PEARL Industries, a UAE-based leading manufacturing and trading company, has introduced phenolic panels for ducting used in the air-conditioning industry at a major construction exhibition in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last month.

The product was launched on the market at The Big 5 Saudi show (March 10 to 13), alongside a range of other products offered by the company including pre-insulated panels and accessories, fabricated ducts, water heaters and garbage chutes.

A pioneer in the sector, Pearl Industries is the second largest manufacturer of pre-insulated panels in the market, according to Ahmed Hindawi, general manager. He says Pearl’s major contribution to the air-conditioning industry has been the introduction of pre-insulated duct panels.

Pearl Industries has an annual capacity to manufacture 72,000 sq m of panels and accessories and fabricate 360,000 sq m of pre-insulated ducts for central air-conditioners. It also produces 50,000 water heaters per year and garbage chutes.

Pearl’s pre-insulated duct panels comprise pure embossed aluminium pre-insulated with a polyisocyanurate (PIR) foam, which are used in the construction of ducting for air distribution in ventilation, heating and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems.

With these pre-insulated panels, high-quality ducting can be achieved, while also providing excellent indoor air quality (IAQ), a fine external finish, durability and lightweight ducting, says the company. The panels are easy to transported, handle and fabricate, he says.

“Ducting systems constructed with Pearl pre-insulated panels can be installed either in the interior or on the exterior of a building, visible or with a false ceiling in residential and commercial use,” says Hindawi.

In addition, Pearl pre-insulated panels are an excellent option in industries such as food processing, electronics, pharmaceuticals, hospitals and medical centres, where there is a need to maintain a high standard of quality and hygiene, he adds.

The panels comply with strict national and international standards for these types of materials, including Ashrae, Smacna, BS and CEN.

Pearl Industries has supplied to a number of projects in the Gulf such as the Al Raha Beach Development and Brighton College School for Schroeder Projekt in the UAE.

It is currently providing its products for the Al Falah Community, and the Dubai Modern International School. Overall, however, the company has witnessed a five per cent reduction in turnover due to the downturn in the market.

A distributor of pre-insulated duct panels since 2001, Pearl Industries established its own manufacturing unit in the Sharjah Industrial Area with its trade mark Pi pre-insulated panels in 2004.

Hindawi says the company now has plans to open branches in other GCC countries, and is keenly eyeing the potential markets in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Pearl Industries has also been a regular participant at the Big 5 Show in Dubai.