catastrophic.

Risks due to poor grout and incorrect grouting.

The grout or filling material protects the tendon from corrosion and provides a bond with the surrounding concrete. Failure to fully grout tendons with the correct materials can significantly reduce their corrosion resistance and compromise the durability of the structure.

Monitoring of Scheme performance.

a) Incorrectly installed post-tensioning system; under stressed, over stressed or inaccurate profiles or alignment.

The CARES certification schemes require that records of complaints relating to compliance of the product made against approved firms are properly addressed and that details of these complaints are returned to CARES at regular intervals. Further action may be taken

by CARES against the approved firm if required. CARES acts as a point of reference when the performance of one of its approved firms casts doubts on the effectiveness of the relevant certification scheme.

b) Failure of post-tensioning kit components.

CARES list of approved firms.

Failure to use a CARES approved post-tensioning contractor could result dangers to site personnel or compromised structural performance because of:

c) Use of an unqualified post tensioning kit of unknown performance or incompatible components. d) Incorrectly grouted or ungrouted tendons.

Compliance with product standards and codes.

All products covered by CARES schemes are tested against relevant product standards or specifications. Strand complies with BS5896 (or prEN10138), high tensile bar complies with BS4486 (or prEN10138), post-tensioning anchors comply with BSEN13391 and post-tensioning kits comply with ETAG013.

CARES regularly updates a list of approved firms which is maintained on the CARES website (www.ukcares.com ). Each firm’s entry gives the scope of the CARES certification as well as other key details of the firm. Occasionally firms make spurious claims regarding CARES approval. This may relate to approval of the firm itself or of the products and services for which they might hold approval. If there are any doubts concerning the approval status of a firm, then the CARES list of approved firms should be consulted or alternatively the CARES office should be contacted for verification.

Why take the RISK?

For further information about CARES and an up-to-date list of manufacturers and suppliers holding CARES certification please consult the CARES website: www.ukcares.com Alternatively, contact the office:UK Certification Authority for Reinforcing Steels, Pembroke House, 21 Pembroke Road, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 1XR

Telephone - 01732 450000 Fax - 01732 455917 E-mail - general@ukcares.com

UPDATE PRODUCT SEMINARS

Ventilating the hotel market Carl Tobisson, business development director, Swegon discusses the ventilation systems in hotels extent until the last two years the hotels have focused on the facades and the appealing look on the outside and money was saved on things inside that people cannot see. But now in the UAE and the region people are looking at reducing the amount of energy consumed by their buildings. 40% of energy is consumed by buildings. People acknowledge that the wellbeing of people is of the highest importance.

What challenges are you facing in the market?

Carl Tobisson, business development director, Swegon.

Find them at: Stand 1 F26

What health benefits are to be gained from using Swegon products in hotels?

The first thing that comes to my mind would be the silent cooling. When most people stay in hotels room they can hear the fan coil operating. And also there is the draught element that can keep people awake. Those two are key areas to be addressed.

The other one would be the risk of bacterial growth. Our system operates above the dew point, whereas other systems operate below the dew point, this means you need to have a tray under the fan coil and you need to lead the water away. Because it is a wet system and there is dust you have in the room, you need to carefully clean this unit.

Bacterial growth is one area where there is a definite higher risk.

What our system does is first of all with the Gold handling unit, it has filters and it obviously filters the air and it will dehumidify the air, so the system would supply primary air which is filtered. This is not a problem if you require a normal supply of air. You need to have the right amount of air exchanged.

But you have emissions from carpets, and emissions from walls and this is dealt with by the extract air and ventilating. We would never recommend switching a system off completely and not having exchange of air in the room.

How high up is indoor air quality on hotel’s agendas?

Good question. I think that to a certain 44

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

First of all the economy needs to start picking up again.

The biggest hurdle would be that lots and lots of consultants and property owners in this region like to use the systems that they have in the past. So in order to get your products into these new buildings, you have to be patient. You need to be able to show people the system and take people to the buildings which already have the systems installed and above all be persistent.

Can you retrofit your products?

We haven’t looked very much at that but obviously it is an opportunity as well. The Paragon product is very new. It comes into our ambitions to look at not just new developments but existing hotels. We are very much trying to meet the needs of the builders. 5

SWEGON Category: HVAC Claim to fame: Swegon manufactures and sells products and solutions for ventilation and indoor climate systems. It is based in Sweden, with an important global export presence, including the UAE. What to watch out for: Swegon will be releasing the new Paragon silent cooling unit. It operates without a fan, meaning no draught, less maintenance and added energy savings. Paragon is a dry system, meaning no condensation and drainage system. A range of room control systems is available.

Web site: www.swegon.com

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Technical talk

Meet the experts face to face at The Big 5 Product Seminars, running throughout the show Need detailed product information before making a decision? Need to know exactly how something will work for you? The Big 5 Product Seminars give you an opportunity to get face-to-face with manufacturers and suppliers of a range of construction products and services.

Speakers will be presenting concise and detailed information about what they can offer, so check out the timetable and find time in your show schedule to learn something new.

LOCATION Seminar Rooms Dubai D, 1st Floor (above Sheikh Maktoum Hall), Dubai World Trade Centre

DAY 4: Thursday 26th November Product Demonstrations 11.00 Topic High Density Polyethelene Pipes and Fittings 12.00 13.00

Speaker

Mr Luigi Scaffidi, General Manager & Mr Enrico, Regional Manager

Company

Plastitalia

Topic

Protection of Natural and Artifical Stones

Speaker

Mr Altug Okay, Managing Partner

Company

Foretrade Import-Export FZC

Topic

Boilers and Steam System

Speaker

Mr Eid E Eid, Middle East Regional Manager, York Shipley Mr Loubane G Zouein, Equipment Sales Manager, York Shipley

Company

Prime Technologies LLC

Cost Saving Products & Services 14.00 Topic Mechanical Rebar Coupling System 15.00

Speaker

Ms Shari Robitaille

Company

TECNIA GmbH

Topic

Chilled Beams contribute to LEED points

Speaker

Mr Gunnar Svensson,Regional Manager

Company

Swegon

Environmental Solutions 16.00 Topic Carbon Projects in Construction 17.00

Speaker

Armen Vartanian, Director

Company

Ecoventures

Topic

Advanced Waste Water Treatment using Moving Bed Bio Film Reactor Technology

Speaker

Nabil Mohamed Najeeb, Engineer-Research and Development

Company

Global Engineering Systems F.Z.C

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GET NEW INSPIRATION FOR YOUR BUSINESS – TOGETHER WITH NOLTE KÜCHEN

UPDATE CONFERENCES

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Conference sessions discuss Dubai’s construction future Senior construction executives explain why Dubai still has a huge amount to offer international investors and debate the key issues facing the business and technical sides of the industry today

U

nder the strapline, “Building Future Cities of the Middle East”, The Big 5 Business Conference took place at the Monarch Hotel over the last two days, with a number of key speakers offering their opinions on the future of the construction sector in this part of the world.

Speaking to a select audience, the conference aimed to focus on challenges, opportunities and lessons learnt, for what has been a chastening experience for the global industry, and Dubai in particular.

A project overview of the GCC industry was provided by Emil Rademeyer, director of Proleads, who indicated that, overall, there is around half a trillion dollars worth of building projects currently under way in the region.

In a breakdown of those projects, Rademeyer revealed that 48% were being executed, with 27% in the pre-execution phase. Around 20% of these projects are on hold, and 5% have been cancelled.

In addition, the Proleads executive explained that project sustainability levels – i.e. those projects that have actually been announced versus those that have actually been completed or are in the execution phase – had unsurprisingly dipped over the course of 2008, but said that he was hopeful that the trend in previous years would continue.

“There is still a lot of liquidity in the market in the UAE,” Rademeyer said. “And it’s one of the few places in the world, like Brazil and China, where this is still the case. As a construction player, you need to be in places like this.”

The Proleads director then posed the question as to whether the Middle East vision would become a reality. “I think it will, but what are the challenges, and can we build better?” he commented. “How does escrow affect the outcome? What have we learnt from litigation, and can we really afford to go green?”

Answering some of those questions was the charismatic MAG Group chief executive officer, Mohammed Nimer, who had some forthright opinions about how the market needed to change in order to bank upon Dubai’s unique capabilities. In particular, Nimer argued that the off-plan model, which has served to drive the emirate’s real estate market to unprecedented levels, was now unsustainable.

For potential remedies, the executive outlined a six-point plan, which he argued would put the market back on its feet.

