The UAE's largest manufacturer of pre-engineered steel buildings (PEBs) is expanding its plant to boost PEB production capacity to 6,500 tonnes per month in preparation to enter the Saudi market. It also plans to become the Middle East's largest producer of polyurethane-injected panels.

Mammut Building Systems says it has prepared for entry into the Saudi market in the second half of this year by acquiring additional machinery that will give it the largest PEB production capacity in the Middle East.

"We have recently purchased the most automated state-of-the-art auto beam welding line that will increase our built-up members capacity from 1,900 tonnes per month to 3,600 tonnes per month," says Muayyad Khudairi, general manager of Mammut Building Systems.

"This is our second auto weld line. This new line is the most automated built-up line in the Middle East. It incorporates flange splicing, flange punching and web splicing in addition to automated flange and web storage and retrieval systems. The new line will be installed in May and will be fully operational by July," he explains.

The Saudi PEB market is estimated at between 6,000 tonnes and 7,500 tonnes per month and is dominated primarily by three manufacturers.

Mammut has initiated Vision 2005, setting a goal to become the largest manufacturer of PEBs and sandwich panels in the Middle East by the end of that year. The company's sales are expanding rapidly and Mammut has already acquired a 50 per cent share of the UAE's PEB market but is aiming for a 60 per cent share of that market by the year-end.

Besides its offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE, the company maintains a sales presence in Qatar (Doha), Sudan (Khartoum), Bangladesh (Dhaka and Chittagong), Pakistan (Lahore) and Sri Lanka (Colombo) and has set a goal of achieving a 50 per cent market share in each of those markets.

Mammut's recent acquisition of the most automated and highest capacity continuous foaming sandwich panel line in the Middle East will eventually make it the largest producer of polyurethane-injected sandwich panels in the region.

Production of Mammut's type 1 sandwich panel, which comprises an outer metal skin (0.7 mm aluminium or 0.5 mm AluZinc coated steel), a polyurethane core and an aluminium foil liner, began last month (April). The company has a special introductory price offer for any orders confirmed before the end of June.

Its type 2 sandwich panel, which comprises an outer metal skin, a polyurethane core and an inner metal skin, will emerge from the assembly line by mid-August.

Mammut's monthly production capacity of polyurethane-injected sandwich panels is theoretically 300,000 sq m but logistical and storage constraints currently limit it to a more practical 100,000 sq m. During the past year, Mammut has re-designed most of its building components and claims to now have the highest quality components of all Middle East-based PEB manufacturers.

Mammut is the only PEB manufacturer in the Middle East to sweep blast all its structural members prior to painting, claims Khudairi, adding that it will shot blast according to SA 2.5, if required by a customer.

It operates two fully-automated structural painting machines including a high-capacity heater oven for drying paint quickly. Multi-coat paint systems are processed faster, resulting in a quicker delivery. According to Khudairi, Mammut's standard delivery period for red oxide painted buildings is the fastest in the region - at four to six weeks - for projects that have a covered roof area of up to 15,000 sq m.

"We are working on all fronts to prove to the market that we are worthy of becoming the leader in this region's PEB industry. We use partnership pricing versus exploitative pricing, that is, we do not believe in exploiting naive or uninformed customers. We submit rock-bottom prices from the first initial offer. We clearly highlight in our offers any exclusions and deviations from required specifications. We recognise the fact that contractors and consultants trust us as experts in PEBs and we aim to live up to this trust by being totally honest and transparent," says Khudairi.

Mammut invites all consultants, contractors, developers and owners to send their inquiries for pre-engineered steel buildings and sandwich panels to sales@mammut.ae. It promises a quick response with a detailed quotation offer and proposal drawings.

The company further promises that on an apple-to-apple basis Mammut's offer will be the best value option in terms of quality, price, delivery and after-sales service.