A good quality sprayplaster and a professional company with skilled masons, supervisors and a management team are among the key requirements to ensure a quality finish for complicated large-scale projects.

With this in mind, Specialised Technical Contractors (STC) and Terraco were appointed for the completion of the North contracts - tower N1 and N2 - and the South contract - tower S2 - at the Dubai Marina project, in addition to the South podium.
While Terraco provided the technical and production support for the plastering work, STC provided the overall management and execution support, a critical combination for the success of the project.
The job entailed plastering a total wall area of 300,000 sq m, including 40 levels of the N1 tower, 32 levels of the N2 tower and 26 floors of the S2 tower. STC took eight months to complete the North contract and just six months on the South contract, working at the rate of 1,000 sq m of plastered walls per day - which is one full level every three to four days.
Meanwhile, Terraco supplied nearly 5,000 tonnes of plaster for the project, starting work in April 2002 and completing it in just eight months this January.
"It was a very challenging project with so many sub-contractors involved simultaneously. However, we managed to finish our part of the job in time," says STC's general manager Ziad Fattouh.
"We have a task force of 150 skilled applicators under our direct employment and our main strength lies in meeting the tightest target programmes in addition to strong site supervision. We pay high attention to quality, reducing the need for rectification and rework, and have the necessary back-up staff for professional execution of jobs including a purchasing department, on-site machinery repair technicians and site engineers, among others," adds Fattouh.
Commenting on the market, Fattouh says, "The construction market is booming currently - more than it has ever been. Market trends, too, have changed as contractors now are willing to pay more for quality work."
"Hence, we buy our requirement of sprayplaster only from Terraco as it supplies the right quality of plaster with a high level of finish. Terraco sprayplaster is a ready-to-use, advanced surfacing compound, containing inert mineral fillers, dispersed in an acrylic binding media which is chemically inert, age resistant and non-toxic," explains Fattouh. "Moreover, it does not contain hydraulic binders and therefore does not suffer from brittleness  - which is common to cement and gypsum-based plasters. Further, no curing and key coat or hacking is required."
The Muscat-based STC, which started operations in 1999, opened its UAE branch within a year of launching itself in the market. Its range of activities includes sprayplaster, interior fit-outs, partitioning, ceilings, flooring, painting and special wall finishes (both interior and exterior), among others.
STC is currently working on the Al Murooj Complex, Dubai while other major projects handled by the company include the Conference Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, Abela Catering Facility and The Tower in Dubai and an LNG housing project in Oman.
The company is currently bidding on a few projects and aims to be involved in the Jumeirah residence, the Dubai Festival City and the Dubai International Financial
City projects.
Commenting on STC, the co-ordinator of Terraco, Sharat Kumar says: "We have found STC very professional. In fact, I can confidently say that they are the most professional sprayplaster applicators in the entire Middle East region."
"We have seen a 20 per cent increase in business this year over the same period last year as we ensure that the products meet all relevant local and international standards. Our products are only certified after the most rigorous tests by international testing institutes," adds Kumar.
Terraco, which was founded in Sweden, has factories all around the world, including Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, Ireland, Cyprus, Korea, Egypt, Vietnam, Thailand, China and India. With 31 companies, 14 factories, around 500 employees worldwide and a combined annual capacity in excess of 300,000 tonnes, the Terraco Group serves the major construction areas of the world.
All Terraco products are water-based. Using the latest technology, the range also includes high-gloss, highly flexible, water-based products offering superior ageing and weathering characteristics. Terraco's Scandinavian products, totalling more than 300 quality items, cover most requirements within architectural finishing materials, protective coatings and construction chemicals.
Terraco's quality standards conform to ISO 9002. In addition to economy, ease of application and durability, there are no hazards to the user and no emissions of solvents into the air as the products are produced in 'green', non-polluting factories.