Firstly, Nimer indicated that greater transpar46

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

The Big 5 conference sessions ran over two days, discussing both business and technical issues.

ency and tougher regulations were needed to reassure and offer confidence to possible investors. In addition, liquidity also needs to be approved, especially as around 30-50% of the full purchase price of the property is still being demanded from the buyer. The MAG Group

We need to focus on solid market fundamentals as opposed to sentiment. executive also argued that the visa rules should be relaxed, although this should not amount as far as citizenship for tenants.

Furthermore, Nimer argued that the UAE needed to work harder to attract expatriates and foreign companies to its shores, and, as already mentioned, companies needed to move away from the offplan model. “Lastly, there is a real need to get back to basics,” Nimer added.

“We need to focus on solid market fundamen-

tals as opposed to sentiment – that’s the true path to recovery.”

But the MAG Group chief executive officer also told delegates that there was plenty of news, and that in his opinion, Dubai is still ‘an icon for business’. Among the reasons for optimism are the fact that the city has the best infrastructure in the UAE and remains the primary hub between East and West. Nimer indicated his belief that Dubai also has the most diverse financial sector in the region, as well as being a focus for tourism and retail.

“Furthermore, the benefits that Dubai offers in terms of free zones and 100%-ownership for foreign companies should not be discounted,” he added. “For example, the Jebel Ali Free Zone is now playing host to some 6,000 firms.”

Lastly, the tax-free nature of the UAE – from both a corporate tax and an income tax perspective – should not be overlooked, Nimer concluded.

As the former chief executive officer of Union Properties, which he ran for 23 years, and the current head of new management consultancy Canterra, Simon Azzam clearly has a strong pedigree in the Dubai construction industry.

Azzam’s belief is that real estate is still the most important sector in the UAE, and the executive stated that the problems that had hit

the market had been largely set off by outside influences. “The difficulties did not start with real estate, which was doing well,” Azzam remarked. “Due to international problems that did not originate in the UAE, global banks had problems, which put the pressure on local banks, which in turn put the screws on developers and individuals.”

But Azzam was adamant that there are great opportunities available in times of crisis. “This is by no means the end of the road, and there is much that companies can gain from this downturn,” he indicated.

The Canterra executive reminded delegates that around 10 years ago, clients were buying off-plan housing and developments despite the fact that there were no extant laws or regulations to oversee the process. “It says a lot for the confidence in the economy then

48% PERCENTAGE OF GCC PROJECTS IN THE EXECUTION PHASE

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Simon Azzam of Canterra.

Mohammed Nimer of MAG Group.

Emil Rademeyer of Proleads.

Bernard Walsh of DMG World Media.

that people were still buying anyway,” Azzam added. “Since that period, laws, regulations and infrastructure have all been fighting to keep up with the developers. And, as projects have slowed down or been put on hold over the last 12 months or so, infrastructure and regulations have started to catch up. That is definitely a positive thing.”

Among the other speakers at the event were Ziad Makhzoumi, chief financial officer of Arabtec Holding PJSC, who discussed the underlying reasons for confusion and scepticism about the recovery in the market, and Trowers & Hamlins partner Nigel Truscott, who shared his legal expertise with delegates, offering approaches and advice to enable them to best tackle the challenges that lie ahead. Michael Stephen Small, a partner at VSM Consultants, examined some of the issues related to escrow in the industry, and Faithful & Gould’s risk manager John Cowling considered methodologies for risk management that enhance the likelihood of reaching project objectives.

On the following day The Big 5 Conference segued into a technical tranche for the engineering profession. First on the agenda was a session devoted to project management.

“Historically people have tended to underestimate the pain associated with rolling out projects,” commented session chairman David Gale, a partner of EC Harris. The accelerated growth of the construction industry over the last decade had lead to many different contract types being adopted, depending on the type and size of the project.

“Many were completed on-time and handed over successfully; many not. It is important to look closely at the underlying factors determining either the success or failure of these projects,” said Dr Mamoon Atout, Horizon Star International LLC project manager. “At the outset, it is critical to have a proper understanding of a project and what it entails, because this will dictate the responsibilities of all the participants.” It could involve a lifecycle cost analysis of every phase in order to derive at a comprehensive project assessment.

“Every participant has his own way to

achieve the project targets based on best practice and his or her own expert knowledge and experience. It is the role of the project manager to ensure that all these disparate skills and outlooks are integrated and brought to bear on the successful outcome of the project as a whole,” argued Dr Atout.

The following factors contribute to project under-performance: an unsatisfactory end product that is not functioning correctly and therefore incurs additional maintenance costs upon handover, failure to meet standards or criteria, unclear objectives, unrealistic expectations, ineffective quality systems, poor change control, poor scope definition, lack of a team approach and cost over-runs. Successful projects,

Riaan Burger from Proleads said that the current challenges faced by the construction industry meant that fluctuating costs and contingencies had to be accounted for in a rational and proactive manner. In terms of risk management, this means “understanding what you do not know” – which means the future increases and decreases in construction costs.

“How do we plan and allow for such fluctuations? At the beginning of a project, you only have a vague idea of the total projected cost,” cautioned Burger.

“The issue is how to obtain reliable information on costs; the numbers in the budget cannot be thumb-suck figures, but must be quantifiable and trustworthy.” For example, a three-year project that commenced two years ago, and which entered its final year in the current economic downturn, is faced with a radically different cost scenario than when it started. “Less than 10% of cost consultants and contractors use the FIDIC cost-adjustant formula in planning,” revealed Burger. “If a key cause of project failures is lack of planning, then why not use the information at hand?” he questioned.

“There is a need to understand economic cycles, and the cost implications for contractors and developers, as these fluctuate. The cost to the contractor and the cost to the developer may be two entirely separate things, but wherever we go, we will always arrive together …” urged Burger. “If we adopt a more structured approach to contingency and escalation, the entire construction industry will stand to benefit.”

Martin Seaward-Case, chairman of the UAE board of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, commented that the construction industry was undergoing a ‘flight to quality’.

“The pleasing effect of the slowdown is that those professionals who have endured through the tough times are the more qualified and capable people, which the industry really needs at this critical juncture.”

There was also a need for project managers to assume an overall mantle of responsibility. “They must ‘walk the talk’ by being able

to put themselves in the client’s shoes and see things from their perspective.” Another beneficial consequence of the downturn was the increased emphasis being placed on health and safety, and the move towards ‘zero harm’ as a best practice, said Seaward-Case.

“About 75% of our energy and effort as professionals is spent managing the client’s expectations. It is important that they see where we are going so they can meet us there. We all have our respective capabilities which we can bring to the table.”

Seaward-Case made a final impassioned plea to the construction industry to forcibly convert those clients who were in ‘denial’ about the problem of escalation and contingency. “Our bitter experience as industry professionals is that, as late as 2005, there was a general denial that the issue of escalation even existed. This is a very real and relevant issue that cannot be brushed over.”

The project management session was followed by a more technical session on energysaving in the built environment, and how this impacted on utility provision such as district cooling services. “Approaching building design from the viewpoint of maximising energy use can have a dramatic effect on district cooling system loads and design,” argued Scott Wilson building services associate director Cathy Crocker. Mohammed Abusaa, business development regional manager at ADC energy systems, explained how “the different approaches to achieve efficient district cooling systems are as important as implementing district cooling as a concept. It is the selection and optimisation of the appropriate technology that unleashes its true potential.”

TECOM Investments executive director Ali Bin Towaih talked about master-planning sustainable developments, and the measures it has instituted to evaluate and monitor its progress in implementing energy efficiency and cost effectiveness. Platinum Vision marketing and sales director Brocas Burrows homed in on some of the latest technology behind sustainability, such as home-automation systems to control door entry, security, lighting and HVAC control. 5

At the outset, it is critical to have a proper understanding of a project. on the other hand, were characterised by being on-time, with good planning, good management of resources, and good communication.

“Project failure can be largely attributed to poor planning, not keeping the aims in mind, and neglecting the people on the professional team. Therefore it is essential to have a project manager in control who understands the interactive nature of the process, and who is able to elicit collaborative solutions from the team in order to reduce costs,” comments Dr Atout.

This means it is critical to instill a team culture focused on problem-solving, guidance, shared information and networking. “The project manager takes the mistakes of others on his shoulders. He is the last person to ensure the finalisation of the project. Therefore he should be appropriately qualified and a good communicator and leader.”

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

47

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THE SUN SHINES ON BIPV Abu Dhabi’s completion of the largest grid-connected solar power plant in the UAE at Masdar, has focused the spotlight on renewable energy. We take a look at the potential impact of photovoltaics (PV) on the MEP sector

E

nergy modelling is a critical component of building design at the concept stage.

MEP engineers are playing an increasingly vital role in determining the energy efficiency of new building projects, which is necessary to ensure their compliance with the soon-tobe-regulated ‘green’ building ethos, as well as promoting their long-term sustainability. Apart from the regulatory perspective, many think such an approach also encompasses an ethical or moral responsibility, meaning the ‘feel good’ factor of renewable energy.

