Leading precast manufacturer United Precast Concrete (UPC) has recently expanded its production facilities in Dubai in an ongoing effort to bridge the gap between demand and supply in the booming construction market of the emirate.

UPC, which is the part of Bahrain Precast Concrete (BPC) Group, has been witnessing steady growth over the years and in the past has seen similar expansions to meet the ever-increasing market requirements.
“In Dubai alone, we are working on projects which have a total built-up area of about one million sq m. Obviously we have to add capacity,” says Tom Kjaer, general manager.
The group, which has four factories to its name in Bahrain, Dubai, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, had a modest beginning in Bahrain as a joint venture establishment between Haji Hassan Group and NTR Holdings, Denmark in 1977.
Over the years, it has grown in size to become one of the leading precast concrete producers in the region.
After setting up its first precast production plant in Bahrain, another was set up in Dubai to capitalise on the numerous opportunities offered by the growing emirate. The Dubai facility witnessed an expansion in 1993, which was closely followed by the setting up of two more plants – one in Abu Dhabi and the other in Qatar, last year.
“Our factories at all four stations have worked on projects with a combined built-up area of around two million sq m in 2003,” says Kjaer, who is also the CEO for the BPC Group.
“The Dubai operations started with an annual capacity of 150,000 sq m. This year, the facilities at Dubai and Abu Dhabi combined have been handling projects with a total built-up area of 1.8 million sq m,” he says.
Commenting on the market, he says: “What we are witnessing in Dubai is a steep rise in construction activity. We will not see such a boom again. As far as its continuity is concerned, it will exist as long as Dubai keeps on implementing the strategy of aggressive growth.”
“However, it is an intensively competitive market. We are operating in a situation where precast concrete producers are not only competing against each other but also against the other systems of construction.”
“At the end of the day, it’s a matter who is more focused and professional. When we started in the Gulf market, our only objective was to become the market leader not only in size but also in product quality and services. We have achieved this target by following the market growth.
 “When the market is growing at such a fast rate, it is impossible to keep the market-share static. An enterprise such as ours should plan and protect its market share in a steady growth situation.”
“The increased activity in the construction sector will always attract small operators thereby intensifying the competition in the market. However, when the activity declines, only those that have the infrastructure, resource and product quality and provide good after-sales services will remain,” says Kjaer.
Backed by over 25 years of experience in the field, UPC has been continuously adding to its range of products.
The company’s product range includes hollowcore slabs, beams and columns, stairs, wall panels, boundary walls and villa systems. Its beam and column system allow flexibility as it allows modifications to be carried out in a structure according to requirements. UPC offers beams and columns in a wide range using both normal and pre-stressed reinforcements. It also offers a wide variety of precast panels – including cladding, solid and sandwich panels – which speed up the construction process, reduce manual work on site and provide a higher degree of durability compared to in-situ structures, he says.
“The villa system offered by UPC is ideally suited for large housing projects which can be executed at a very fast pace, translating into extremely short construction periods and saving on additional expenses,” he maintains.
“Flexibility in shape and size, a rich variety of finishes and colours, minimal maintenance and superior indoor conditions make this system an ideal choice for the developers and builders,” Kjaer adds.
UPC also specialises in customised products to accommodate specific requirements. Its experienced team of engineers offers expert advice to customers on innovative ways of incorporating pre-fabricated concrete elements into a building and involve themselves in the development of designs.
“Custom-designed precast concrete components offer flexibility in shape and sizes with a variety of surface finishes and colours, enabling engineers and architects to choose and create a building with unique characteristics,” he says.
UPC offers architectural concrete – perfectly suited for complicated geometric shapes and forms – which would otherwise prove to be either impossible or prohibitively expensive using the conventional method of construction, Kjaer points out.
“At our own plants, UPC can deliver any order using our leading edge technology in precast concrete,” he says.
Fully certified in accordance with the latest standard EN ISO 9001:2000, the company ensures that the client gets guaranteed goods and highly professional handling throughout the project.
“Besides our in-house testing of aggregates, sand and cement, the samples are tested at a Dubai Municipality accredited independent laboratory, assuring customers of the best quality possible,” Kjaer adds.
Over the years, the company has been associated with a long list of prestigious projects that include: commercial, residential and institutional developments. UPC has supplied its systems for building 1,050 villas at Arabian Ranches Dubai, 490 in Meadows, 430 low-cost houses in Abu Dhabi and 119 houses in Al Ain.
In addition, it has supplied hollowcore slabs for the Mall of the Emirates, numerous car park sheds, shopping malls with total building systems of slabs and column beams, College of Higher Technologies in Dubai and American University in Sharjah.