ESPAC Building Materials Company is introducing an efficient alternative to conventional building techniques, using precast aerated concrete (PAC) that provides a wide range of benefits including high thermal conductivity, high acoustic insulation and high fire resistance, energy saving and remarkable time saving, that make it particularly suited to the climatic conditions in the GCC states.

These products will be showcased at the Housing Expo being held next month (November 5 to 7) in Bahrain under the patronage of the Ministry of Housing in Bahrain.

“At this expo, Espac will be focusing on raising awareness about its system by showing physical system mock-ups for visitors. Experts from the factory in Saudi Arabia will be participating in the exhibition to explain technical details with a presentation of videos and photos of the products, production process and the plant,” says Allam Hanbali, the general manager of Espac-Bahrain, adding that Espac also participated in the Saudi Build exhibition held in Riyadh last year.

The Saudi-Emirates company, which was established in Riyadh in 2011, set up its factory in Dammam in 2012. It has witnessed surging demand for its products which include a building system based on load-bearing walls using autoclaved aerated concrete products such as blocks, jumbo blocks, slabs, lintels, and pre-fabricated, load-bearing vertical walls, roof tiles and partition panels.

The products are manufactured by using a cementitious special mix formula based on calcium silicate hydrates where low density is attained by the inclusion of an agent resulting in macroscopic voids and subjected to high pressure steam curing (ASTM C1386).

The global building system concept, which was developed in the mid-1920s in Sweden, made its debut in the region, especially in Saudi Arabia in 1977, followed by the UAE and Kuwait more than 15 years ago.

This system is now used in 80 countries all over the world demonstrating the essential need and demand for the AAC system, based on the great benefits it offers and the fact that it is a green certified type of products, says Hanbali.

There are three plants in Saudi Arabia producing the AAC systems with Espac, built using the latest German technology, being the largest in terms of production volume and the latest. The other two plants are in Riyadh and Jubail.

An Espac building system model … many benefits.

Commenting on the attributes of PAC, Hanbali says: “The product is the most efficient, effective, light weight and 100 per cent green. It guarantees speedy installation while providing thermal and acoustic insulation properties. It is also fire-resistant, durable and resistant to earthquakes and pests.”

Espac Building Materials has its plant in Dammam Industrial City on an area of 60,000 sq m including an additional area allocated for future expansion. The plant, which was constructed by the German company Hess, has a production capacity of 1,500 cu m per day for both white blocks and reinforced AAC load-bearing wall and roof panels.

According to Hanbali, Espac chose to build the plant in Saudi Arabia because of the government’s keenness to support large-scale residential projects, the large size of its economy, and the support that the government extends to industry, as well as the availability of raw materials, energy and logistics.

Espac has branches in Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Khobar as well as sole agents in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq.

Hanbali says block products manufactured by the company have recorded huge sales in the Gulf and Iraq markets, with a large number of blocks and load-bearing panels having been supplied to many residential projects in Saudi Arabia.

In Saudi Arabia, Espac has supplied 10,850 cu m of AAC reinforced lightweight concrete panels for 400 villas being built by Al Kifah Contracting for the Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu; 3,865 cu m of internal panels to Farooq Residential Complex (144 villas) under a subcontract from Azmeel Contracting; and 2,000 cu m of internal panels for a residential project (400 villas) in Jubail for Al Osais. It is supplying 9,300 cu m of AAC panels for 100 villas for Al Othman Agricultural Production and Processing Company (Nadec) – some 16 of which were built under Phase One in this project; and 2,100 cu m of internal and external panels for three buildings at Tabuk University by Shar Contracting Company.

In Qatar, 733 cu m of ACC panels system are being supplied for two residential buildings for the Al Khor project.

In Bahrain, Espac is working to cover the housing sector (both public and private projects) as well as high-rise buildings, warehouses, schools, hospital and other commercial projects. It is currently working on its first project in the market, which involves the erection of 14 villas in Janabiyah in addition to one high-rise building in Seef and one for the private sector.

Espac’s offices ... geared to meeting customer requirements.

“This represents a promising future for the company’s business in Bahrain – which has been a big step in the introduction of this advanced technology,” he says.

The company expects to achieve further success in the upcoming year, especially after having received approval from Bahrain’s Ministry of Works in May 2013 for the use of its system in ministry projects. It is also approved by the Electricity and Water Conservation Directorate after successfully passing the assessment of the Dubai Municipality lab test and is now working to get the approval of Bahrain’s Ministry of Housing.

Espac has also received official approval from the Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu, Ministry of Health and is on the verge of receiving approval from the Ministry of Housing in Saudi Arabia.

The AAC building system has been approved by UAE municipalities, Kuwait Municipality, and Qatar officials as well, as it is not new in the GCC and proved to be a great solution for housing projects, Hanbali adds.

Although Espac’s factory currently operating at 30 per cent of its capacity, it is already eyeing an expansion of its production capacity, depending on market demand, and aims to develop housing projects in particular through the use of effective alternatives to existing construction systems, in collaboration with the consulting offices.

“We will take advantage of the latest technologies to meet the market requirements,” says Hanbali.

About the prospects for the construction industry in the GCC, he says the construction sector is witnessing a significant boom especially in Saudi Arabia, where the government plans to build 200,000 houses, while the private sector also continues to implement large-scale housing complexes.

In Bahrain, there are plans to build 50,000 social housing units over a period of five to 10 years. The company is also looking at serving the requirements for private villas and homes and towards this end it has established a permanent showroom that will be opened in the near future.