PV installations throughput the world reached a record high of 5,95 GW in 2008, representing a staggering growth of 110% over the previous year, according to market research from Solarbuzz of the US. A total of 81 countries contributed to this total market, lead by Europe, Spain, Germany and Korea.

On the supply side, world solar cell production achieved a consolidated figure of 6,85 GW in 2008, up significantly from 3,44 GW a year earlier. Overall capacity utilisation rose to 67% in 2008, while thin-film production (the latest efficiency advance in PV panel technology) recorded a phenomenal 123% increase in 2008.

When it comes to solar power in the region, many think of vast solar energy ‘farms’ spread across the deserts of the UAE, taking advantage of both the region’s high insolation factor and its availability of large tracts of open space. This is quite removed from the normal electro-me-

chanical and plumbing ambit of a typical MEP contractor. But there is an aspect of PV technology dovetailing with the construction industry that offers huge scope for the MEP sector.

Facing the change Known as Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV), pundits claim this is poised to change the face of construction, energy and urban planning in the coming decade. The Department of Energy in the US, for example, has estimated that BIPV technology has the potential to generate half of the electricity needed by that superpower.

This goal seems increasingly achievable, as solar energy is expected to attain ‘grid parity’ by 2015, meaning it will be able to supply electricity as cost-effectively, or even more cheaply, than electricity produced by conventional means such as coal-fired power stations. What better way then to capitalise on the utility potential of solar energy by applying it to the building industry, which is struggling to reduce its own carbon footprint in order to save precious natural resources?

Kyocera Solar, one of the world’s largest vertically-integrated producers and suppliers of solar energy products, comments that BIPV represents the combination of proven renewable power-generating technology and the building exterior or façade, using tried-andtested construction methodology. (Kyocera solar modules are distributed in the UAE by Green Energy LLC). The main implication is

that solar panels are taken into account with the structure itself being built. This immediately offers a plethora of benefits: • Financial appeal – costs are combined for a building material and power generation; • Distributed power generation – greater independence and less reliance on centralised fossil fuel power sources; • Economies of scale – leverages a large inventory of constructed surface area for renewable power production; • Improved real estate values – capitalise on short- and long-term property investment; • Easy integration to standard construction practice – can be retrofitted to existing construction or installed new; • No independent support structures – minimise system cost; • Hassle-free operation – low to no maintenance, with no moving parts; and

“In one day, the sun provides more energy than the world’s population could consume in 27 years.”

• Improved aesthetics – avoids the look of being an afterthought or add-on.

“Interest in BIPV, where the PV panels actually become an integral part of the building, has been growing worldwide in the energy and construction industry. Solar panels can be integrated into many types of exterior materials, including roofs, walls, shadings, or windows. BIPV not only creates environmentally-friendly solar power, but enhances co-existence with nature and visual harmony,” argues Kyocera. Put simply, BIPV allows the construction industry to ‘harness the sun’.

Global leader Scheuten is a global leader in solar power systems, with a module manufacturing facility in Germany. Scheuten Middle East MD Reza Shaybani commented that incorporating PV technology into the building envelope itself is not nearly as esoteric as it sounds. Instead it represents a natural convergence of various trends. These are the large unused surfaces of a typical high-rise building (especially in a place like Dubai), combined with the unlimited power of the sun and the current ‘green’ trend.

“Let us use this potential!” is Shaybani’s simple, yet forceful, message. “Why integrate PV in façades and roofs? It reduces the dependency on grid-supplied power, especially during peak hours, while simultaneously functioning as a façade material. Thus not only does it look modern and innovative, but it produces power as well,” said Shaybani.

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

49

SOLAR POWER

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Masdar City has the first grid-connected solar power plant in the UAE.

Seamless integration The company’s Multisol modules can be integrated seamlessly into the architecture of any building, or even retrofitted without any major problems. They are available in three different sizes and various performance classes, meaning optimal flexibility for customised requirements. Features include a sturdy aluminium frame for straightforward installation, together with a patented pluggable connection system. The frame has a wide glass insertion depth to be able to withstand winds, while the plug system at the edges ensures solid interconnection of all frame components. The modules boast such attention to detail as an internal groove providing rapid drainage for any condensation.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) comments that, “in order to assess the potential of BIPV, an analysis of the building stock with respect to suitability of the building skin for PV deployment is required. Some building surfaces will have technical limitations; others will have limited capabilities to generate PV power due to inadequate orientation, inclination or shading effects.” The IEA defines such suitability in two main categories: • Architectural suitability includes corrections for limitation due to construction (HVAC installations, elevators, terraces, etc.), historical considerations, shading effects and use of the available surfaces for other purposes; while • Solar suitability takes into account the relative amount of irradiation for the surfaces, depending on their orientation, inclination and location, as well as the potential performance of the PV system integrated into the building.

50

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

80% Considered a good solar yield by the IEA and essential to achieving a useful level of power production.

respected renewable-energy design firm, says there is burgeoning international interest in using PV elements as an ‘exterior weather skin.’

He says that PV specialists and innovative designers in Europe, Japan and the US are now exploring ‘creative’ ways of incorporating solar power into their work. “A whole new vernacular of solar energy architecture is beginning to emerge,” comments Strong. This is good news for the MEP sector, because where there are architects, there is a need for MEP contractors and consultants …

A complete BIPV system comprises the following elements: The IEA concludes that, with a good solar yield assumed to be 80%, the achievable level of solar-power production by PV roofs and façades varies from 15% to 60% (the ratio used is BIPV solar-power production potential over current electricity consumption). The achievable level depends ultimately on the building area available, as well as on solar radiation levels and electricity consumption. All these factors imply that BIPV could have a massive potential in the UAE, where major players like Scheuten are positioning themselves carefully to take advantage of the ‘desert renewables boom’.

Future potential So let us look a bit closer at what BIPV entails, as well as its future potential. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) notes that “the integration of PV panels into buildings during construction is one of the fastest-growing segments of the solar industry.”

Steven Strong from Solar Design Associates, described as North America’s oldest and most

• PV modules (thin-film or crystalline, transparent, semi-transparent or opaque); • A charge controller to regulate the power into and out of the battery storage bank (in standalone systems); • A power-storage system;

• Power-conversion equipment (including an inverter to convert the DC output from the PV modules into compatible AC current); • Back-up power supplies (such as diesel gensets); and •Appropriate support and mounting hardware (wiring and safety disconnects).

Below are some important design considerations associated with BIPV systems.

• Shift the peak: If the peak building loads do not match the power output of the PV array, batteries can be incorporated to offset the most costly load periods. This system can also serve a dual function as an UPS; • Ensure adequate ventilation: High operating temperatures have a detrimental effect on PV conversion efficiencies. This means allowing appropriate ventilation behind modules in order to dissipate the heat; • Integrated daylighting and PV collection: By using semi-transparent thin-film modules, or crystalline modules with custom-spaced cells between two layers of glass, designers can use PV to create unique daylighting features in façade, roofing or skylight PV systems. The BIPV can also mitigate the additional cooling load and glare associated with large expanses of architectural glazing; • Shading devices: Conceiving PV arrays as awnings over viewing-glass areas of a building can provide the necessary passive solar shading. When sunshades are taken into account as part of an integrated design approach, chiller capacity can be reduced, while perimeter cooling distribution may even be totally obviated.

Relatively new Finally, the Research Institute for Sustainable Energy (RISE) cautions that the use of BIPV is still relatively new. “Ensure that the design, installation and maintenance professionals involved with the project are properly trained, licensed, certified and experienced in PV systems work,” it states.

While there are numerous companies in the UAE supplying solar-energy products and systems, the relative newness of the technology means there is a potential dearth of installation and maintenance experience. This is one arena where the MEP sector can stand the construction industry in good stead by filling this gap. 5

EXAMPLES OF INTEGRATING PV INTO A BUILDING ENVELOPE • Solar cells can be incorporated into the façade of a building, complementing or replacing traditional view or spandrel glass. These installations are often vertical, reducing access to available solar resources, but the large surface area of buildings can help compensate for the reduced power; • PV can be incorporated into awnings and saw-tooth designs on a building façade. These increase access to direct sunlight, while providing additional architectural benefits such as passive shading; • The use of PV in roofing systems can provide a direct replacement for batten and seam metal roofing and traditional three-tab asphalt shingles; and • Using PV for skylight systems can be both an economical use of PV and an exciting design feature.

