General Trading Equipment (GTE) of Saudi Arabia is currently working on what could turn out to be a record-breaking GRC project.

The Jeddah-based firm markets top products such as alkali-resistant (AR) glassfibre from Nippon Electric Glass Company (NEG) of Japan, Power Sprays spraying equipment, Reckli polyurethane moulds, and a carcinogen-free melting vinyl hot melt moulding compound.

''Currently, there is a requirement for what may be the largest GRC horizontal panels ever made,'' says GTE's Chris Dommet. ''The Jeddah Hilton Hotel already sports a striking NEG GRC frontage using Reckli moulds, and GTE and Fibre Technologies International are currently advising on how to fabricate 4.8 sq m screens with a thickness of 600 mm.''

Commenting on the strengths of AR glassfibres, Dommet says: ''The new millennium marks the coming of age for GRC, a key 25-year test has proven to the cement industry that there is no cause for concern regarding the degradation of AR fibres in cement structures. Electron micrographs showed no evidence of corrosion in NEG AR glassfibres after 25 years within a cement matrix, nor any indication that corrosion could start any time.''

''Also,'' he continues, "it is the high percentage of zirconium (ZrO2) within the AR fibres which ensures their success. And this is where NEG is ahead of it competitors, with a 20 per cent ZrO2 weight ratio in its fibres, compared to other manufacturers' ratios of around 14 per cent.''