BUILDING on the reputation it already enjoys in the world of aluminium profiles, Reynaers Middle East intends to strengthen its foothold in the region with long-term plans to set up a production facility for accessories, a warehouse and a training centre in the Gulf.

The regional office of the company, established in 2004 as a joint venture, is part of the Belgium-based Reynaers Aluminium, which has offices in more than 30 countries around the world. Its managing director in the Middle East, Ali Khalaf, is confident of the company’s future and hopes for an increase in market share through its focus on providing a swift response to customer requirements and the expertise to handle diverse and complex projects, and launching innovative products that meet market trends.

“We plan to have our own logistics distribution in the region, a warehouse and training centre, as well as a centre to produce some of our accessories locally. We are studying the possibilities and are waiting until our regional market share is big enough to make such plans feasible,” he says.

Reynaers provides architectural aluminium systems for a diverse range of projects, both commercial and residential. It has worked on striking projects such as the Ferrari Theme Park and Al Majaz Tower in the UAE, the 300-m-high Aspire Tower and QNCC Building in Qatar, and Platinum Tower, Era Business Tower, Bella Vista and Kingdom Tower in Bahrain. It has also undertaken jobs for end-users such as various sports clubs and the Al Salam School in Bahrain.

The company has a full range of products to satisfy the various requirements of its clients. For applications ranging from small villas to high-rise buildings, it designs different types of doors and windows, with or without thermal-break systems, and curtain-walling with and without structural glazing. “Similarly, we can provide balustrades, canopies, fly screens, greenhouses, and many more products. On the other hand, the company can also provide tailor-made solutions based on the individual customer’s needs,” says Khalaf.

According to Khalaf, Reynaers has an edge over its competitors in providing customised solutions. “We provide bespoke solutions, whereas most of our competitors only offer what they show in their catalogues. A customer can specify every need with us. We will then provide them with a specialised system to suit their needs.”

This allows the company to take on any job of any size.

Reynaers has provided solutions for hospitals, high-rise towers, palaces and private villas.

Among its newly completed projects in Bahrain is the Al Salam School in Bani Jamrah, where it provided the CS59Pa fixed window, CP50pa sliding system, CW50 and CW50Ra curtain-walling systems. In the UAE, Reynaers has recently provided the environment-friendly CW-50 structural clamp façade system to Al Majaz Tower in Sharjah.

Commenting on the current architectural trends, Khalaf says: “Buildings are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and our role is to provide solutions for the detailing required. Today, about 80 or 90 per cent of the buildings are glass-clad, which is obviously good news for us because, as the glass increases, so too does the need for aluminium.

“Four or five years ago, architects wanted very slim profiles, whereas the trend now is for profiles that are visible from the outside.”

Khalaf says Reynaers Aluminium owes its leading position to its constant investments into research and development of market-oriented products.

“We have products that are specifically designed with safety in mind. For instance, we offer aluminium doors that have a 60-minute fire-rating. Normally, fire doors are steel or wood but, thanks to our research and development department, Reynaers has been able to design a door capable of withstanding a fire for up to 60 minutes.

“We also provide burglar-proof windows and doors, which, again, are fire-rated. We have a bullet-proof system and also have door solutions designed to facilitate the physically challenged.”

The company’s research and development departments based in Belgium design the systems, make the prototypes, and test them in the company’s laboratories, which are among the biggest in Europe. While one of these offices is responsible for developing new products and upgrading existing ones in response to market trends, another office handles complex projects requiring bespoke solutions – it was this department that provided solutions for landmarks such as the Aspire Tower and the Ferrari Theme Park.

“This kind of partnership ensures the innovation and quality control that we constantly strive for – this collaboration is crucial to our success,” says Khalaf.

Bahrain-based Reynaers Middle East is responsible for operations in Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt. To boost its presence in other countries in the region, the company has area sales managers based in the UAE, Egypt and in Saudi Arabia.

The Bahrain office is equipped with a quality control laboratory, which enables Reynaers to check products locally rather than having them sent to the company’s headquarters in Belgium.

Khalaf heads a team of 14 people, most of whom are technical engineers. Even the sales team constitutes engineers, because part of their job is dealing with architects and consultants.

“As the company provides the designs and the solutions, it is part of our ethos to support the customers technically with quality-assured technical support on how to make the product cost effective and suited for the application,” says Khalaf.