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LIFTS & ESCALATORS

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STEPPING UP CW Big 5 Daily takes a closer look at some of the major elevator and escalator players in the UAE market, and some of the latest projects they have been involved with

T

hyssenKrupp Elevator, one of the world’s leading elevator companies, continues to be very active in the UAE since 2005 after winning the largest contract in the history of the elevator industry – more than 800 elevators, escalators, moving walks and passenger boarding bridges for the Dubai International Airport expansion.

About half of those installations are now up and running in Terminal 3 and Concourse 2. With work ongoing at Concourse 3, the company recently won an additional contract for the eight massive 9100 kg capacity SkyTrain elevators.

ThyssenKrupp Elevator has achieved milestones with the first orders of the TWIN elevator -- two elevators operating in one shaft -- in UAE and Saudi Arabia last year, and is currently installing this revolutionary product. The Tornado Tower in Doha has been equipped with the fastest elevators in Qatar

by ThyssenKrupp Elevator. New contracts are being won at a good pace despite pressures in the market earlier this year.

Despite the global and regional economic scenario, the UAE market is still big enough to accommodate many players. Over the last few months, the company has achieved overall growth in the areas of new installations, services and modernisation, and expects to grow even further in the future. Close proximity to clients has helped improve service. The UAE 24/7 hotline (800 THYSSEN) has boosted response time. The company has offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah, as well as in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

In terms of the TWIN systems for Dubai, ThyssenKrupp Elevator is supplying two of these, with a total of four cabs, as well as 17 conventional elevators for the Latifa Tower.

Upon the completion of this 210-metre-high residential and office building in 2010, these will be the first TWIN elevator installations in use in Dubai. While the upper TWIN cabs in the Latifa Tower will travel in the shafts at up to six metres per second, the lower cabs will reach a speed of up to four metres per second.

In addition to the two TWIN systems, two of the 17 conventional elevators are also suitable for use as TWINs. If needed, they can be extended into a complete TWIN system through the installation of a second cab.

Dunbar and Boardman Dunbar and Boardman has been involved with such iconic landmarks in Dubai as the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, the Burj Al Arab and the Mall of the Emirates. Founded in 1981, Dunbar and Boardman is the UK’s largest elevator consultancy. With its head office in London, it has since expanded to include 11 regional offices. Specialising in all aspects of vertical transportation and building access equipment, the consultancy focuses on the seamless integration of elevator system design into the final building, incorporating the following: • High-level traffic studies and analysis to ensure that the building is functional; • Knowledge of the latest technological innovations to ensure cutting-edge design and infrastructure; • Ensuring that systems are environmentally and economically sustainable; • Compliance with the latest codes and standards; and • Development of effective emergency evacuation and fire strategies.

KONE Middle East

An example of a modern elevator interior from KONE.

In the Latifa Tower, as in all buildings with TWINs, ThyssenKrupp’s intelligent destination selection control system will be used. Prior to entering the cab, the passenger selects his or her destination via a touch screen. A computer

then selects and displays the fastest elevator.

Thanks to reduced waiting times, and with as few stops as possible, the passenger is transported to the desired floor quickly and conveniently.

ELEVATORS FOR OVERHEAD BRIDGES IN ABU DHABI The Abu Dhabi municipality has announced that elevators will be installed for overhead bridges in the Tourist Club, Salaam Street and Eastern Ring Road development areas in the capital. Isa Al Mazrouie, director of internal roads and infrastructure, said the first phase would see the construction of elevators on three pedestrian bridges opposite the Abu Dhabi Mall, Meridien Hotel and Khalifa (B) complex. The project aims to inculcate safety awareness among road users and pedestrians, particularly the elderly and children. Salaam Street and Eastern Ring Road form part of the Abu Dhabi Vision 2030.

Committed to serving its customers in the Middle East for over 30 years, KONE established its regional headquarters in Dubai in 1993, and has since become a leading supplier of elevators and escalators, employing over 1000 employees across the region, including Qatar, Oman and Bahrain, and serving a further ten countries in the region through its network of joint ventures and distributors.

The company has clinched a major order for eight KONE customer-made elevators for Infinity Tower in Dubai Marina, reports Eric Maziol, area director for South and West Europe and the Middle East. Equipment installation will commence in 2010, with completion scheduled for 2011. The project has reached Floor 16 of the core wall and Floor 7 of the typical floors, and is on schedule.

“We are delighted to be associated with Cayan Investment & Development. This project once again confirms our valued partnership with main contractor Arabtec,” said Maziol.

Three of the elevators will convey residents at speeds of up to 8 m/s across a maximum span range of 271 m. Essentially this means that Infinity Tower will have the fastest elevators BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

53

LIFTS & ESCALATORS

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An escalator at Mirdif City Centre supplied by Otis.

of any high-rise building in the UAE dedicated solely to residential use.

Designed by international architectural firm Skidmore Owings & Merrill, with an AED141 million MEP works contract awarded to Drake & Scull International, Infinity Tower will ‘twist’ ninety degrees to achieve its final height of 330 m, making it the world’s tallest twisting tower.

Internally the tower has no columns to obstruct the feeling of space. Forming its ground-breaking superstructure is a highstrength, reinforced concrete column that twists into a unique helix shape. As a result, the lift cores have had to assume an unconventional circular shape, requiring KONE Middle East to utilise its expertise in customised solutions. Space for the elevator machine rooms was subsequently very limited, with KONE’s EcoDisc machines proving to be the ideal fit.

Features include:

• Permanent magnet hoisting synchronous hoisting machine; • Consumes 70% less energy than a hydraulic drive, and 50% less than a traction drive; • Due to the variable frequency drives used, the peak starting current is 30% to 40% of that of equivalent hydraulic and traction units, reducing energy consumption and fuse sizes; • Thin and lightweight, requiring less raw material and space compared to traditional hoisting machines; • Energy saving: 4000 kWh/year compared to a hydraulic elevator and 2000 kWh/year compared to a traction two-speed elevator; and • Carbon foot print reduction: 2240 kg carbon dioxide/year compared to a hydraulic elevator (based on OECD electrical energy mix).

Otis Established in 1979, Otis LLC is the UAE

Despite the global and regional economic scenario, the UAE market is still big enough to accommodate many players.

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BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

affiliate of the Otis Elevator Company of the US. It installed the region’s first-ever elevator, escalator and moving walkway. The company has offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Al Ain and Ras Al Khaimah.

Flagship projects include the region’s first double-cab units, traveling at ten metres per second, at the Burj Dubai. It is also supplying 29 Otis 4000 kg passenger and freight elevators, two Gen2 Panoramic elevators (with patented flat-belt technology and a design featuring no machine room), four moving walkways and 34 escalators to Majid Al Futtaim Properties’ new flagship Mirdif City Centre, due for completion in early 2010. 5

70% The energy saving EcoDisc machines provide over regular hydraulic drives; for traction drives it’s 50%.

OTHER MAJOR GLOBAL ELEVATOR AND ESCALATOR PLAYERS The quality of the product must be considered in the decision-making process.

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ENVIRONMENT SMART BUILDING

CUTTING EDGE Can old and dated buildings be made ‘smart’ in keeping with the latest trend of green building and sustainability? We look at a cutting-edge innovation in wireless networking and what this implies for retrofitting existing and new buildings.

By Gerhard Hope

F

irst of all, what is a ‘green’ building? This is best defined as the outcome of a design process predicated on resource maximisation in terms of energy, water and construction materials, while simultaneously reducing such a building’s impact on both human health and the environment during its lifecycle. It is evident from such a simple definition that a ‘green’ building is much more than the actual physical structure itself.

However, people pay lip-service to sustainability without fully understanding its implementation, argues Martin Leith, contracts manager at Rotary-HUMM (M&E) Services Middle East. MEP consultants and contractors stand to play a major role in bringing the green building trend to fruition in Dubai, but are hampered by the differing interpretations of the concept of ‘sustainability’ and its role in the construction industry.

“Traditionally what tends to happen, especially in the Middle East, was that architects design buildings remotely without consultation with the MEP consultants, thus missing out on many real opportunities to decrease the lifecycle cost of buildings,” argues Leith.

“Then, typically upon appointing the contract, the MEP people are asked how could they obtain further LEED points to the completed design? This usually means proposing expensive technologies such as PV/thermal solar energy panels, but this invariably increases costs for the developer, who would normally not even consider such proposals due to budgetary constraints.”

Misconception There is a misconception that green buildings are more expensive than traditional buildings.

For example, a study sponsored by investment firm Good Energies on 150 green building projects around the world shows that, on average, they cost only around 2% more than traditional buildings, and yielded 33% savings on energy. This is contrary to the idea that green building is more costly.

It is estimated that buildings consume about 39% of all of the energy in the US in terms of operating costs. This refers to keeping lights on and running HVAC systems.

