The Middle East office of UK's leading supplier of specialist flooring, Flowcrete, which has provided flooring solutions to some of the bigger projects in the Middle East including the BurJuman Centre of Dubai, has been nurturing major plans of expanding its business interests in the region.

Flowcrete's contract to provide over 60,000 sq m of its Deckshield ID (Intermediate Deck) car park decking system is the largest for the Middle East office of the company. The system is being installed by licensed installer Pegasus at all four levels of the basement parking, which is expected to provide 3,200 car-parking slots for the centre, a company spokesman says.

Al Ghurair, managing director of owner Al Ghurair Group and president of the BurJuman Centre says: When BurJuman was first launched in 1992 it pioneered the mall culture in Bur Dubai and set a trend for landmark property development in this area. BurJuman launched its expansion programmes to keep pace with the increasing demand for world-class infrastructure, facilities and services, and also to support the Government's ambitious drive of enhancing the city's image as a year-round international shopping and leisure destination.
Deckshield ID was specified by architects Buro Happold of the UK in order to meet the requirement for a durable protective decking system for the centre.

Deckshield ID, a flexible car park deck coating system, provides crack bridging and waterproof wearing for intermediate decks of multi-storey car parks. Available in a range of colours, the system enhances flooring finish and reduces noise from tyre squeals,the company says.

Flowcrete's Middle East general manager, Sean Tinsley, who was previously responsible for the company's South East Asian operations says, Deckshield has been widely used in the UK, Dubai and the UAE and has many outstanding references at world-class airports, retail developments, commercial centres and government buildings. The product's track record gives specifiers the confidence that the system can perform to expectations in a rigorous environment.

The installation at the BurJuman Centre is another feather in the cap of Flowcrete Middle East. Recently, the office has completed the installation of 12,000 sq m of Deckshield ID at the Al Rostamani 21st Century Tower development, one of the newest commercial office developments in Dubai. The project required installation to be completed within the fast-track schedule of just four weeks.

Flowcrete has also been carving out a market in Kuwait, where it has been awarded a contract to provide the Deckshield system for the Naser International cars showroom (a part of the Naseer Al Sayer Group) in Shuwaikh. The contract requires Flowcrete to install Deckshield on the roof of the company's office block, which required the installation of a flexible waterproofing system over the existing roof mosaic tiles. The project, a departure from Deckshield's usual application, also required Flowcrete to address the issues of expansion joint treatment and the fixing of air-conditioning systems and water tanks in the process.

Flowcrete has also provided its seamless epoxy resin terrazzo flooring system, Mondeco, to render a unique design in the foyer area of the new offices of the Kuwait Oil Company. According to the company, the contract for this prestigious building follows the extensive use of Mondeco at the Sharjah Mega Mall in the UAE that was opened last year.

Flowcrete is the world's largest specialist flooring company outside the US, with an annual turnover of  $265 million. In the UK, the group is the market leader in industrial flooring, specialist floor screeds and car park decking systems. The group has 20 offices around the world with manufacturing plants in the UK, Asia, US and Eastern Europe.

Flowcrete has been focusing on the individual needs of each business sector, such as food production, pharmaceutical, aviation and vehicle manufacturing, to deliver floors that are right for the job. _Our project references include blue chip clients such as Mars, Vauxhall, Jaguar, Pfizer, Roche and the Lear Corporation. For the future, we are constantly looking to improve our service, including new methods of installing fast-track specialist flooring and introducing staff who focus on key market sectors such as food and pharmaceutical, says the company.