Desert Roofing and Flooring, one of the Middle East's pioneer waterproofing contractors, is proud of its association with Al Habtoor Engineering Enterprises and Murray and Roberts.

"Desert Roofing has worked with Al Habtoor on various prestigious projects a few of which are the Sharjah City Centre, Dubai Internet City (DIC), and the Dubai airport expansion," says a company spokesman. "We are currently working on a recently-awarded contract for the prestigious Madinat Jumeirah hotel and we will continue participating in Al Habtoor's future projects."

He continues: "Most of these were fast-track projects. We were able to complete them because of the excellent co-operation extended by the project managers and their skills and ability in handling complex situations, the comprehensive quality and safety policies followed at every stage and individual attention paid to every sub-contractor's needs."

Desert Roofing was also the waterproofing contractor for the new extension to Al Habtoor's head office.

Established in the late seventies, Desert Roofing and Flooring - a division within the DRFCO Group of Companies - has grown to become one of the leading companies within the waterproofing industry in the UAE.

Over the years, it has built up a reputation as a reliable and respected organisation, through carefully selecting international manufacturers with proven records of top performance and quality products, thus assisting the firm in its pursuit of excellence.

"Desert Roofing offers a total package of waterproofing systems from the substructure right up to the roof, including wet and planter areas. We offer a 10-year insurance-backed guarantee for all waterproof applications subject to individual specifications, design and on-site applications also extendable to 20 years," the spokesman says.

Desert Roofing offers systems from Index of Italy, one of the largest manufacturers of modified bitumen membranes and allied cementitious products and the first European waterproofing manufacturer to win ISO 9001 certification, the spokesman says.

"Index gives top priority to research and development to produce new advanced products to meet the changing waterproofing needs of today, and operates on the basis of total quality," he says. "Most of Index's high-end products are made from patented materials to the highest standards and are unmatched in quality. Its products have been used on major projects around the world, such as the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Hong Kong's international airport at Chep Lap Kok."

Desert Roofing has been supplying and installing Index systems in the Middle East since the late seventies and has projects going back 30 years where the waterproofing is still watertight and the membranes intact, according to the spokesman.

"Index has a vast track of experience spanning over a 100-year period. Durability is a key factor which has made Index membranes well known in the market - especially to meet the climatic conditions of the Middle East. Research and development has led us to offer unmatched bituminous membranes in the waterproofing industry surpassing other cheaply priced membranes and products of new manufacturers that do not have the new-age technology nor the long span of experience to cater to all the requirements to ensure a watertight basement or a roof over a sustained period of time. A high quality waterproofing system is a must to protect today's buildings to avoid the burden of high costs of repairs and maintenance," he says.

Its client base is extensive and includes the Ministry of Public Works, the UAE Armed Forces, municipalities, architects, consulting engineers and contractors.

"Desert Roofing provides total quality management and a full range of services, systems and solutions from sales, technical support through to application and most importantly, after-sales service," the spokesman says. "We understand that the satisfaction of our customer is the only true measure of our success."

Keeping the construction requirements of the Middle East in mind, Desert Roofing recently launched a range of energy-saving coatings called Aquathon, manufactured by United Coatings of the US. These coatings conform to Dubai Municipality's criteria on thermal insulation materials for walls and roofs, the spokesman says.

In addition to bituminous, liquid and sheet waterproof membranes, Desert Roofing markets a range of hi-tech polyurethane and fibreglass dispensing equipment from Glascraft, a leading American manufacturer of equipment and technology for the composites industry.

Desert Roofing is also poised to launch a new line of construction materials from ABE of South Africa, a renowned manufacturer of cementitious products, epoxies, highway sealants, grouts and water stops.

Other companies within the DRFCO group are Pearl Insulation Materials Industries, Alpha Security & Allied Systems, and DRFCO Interiors.

Pearl Insulation Materials Industries manufactures a tailor-made polyurethane insulation system called Sahrafoam under collaboration with Bayer AG.

"It is the first of its kind offering insulation which can be used in sandwich panels, cavity walls, as spray insulation, in cold stores, refrigerators, in cut pipe sections and furniture and also in the building structures. It also meets the new municipality regulations which make insulation mandatory in buildings from 2003. The company's production capacity is around 18,000 tonnes of polyurethane chemical systems per annum. It has a well-equipped laboratory and testing facility. It also stocks handifoam single and multi component kits from Fomco products from the US.

Alpha Security & Allied Systems represents world leaders in security products and control systems. Its product range includes domestic, commercial and industrial roller shutters, steel, aluminium, see-thru and grille shutters, sectional overhead doors, PVC doors, automatic door systems, garage doors, barriers, sliding gates, door operators and security systems.

"The company keeps pace with technological advancements in the industry and strives to meet the market needs to satisfy the customers. Its technical service network and inventory is geared to provide system solutions and services," he adds.

DRFCO Interiors, another new division within the group, offers multicolour design printing on complex tri-dimensional objects using Dip Print technology. The technology is versatile and can be easily applied to wooden, steel and plastic furniture, aluminium profiles, car interiors and accessories, fibreglass, sanitary ware, bathroom fittings and electrical items, door and wall panels and now even on glass. Major clients include Mercedes, Jaguar, Nissan, Ford, Motorola, Siemens, Nokia, Sony and Carrera.

Desert Roofing plans to further expand into different industries to meet market demand within the GCC.

Other major projects that Desert Roofing is currently busy with are Dubai Marina towers, the Dubai World Trade Centre's new hotels, the expansion at the BurJuman Centre and the Dubai airport expansion.