Another 12% of total energy consumption in the US goes to construction and the building products sector. In total, more than half of the US’s energy consumption is accounted for by

A cabling investment requires in-depth consideration, as it is a 15- to 20-year investment.

the construction and ancillary industries.

Meanwhile, the cost of building structures to LEED standards is coming down, with owners reporting on increasingly lucrative payoffs in lower utility bills and higher rents.

Leith says that new technological advances are also making it easier for developers to go the green route and start reaping the benefits of building smart. Rotary-HUMM sees a potentially massive market in retrofitting existing buildings to ramp up their operational efficiencies and bring down their running costs significantly.

Vital role “This is where technology plays such a vital role, but the perception is that any new technology is invariably expensive. What people fail to understand is that investing in energy-efficient systems upfront will herald exponential long-term benefits,” argues Leith.

Rotary-HUMM is in the process of rolling out new products to the Middle East that will give existing building owners and developers the leading edge in keeping up with the green building trend.

Before we look at one these products in detail, it is important to highlight what makes BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

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ENVIRONMENT SMART BUILDING a green building ‘smart’. Andrew Sedman, technical director at R&M MEA, defines it as follows: “Any building has numerous systems, such as HVAC, lighting, audio/visual, video distribution, access control, voice and data networks, power management and life safety systems, to name a few of the most important ones. When any of these systems provides some form of reporting or alarming to a central location, we tend to regard them as being intelligent.

“In using ‘smart’ or ‘intelligent’ systems, the main focus is to reduce the operational and maintenance costs, while at the same time reducing demands on the environment and energy consumption. The facilities maintenance associated with smart buildings no longer requires on-site personnel, as everything is plugged into the Internet.

Central location “Multiple smart buildings can now be managed remotely from one central location, or any number of secure locations, via the Internet, thereby allowing maintenance companies to be proactive rather than reactive, save on operation costs and, at the same time, contribute towards green initiatives by removing the majority of the control cables and providing a more environment-friendly habitat.

To ensure this is done effectively, a reliable network is essential; a cabling investment requires in-depth consideration, as it is a 15to 20-year investment, and in most instances would be restrictive for expansion and upgradability,” comments Sedman.

This is where Rotary-HUMM has teamed up

with Varis Energy to offer a full suite of solutions based around ZigBee technology, which is expected to play a critical role in the future, particularly in older buildings, where the cost of a complete cabling retrofit is prohibitively expensive and, in most cases, impractical.

“ZigBee is the only wireless standards-based technology that addresses the unique needs of remote monitoring, control and sensory network applications. It enables broad-based deployment of wireless networks with lowcost, low-power solutions,” explains Leith.

ZigBee-enabled products have been adapted worldwide, with the exception of the Middle East. It is defined as the ‘wireless mesh networking protocol of the future’.

“What this means is that ZigBee is not as susceptible to the typical interference issues associated with WiFi, Bluetooth or most other competing type of wireless technology,” alleges Leith.

“With ZigBee, every single device connected to the network can act as a transmitter/ receiver and/or repeater. Be it a light switch, a thermostat, an occupancy sensor or a HVAC controller, the signal always has multiple paths of communication through the building to get where it is needed.

“In essence, it is three-dimensional. It is a self-creating, self-healing network that can frequency hope and physically reroute itself, which is a particular feature of its robustness.”

Typical wired control system A typical wired control system comprises a line of devices often wired in parallel or in series. When a cable breaks, you tend to lose everything after the break. With ZigBee act-

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ing as a communication arbiter between two devices, “it can go down a floor and then up again, or left and right, irrelevant of the type of device.”

Existing buildings that traditionally lack any sort of modern technology such as occupancy sensors cannot be retrofitted with smart controls without incurring major expense and disruption.

However, Rotary-HUMM can deploy ZigBeeenabled devices like a proverbial magic wand and retrofit such a building “in a matter of days” once a building analysis has been completed, claims Leith.

“For example, a ZigBee-enabled battery-operated occupancy sensor can be placed freely in a room. Should the room usage change in future, it is easy to reposition devices, which offers great flexibility, while also allowing for systems to be fine-tuned, ensuring optimum placement and efficiency.

“We can take windowbox air-conditioners, add a ZigBee module to make them smart, and have them controlled as a building-wide system.”

The same goes for HVAC controls or thermostats. For example, we can take windowbox air-conditioners, add a ZigBee module to make them ‘smart’, and have them controlled as a building-wide control system.”

Leith foresees this system being particularly beneficial in Dubai, where commercial and residential property owners and tenants who failed to take energy-saving measures a year ago will have seen their monthly electricity bills soar by up to 66% since March 2008.

“Such a system can give you a very advanced view as to what is happening inside an existing building. For example, the building’s HVAC system will now be able to self-optimise, based on real-time occupancy, down to an individual room level. This leads to increased comfort for the occupants, while providing humidity/heat protection to the building fabric, and maximising the efficiency of the previously limited capacity of the HVAC system.”

An example of the added benefits from an FM point of view is that a standard ZigBeeenabled thermostat can ‘learn’ the heat profile of every individually-controlled room.

It learns how long it typically takes the airconditioning to get the room to the required temperature.

If there is a temperature fluctuation greater than 10% either way during the cooling operation, it will generate a maintenance SMS or e-mail automatically to alert staff to a problem. In a new build scenario, ZigBee resolves many of the common snagging, cabling, containment and interface issues, and also speeds up the entire MEP installation works, is Leith’s concluding remark. 5

en Visit the Gre 9 Stand in Hall ZigBee is a wireless standards-based technology.

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BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

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DAVID VS. GOLIATH How smaller architecture firms are keeping themselves competitive in the new Middle East

By Jeff Roberts

T

hey’re the Davids to the industry’s Goliaths. They’re the little guys. If the Fosters, Genslers and HOKs are the super-sized meals, they’re the small fries—just as delicious, just in shorter supply. They’re the firms that go unnoticed until they sneak up and snatch a lucrative contract from the big boys.

Every market has an amalgamation of large, mid-level and smaller architecture firms but in the Middle East—where master plans are larger than life and price tags often creep into the hundreds of millions of US dollars—the smaller firms face a unique set of challenges and, as Middle East Architect found out, employ myriad strategies to adapt and flourish in increasingly uncertain times.

EVERYDAY CHALLENGES The challenges faced by smaller architecture firms operating in the Middle East probably come a dime a dozen. For every challenge mentioned here, it can be assumed that two or three more have been overlooked or left off the list.

Perhaps the most difficult challenge faced is overcoming the stigma that is automatically attached to smaller firms. If I’m Joe Developer and I launch a competition to design a mixed-use community on a large parcel of land, it’s easy to wait for the massive firm with the comprehensive portfolio to submit something.

According to Ahmed Al Ali, executive chairman and co-founder of X-Architects, that ‘wait-for-the-sure-thing’ mentality is very prevalent in the region’s development community. “The big challenge is the perception that small firms don’t deliver as good a product as large firms,” he says.

“Most of the large projects are earmarked for large firms with strong profiles.”

One of the most difficult pieces of that challenge, however, isn’t just convincing a

developer to choose a small firm over a larger one, it’s making sure that the developer is familiar with the people or work of the small firm in the first place.

“New or solo practitioners lack the prestige and name recognition enjoyed by the more established firms,” explains Suhail MS Thabet, director of architecture for TRACE Design Studios. “[Small firms] have to exert more effort in bidding for and, ultimately, winning projects than the larger reputable competitors.”

Recruitment also tends to be particularly difficult for smaller firms, explains Supriya Fernandes, principal designer and architect at 3 Square.

“Attracting and retaining qualified people especially when larger firms are also in the market for the same talent is particularly challenging.”

Attracting and retaining talented professionals doesn’t only come down to a firm’s name or penchant for recruitment, but also the sometimes confusing way labour laws operate in the Middle East.

“Another concern is with recruitment law in this region,” explains Thabet. “Employment law does not seem to recognize the need for temporary high quality staff, which is vital for the survival of practices with uncertain projections of future work.”

Another particularly difficult challenge for smaller firms is the inevitable fear of isolation. Within larger firms, it is quite common to call a standing-room-only design meeting just to brainstorm and inspire creativity. It is not uncommon for colleagues in a larger firm to compare ideas they used in a project in South America or saw at an exhibition in Europe or Asia, and then debate the appropriateness of those ideas for the Middle East.

But, in smaller firms, the potential for in-house collaboration can be fundamentally limited. “Ensuring our designers keep up to date with international design trends is crucial for us to compete with larger firms,” explains Fernandes. “Limited staff reduces the opportunity to share knowledge and seek guidance...but also reduces the opportunity to socialize and network within the industry,” adds Thabet.

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FEATURE SMALL FIRMS WORRIED ABOUT THE FUTURE? With the weakened economy and resulting ferocity with which large firms are competing for all types of projects, it stands to reason that some of the region’s smaller firms might be worried about their own longevity or ability to compete.

But, according to many of the region’s smaller firms, the seemingly negative proposition of competing with larger, wellknown firms in a conservative market with finite resources can be seen as a positive.

According to Daousser Chennoufi, CEO of Draw Link Group, the weakened economy has forced smaller architecture firms to adapt their visions and devise new strategies.

“We need a new vision, a new concept, for our work to match with the new market conditions. We need to find a new philosophy for our work because the old visions and strategies are not working anymore.”

For much of the building sector, the economic downturn meant a large-scale, industry-wide slow down from the breakneck pace of the past. For many firms, that slow down was a welcome reprieve. For 3 Square, the slow down offered a chance to look objectively at the systems and processes

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IS THE PERCEPTION THAT SMALL FIRMS DON’T DELIVER AS GOOD A PRODUCT AS LARGE FIRMS.

Ahmed Al Ali co-founders of X-Architects.

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BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

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it had in place and tweak them to ensure greater productivity in the future.

“When times were buoyant, as a boutique firm it was difficult to focus on long-term plans as the hectic day-to-day running of the business took up all our time,” says Fernandes.

TRACE is using the opportunity of a slower market to refine the way it approaches its design projects and refocus its efforts on an experimental approach. “In order to overcome the newly emerging economic challenges, we’ve had to rethink new ways of working within the practice and how we produce information,” explains Thabet. “At TRACE, we... use the ‘operating theatre method’ as opposed to the ‘factory line method’. This experimental approach opens the possibilities for a more innovative product.”

SMALL FIRMS MAKE BIG WAVES Well into the future, after the global economy rights itself and the building industry is once again fat and happy, companies that survived the credit crunch will be lauded for that accomplishment alone.

While that happen, architecture firms across the land—particularly the smaller ones who don’t have the luxury of shifting priorities or surviving off deep coffers or a plethora of past projects—need to focus on the task at hand. Namely, they need to figure out how to win that next competition.

For 3 Square, that means a continuation of the status quo. “I think all design firms are looking for that one project where they can showcase their talent,” says Fernandes. “In our case that really involves us continuing to do what we do best: providing our clients with unique design and generating referrals through those clients on an ongoing basis.”

In the case of Draw Link Group, the strategy is opposite. Rather than a continuation of the same, the Tunisian firm is embracing what is new, bold and uncharted.

“We are focusing on very specific projects.

We are looking to launch new concepts following the new economic situation,” says Chennoufi.

He adds: “We’re looking to create a new lifestyle; we’ve got a new vision for hospitality and commercial projects. We must be different from the others and get out of the old market way of doing and thinking.”

The TRACE strategy is more measured. By using what it considers a specific methodology and unique cultural insight, the TRACE team is focusing on the mass housing typology as a place where it can make waves in the industry.

“To

Suhail Thabet believes his firm’s success relies on a unique methodology.

ensure survival, a small practice needs to find its niche product and place in the market,” explains Thabet.

THE LAST WORD A common sentiment among many of the smaller firms in the market is the way in which the economic crisis has levelled the architectural playing field and how all companies—not just smaller firms—will need to concentrate on producing better and higherquality buildings.

Regardless of size, the firms that heed that advice will be the ones creating the region’s second generation of buildings.

“As the former president of RIBA, Sunand Prasad, said in his keynote address on the future of small companies, ‘a big practice doesn’t make you any happier, it just makes you bigger’,” reminds Thabet. 5

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EXHIBITOR Q&A

Wales and Dubai forge business links We talk to International Business Wales (IBW) vice-president: Middle East Lee Jennings about the challenges and opportunities of conducting business in the region our key sectors are very diverse. We even have sustainable technologies like Solarview. These are all excellent products, and I think they have got a great future in this region.

When we start to see an economic recovery, they will do extremely well here. Most of the countries in the region are having problems in meeting the power and energy requirements of their populations because of the rapid developments in construction, so if you can help those countries reduce their energy costs, and place less of a strain on their infrastructure, it has got to be a good selling point for us.

Can you give us some background on IBW? IBW is the trade and investment arm of the Welsh assembly government. As you are probably aware, in the UK we have devolved administrations between Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and as such we are able to make certain budgetary decisions ourselves in terms of trade and investment without having to refer back to the central government. Then within the particular trade and investment portfolio, we spread it around the world. We have 18 offices overseas in places like China, Europe and the US. Most of those are predominantly foreign direct investment (FDI) offices looking to attract investment from those regions into Wales. My office is probably the only office that is predominantly trade, and that is because of the nature of this region. Traditionally the nature of the investments we have attracted into our region have been big industrial projects, whether it is the automotive or electronics sector, manufacturing components in Wales and then supplying those sectors in the UK and into Europe.

Here, of course, we do not have any indigenous manufacturing industries that would be suitable to have a foothold in Wales to get into the European market. Here is a big recipient of FDI investment itself; therefore if you are looking to talk to people who are investors here, you have to go back to the parent companies and places like Japan and Korea.

We took the decision to establish a trade office because Dubai is a trading hub. We have represented 500 companies over the last five years who are exporters, mainly small- to medium-sized enterprises, a lot of whom are hi-tech, very innovative companies. Our aim is to try to help them win business in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the UAE in general, and also to sell into countries in the broader MENA region.

The trade office here has been very successful since its establishment in 2004.

What sectors do you mainly focus on?

Certainly construction has been a very big focus for us.

We have had a presence at The Big 5 for the last four to five years. Hopefully we will maintain a presence in the future. Healthcare is another important sector, as is food and beverage. Oil and gas is a niche area, but with highvolume and a smaller number of companies involved. So

What do you see as your main opportunities and challenges in doing business in the region?

I think the main challenge is the same as everybody else â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it is waiting for people who owe money to pay, so we can start seeing people buy new products. I think the market, certainly in terms of construction, has slowed down. There is no doubt about that; everybody is affected. But I do get a feeling we are seeing an increase in oil prices; we are starting to see a rise in economic activity.

I think this region will recover more quickly than other parts of Europe, for example, because they are oil-based economies.

We are starting to see people reinvest money. This place has experienced something very unusual for it, a recession. The authorities took very quick and decisive steps to address some of the issues, and it seems to have helped a lot. I think it has helped ease inflation, and to a large extent was something bound to have happened. And I think we will see a longer period of development, more sustainable growth, in the longer term. This is a long-term market; we are not here to just come to make a quick killing, which I think was the practice for many, many years.

How do you select the companies that are part of the trade delegation?

We are very even-handed when we start to market these events. We go to our database of companies and we invite them to come along. We have in the past had up to 25 companies (18 exhibiting). Over the last few years we have taken the decision to reduce the bodies on the stands so the people have a bit more space to showcase the products themselves. But we still have 15 companies this year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; six are on the stand itself, and then nine are here as trade-mission members. This is a fairly respectable number seeing we are a fairly small country.

What is your impression of The Big 5?

Quality rather than quantity. I think it is really early days.

The first day of any show is always quiet, but some of our companies have already made contacts and set up meetings.

Two company representatives have gone to Abu Dhabi to see Masdar and Aldar representatives; they have also met with Emaar, Nakheel and DAMAC, so at least they are meeting the right sort of people.

What role does cultural sensitivity play in doing business down there?

I do not think doing business here is all that different. You have to be aware of the sensitivities around the region.

That said, a lot of the people we meet tend to have received additional education in the UK. We have such good universities and higher education that it does tend to attract quite a lot of overseas students. Currently in Cardiff we have over 300 mature Saudi students and their families. These are the decision-makers of tomorrow. There is a very big Libyan and Somalian population as well.

It sounds very much like Dubai?

This place has experienced something very unusual for it, a recession. The authorities took very quick and decisive steps to address some of the issues, and it seems to have helped a lot.

There are actually some parallels between the two. We are very similar in terms of population size, we are multicultural, we have a hydrocarbon-based economy, we have had to diversify and encourage innovation in hi-tech sectors of industry. We have a very good relationship with most of the countries in this region, including Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Libya.

We recently took a trade delegation to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, so we are casting our net fairly wide in the region, and hopefully our companies will do business. Our strategy is very much customer-led: we ask which Middle Eastern markets our client companies are interested in. Then we assist them and allocate resources accordingly â&#x20AC;&#x201C; hence the interest in Libya. We have just had a series of workshops in Wales about doing business in Egypt and Libya. We had about a 100 companies at those seminars. Even if we get 25% of those companies coming out on a trade mission, that will be a really good first foray into Libya. 5 BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

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EXHIBITOR Q&A

What lies behind the label?

Newell Rubbermaid marketing manager for Middle East and Africa, Leslie Konrad, tells us about her hopes and expectations for the Big 5 Find them at: Zabeel R131

What products, systems and technologies will Newell Rubbermaid exhibit at the Big 5 show?

We’ve significantly increased our distribution this year and have grown our business by 45% in the Gulf against last year. We have big business expectations for this region and see a lot of potential.

We will exhibit Rhino Industrial labelling solutions.

Our Rhino handheld label printers provide professional installers with a tool that helps to drastically cut the time and inconvenience of labelling. What makes our products unique and allows faster labelling are ‘hot keys’ for common labels.

This hot key technology helps to format commonly-used labels quickly and easily with the touch of a button, speeding jobs and increasing productivity on the job site. So far, we’ve launched two electronic label printers for electricians and contractors. The Rhino 5000 offers a good solution for professional labelling with all necessary features, while the Rhino 6000 is a more sophisticated version, including more hot-keys, and software which enables you to prepare and print labels at your desk instead of onsite.

What do you expect to achieve from the show?

We are aiming to increase our brand exposure and product assortment within the Gulf region. We are looking forward to providing hands-on demonstrations at our booth and providing potential customers with an opportunity to experience the advantages that our products offer them for their job.

We expect to meet and speak with a lot of companies that will be interested in our product assortment. In addition, we expect to gain a better understanding of additional needs particular to this region.

Do you expect to see an increased demand of your products after the show?

Yes, that is very much the expectation. We’ve significantly increased our distribution this year and have grown our business by 45% in the Gulf against last year. We have big business expectations for this region and see a lot of potential.

Rhino industrial label printers help professionals do jobs better and faster when it matters most – during a tough economy. Labelling is important, especially when it comes to the development of high-rise buildings and home automation.

As the fluctuation rate of staff is very high in Middle Eastern markets, it is important to put a traceable labelling system in place that allows companies to track and trace mistakes and flaws easily and quickly.

Who will you target your products to at the Big 5?

We are targeting everyone who has sophisticated expectations towards labelling; in particular, professional installers in the data communication, electrical, maintenance repair and operation construction. Broadcast industries are definitely in need of our products, especially when they are looking for a very easy but professional way of labelling. Our products are easy to understand and help save time.

What do you expect to gain from the show?

We expect to meet and speak with a lot of companies that will be interested in our product assortment. We also expect to gain a better understanding of additional needs particular to this region. We look forward to meeting with and speaking to our target audience here in the Gulf region. 5

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PMV IN PICTURES

MOXY MT41 The region’s largest production articulated haul truck can be found overshadowing the Bin Brook Motors display at the back of hall 11.

The Moxy MT41 can carry, as the name suggests, 41 tonnes, which is one metric tonne more than its closest rival. Weighing in at 59,728 lbs unloaded, the 6x6 tip-up monster needs the power from its Scania DC-12 twelve cylinder turbo diesel engine. Norwegian firm Moxy was recently acquired by Doosan Infracore, hence this truck is now wears the Korean firm’s corporate orange paint.

DOOSAN Also on the Bin Brook stand are some of the biggest wheel loaders in the business. Doosan Infracore cater for the very large end of the market, as seen here, but they also own the compact skid-steer loader brand Bobcat, following one of the industry’s highest value acquisition in 2007.

By Greg Whitaker

We take a look at some of the amazing sights at The Big 5 PMV show in Hall 11

MANLIFT This Manlift brand access platform takes full advantage of the ceiling space in the new and purpose built hall. 2009 is the first time that big equipment has been displayed inside and as part of the main exhibition.

TRIASO A Triaso 150tph asphalt mixer also looms large over the PMV hall. “We’ve sold quite a few in Morocco and Algeria, but I really want this market” explained Antonio Alvarez, a manager from the Mexican manufacturer. “This is one of the countries that is still kind of thriving, from an infrastructure and roads point of view.”

HOUSE OF EQUIPMENT A Dubai-based dealer shows off a skidsteer loader on it’s stand, though a focus on infrastructure works is where House of Equipment sees itself being. “It’s is a line which we are now exploring – asphalt equipment and paving equipment” says general manager Waiel Manafaluti.

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

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PMV IN PICTURES

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DANCING DIGGERS JCB’s dancing diggers need no introduction.

Throughout the show the mechanical dance troupe has wowed the crowds with its robotic pirouettes, but more seriously the firms 3CX loader has remained the best selling backhoe loader in the market, despitew strong competition from all sections of the market.

SHACMAN Two Chinese made Shacman truck heads are displayed with the Cummins and Weichai engines in front of them respectively. China is by some way the largest exhibiting country at the PMV show, as many new brands seek international buyers in the notoriously price sensitive Middle East market.

LIUGONG

KUKEJE HYDRAULIC COMPANY

One Chinese brand relatively well known in the region is LiuGong. The brand is most famous for its line of large wheel loaders, which were developed through a now-defunct JV with Caterpillar. However, the downturn has lead the firm to concentrate on smaller products, such as an expanding range of forklift trucks.

Sung-Nam Lee, the president of Kukeje Hydraulic Company is a true ‘gearhead’. He just loves his firm’s line up of components for hydraulic motors and pumps. The firm already has tie-ins with Korea’s Daewoo, and he hopes to meet more big name clients at the show.

SENNEBOGEN OCMER Angelo Ganassi has been pleased with the number of enquiries he has been getting about his firm’s range of mobile batching plant. The Italian company makes a variety of unusual concrete mixing equipment, including a rail mounted unit – though we won’t see these until the new freight network is built through the GCC of course.

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BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

Some firms left the big kit at home and instead have found other ways of communicating with customers.

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SHOW INFO SHOW STOPPERS

FINAL DRAW FOR FUTURE SHOWS THE YAMAHA BANSHEE TODAY Watch out for more informative and busy trade shows taking place in Dubai throughout 2010

Win a Yamaha Banshee motorbike as well as daily prizes of US $1,500 worth of Yamaha clothing and apparel when you visit the four brand new Sheikh Saeed halls

D

on’t miss the Grand Prize Draw for the Yamaha Banshee motorbike at the Al Yusuf Yamaha stand (11G41) today at 7:00pm.

Winners in The Big 5’s daily draws have been automatically entered into a final competition to win the highly sought after vehicle.

So far, three lucky delegates have been picked to win US $1500 worth of Yamaha clothing and apparel. They will be able to exchange their products for clothes and styles of their choice.

Yamaha joined forces with The Big 5 to provide a special temptation for visitors to explore four brand new Sheikh Saeed halls at the show and to promote what it can do for the construction industry.

“We wanted to promote our utility vehicles to engineers and construction companies and show them that they can be used on site,” said Al Yusuf Motors product manager Tamim Yousef. 5

The Office Exhibition 9 - 11 February 2010 Dubai World Trade Centre www.theofficeexhibition.com The Office Exhibition is recognised as being the flagship show for the office sector. No longer just a furniture showcase, we now offer dedicated sectors for both technology and consultancy. We bringing together the world’s most important manufacturers and suppliers, situated at the centre of the Gulf region's construction boom.

2009 saw an increase in size of over 60%, with visitor numbers increasing by nearly 20%! Be a part of the Middle East’s largest office solutions show and book your place now for 2010… space is going fast!

The Hotel Show 18 - 20 May 2010 Dubai World Trade Centre www.thehotelshow.com Where the Hospitality industry meets...

The Middle East remains a strong market for the hospitality sector, despite the current global downturn. It is forecasted that new hotel developments across the region will be worth US $30 billion through to 2010/11.

Reliable estimates are that the UAE alone will invest $19.9bn into hotel projects already under construction in 2009, which will see fit-out and supply business continue to flourish over the next two or three years.

Four dedicated product sectors ensure that exhibitors are able to take part among their peers, and that visitors can identify their needs easily and effectively: • Interiors & Design • Operating Equipment & Supplies • Security & Technology • The Resort Experience FM Expo 18-20 May 2010 Dubai World Trade Centre www.fm-expo.com A joint venture with Streamline Marketing Group, FM Expo is a ‘one stop shop’ for everything needed to manage and maintain the built environment including: environment / energy, IT maintenance and management, property services, security and health

and safety. Co-located with the Hotel Show and InRetail, the 2008 event saw almost 100 companies take part and over 3,000 FM specific professionals attend to discover the latest maintenance, security, cleaning, information technology and/or energy management encompassed within a building.

Index 8-11 November 2010 Dubai World Trade Centre www.indexexhibition.com Now in its 19th year, INDEX is the number one business interior design show in the Middle East. With over 1800 exhibitors from around the globe, the event brings together a comprehensive collection of innovative and state of the art designs which are set to inspire. INDEX 2008 was attended by 30,348 trade visitors and industry professionals, including nearly 30% attendance from overseas. INDEX 2009 will see exciting new developments including floor seminars by renowned industry experts, stunning room sets by leading interior designers, a new VIP trade buyer programme and a lot more.

InRetail 8-11 November 2010 Dubai World Trade Centre www.inretailexhibition.com InRetail (co-located with the Index exhibition) is the largest retail design and shopfitting exhibition in the Middle East. InRetail offers a spectrum of products and services encompassing all working elements and support structures to the mall and retail sector.

From shop-fitting and visual merchandising, retail design and consulting to supply chain management technology and retail security, the event offers a complete solution for anybody involved in the retail sector. Our first class seminar programme running alongside the exhibition offers an educational look at the retail sector and its development in the Gulf from shopping mall construction to security and globalising retail.

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

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DESTINATION DUBAI

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DINE OUT ON SUCCESS Today is the last day of the Big 5 – one that could be worth celebrating for many. So why not explore one of the many fantastic restaurants that this city is famed for and test the variety of cuisine for yourself. Time Out Dubai selects 5 of the best.

DHA D U B BAR OR SVEN O R G SE HOU I A DUB

Buddha Bar

Shoo Fee Ma Fee

The cocktails are good, service is polite and efficient, and you’re guaranteed a good night at this chic haunt. The menu is quite pricey and ranges from sushi and hot and cold starters (the punchy beef tataki salad is a hit, as are the lobster dumplings) to main courses (the tenderloin beef is an absolute delight). A word of warning, though: booking ahead is a must, as this place is packed every night of the week.

Location: Grosvenor House Dubai, Dubai Marina, Dubai ; 04 399 8888 Cuisine: Japanese, Thai Travel: Taxi to Al Sufouh Road Timings: Open daily 8pm to 2am Price: Dhs500+ Credit Cards Accepted: Yes

The easy-going Moroccan spot can be tricky to find – but once you do, you’ll be rewarded with a beautiful views of the Madinat’s canals below. If you can, opt for a table outside.

The shrimp in the meshoui dish are large and fleshy. The raucously spiced mergeuz sausages also makes for a sensational starter. The lamb tagine is a must try for mains followed by a selection of shishas to round off the night.

Location: Souk Madinat Jumeirah, Jumeirah, Dubai ; 04 366 8888 Travel: Al Sufouh Road Cuisine: Moroccan Timings: Open Tue to Sun 7pm to 12.30am Price: Dhs350-500 Credit Cards Accepted: Yes

Casa Mia The service at Casa Mia is prompt, and before you know it you’ll be sitting down and indulging in a ricotta salad – a munificent mix of rocket leaves, creamy ricotta squares and sliced tomato, all delicately dressed. The mussels come in a rich tomato sauce while the mains, such as prime rib steak and rolled pork fi llet are huge and wholesome – the beef is seared to perfection, and the accompanying sautéed potatoes and bitey rocket and parmesan salad are hearty. Also, the squid ink risotto is a musttry. Round it off with rolls of traditional cannoli – crispy pastry stuffed with nuts, dried fruit and chocolate – or crème brûlée.

Location: Le Méridien Dubai, Garhoud, Dubai; 04 217 0000 Travel: Taxi to Airport Road Cuisine: Italian Timings: Open daily 7.30pm to11.30pm Price: Dhs500+ Credit Cards Accepted: Yes

Maria Bonita’s Taco Shop Maria Bonita’s is one of those best-kept Dubai secrets that only expats who have been here for years seem to know about – up there with the likes of Ravi’s or Smiling BKK as another establishment serving great food at reasonable prices. It’s not licensed, but order an alchohol-free pina colada or strawberry margarita, take a seat outside, and chat to the two caged parrots, while munching on tortilla chips and salsa.

All of the tried-and-tested Mexican staples are here – tacos, burritos, quesadillas, soups and salads – and they are all very good, well presented, with helpings of salad, salsa, sour cream and refried beans, coupled with a homely kind of feel (Maria Bonita’s is independently owned).

Location: Jumeirah, Dubai; 04 395 5576 Travel: Taxi to Um Al Sheif Street Cuisine: Mexican, South American Timings: Open daily noon to 11.30pm Price: Dhs50-200 Credit Cards Accepted: Yes

Benjarong Benjarong is in the Dusit Thani hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road. The restaurant is as beautifully authentic as the staff. Blue and gold walls, intricate carvings and a Thai lady playing a Thai kim – a brass-stringed instrument played with two flexible bamboo sticks and a beaming smile.

The food is to be commended, and does not shy away from its exotic roots. Other eateries often dull down tastes to suit Western palates, but not here, with many dishes packing a well-weighted punch (you’ve been warned). Fresh, zingy ingredients add colour and flavour to the curries, and starters as well as desserts are a success.

Location: Dusit Thani Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai; 04 343 3333 Travel: 10 minute walk Cuisine: Thai Timings: Open daily 6pm to 11pm Price: Dhs200-350

For more restaurants, bars and cafés visit timeoutdubai.com

P.O. Box 28078, Dubai, U.A.E. Tel: (+971)4-2729 711 Fax: (+971)4-2729 622 Email: tti_dubai@yahoo.com Web: www.ttiuae.com

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BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

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Tel: +971-4-298-4141 Fax: +971-4-298-5598 P.O.Box: 83021 Dubai, United Arab Emirates Email: ecoval@eim.ae Website: www.ecovalme.com (Visit our Showroom – Shop No., Al Bannal Building, next to Mister Bakers, Opp. NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Nahda)

OPENING TIMES 11:00 – 20:00 11:00 – 20:00 11:00 – 20:00

When you arrive at the venue please make your way to the registration points marked on the map. Remember to register online at www.thebig5exhibition.com to fast track your entry into the exhibition.

Tuesday 24th November Wednesday 25th November Thursday 26th November

B C D F

650 Spaces 1450 Spaces 470 Spaces 500 Spaces

BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

(behind Etisalat Building)

Multi-Storey costs AED 10 per hour or AED 200 per day Additional over flow parking Jafiliya - Free land

(behind Etisalat Building)

Multi-Storey Car Park 980 Spaces Over flow parking Jafiliya 750 Spaces

(Recommended Exhibitor Parking)

Park Park Park Park

CAR PARKING SPACES

WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM

Car Car Car Car

In association with

SHOW MAP THE ESSENTIALS

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SHOW MAP THE ESSENTIALS

In association with

WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM

USEFUL INFORMATION TAXI PICK UP AND DROP OFF Taxi Pick Up: Station E (Shuttle Bus from Ibis Corner) Taxi Drop Off: Za’abeel, Ibis Corner, Convention Gate, Hall 1

METRO There will be Free RTA Shuttle Buses from the following stops to Dubai World Trade Centre: Direction from Sharjah, Deira, Bur Dubai: Jafiliya Metro Station

VALET Pick Up and Drop Off – Ibis Corner

(Between Halls 4 & 5)

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BIG 5 SHOW DAILY NOVEMBER 26, 2009

Car Park Shuttle Bus Green Route (Free Service) Car Parks B, C, D – Hall 1 Shuttle Bus to Station E (Free Service)

Direction from Abu Dhabi, Jebel Ali: DIFC Metro Station

PRIVATE CAR HIRE Order from desk based at Al Wasl Corner

Over flow parking Jafiliya – DWTC Plaza (behind Etisalat Building)

Car Park Shuttle Bus Red Route (Free Service)

Ibis Corner – Station E (Taxi Pick Up & Dubai Mall Shuttle Bus)

Station E – Dubai Mall (From 15:00 – 21:00) RTA Shuttle Bus – Route C 045 (Costs AED 4.00 NOL card) Picks up at RTA Bus Station at Convention Gate.

Stops at DWTC (Convention Gate) – Crowne Plaza – French Connection – Al Murooj Rotana – Dusit Dubai – DWTC (Convention Gate).

Start Time 08:00 – 20:00 (Bus every 30 minutes).

Shuttle Bus to Dubai Mall (Free Service)

BIMFORMATION MANAGEMENT

Bob, Steel Fabricator

Dave, Precaster

Ellen, Structural Engineer

Professionals of various disciplines working in a construction project are faced with the challenge to communicate and agree on the design in detail. They need a tool that enables effective centralization and control of all stages. Sharing the Tekla model allows them to stay in the building information loop, real-time.

Tekla Structures BIM (Building Information Modeling) software provides a data-rich 3D environment that can be shared by contractors, structural engineers, steel detailers and fabricators, and concrete detailers and manufacturers. Choose Tekla for the highest level of constructability and integration in project management and delivery.

John, General Contractor