Six months into starting up the first-of-its-kind facility in the region, Bahrain-based manufacturer of aluminium composite systems – Falcon Industries – is planning to increase its sales capacity from 20,000 sq m of panels a month to about 30,000 panels over the next three months.

Falcon’s facility in Bahrain, which has an annual production capacity of 1.2 million sq m of panels of Alpobond, is “well prepared to take on any increase in demand and we are looking forward to enhancing our presence in the market through aggressively marketing the product in the regional markets,” says a company executive.
“The groundwork on marketing the products in the region has already begun by initiating contacts with the various aluminum/glazing contractors in the Gulf states. Most of the prominent contractors have also been forwarded with our catalogues and samples along with the technical specifications,” he says.
“There is an excellent feedback to the communication we had with various GCC-based contractors, as many of them initially were not aware of our product range and business activities. We have received a good response including potential inquiries from many of them and many of these contacts are under serious negotiations,” he adds.
“In addition, we have been reaching out to leading engineering and architectural consultants both within and outside Bahrain to specify our brand name for their projects. We are pretty optimistic of improving our strength in the GCC market,” he says.
Falcon is looking to promote its products in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and more so in the fast-growing and proximal markets of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and Kuwait.
“We are the only company in the region which can deliver orders within 15 days,” he claims.
The composite panels are manufactured using South Korean technology – originally derived from Germany – with raw materials such as aluminium coils being procured from local manufacturer Gulf Aluminium Rolling Mill Company (Garmco). The adhesive polyethylene (PE) infill is procured from Korea, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The manufacturing process involves the coating of aluminium coils with PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride)-based resin on the exposed surface and a polyester coating on the underside prior to the fabrication of the panels.
In all, the final product will have six layers of coatings and primers that are applied to the PVDF core. The outer surface of the panel is coated with long-lasting coating from the Netherlands-based Euromax and the colour finishes come with a 20-year warranty. The panels are then provided with a heat laminated and printed PET film that is scratch, stain and corrosion resistant and increases the longevity of the panels.
Alpobond panels are manufactured in three standard thicknesses ( 3, 4 and 6 mm) and lengths of 4, 5 and 6 m - however shorter or longer custom lengths can be produced to meet customer requirements and they are available in 12 standard RAL colours along with wood and stone finishes. Falcon is planning to increase the colour range to 16 colours and is in the process of coming up with a colour chart to facilitate easy colour selection for the customers.
The panels are installed on aluminium subframes fixed on the walls, which ensure good alignment of the panels while taking care of the condensation within the open gap through drainage channels. The aluminium subframes are produced for Falcon at Bahrain Aluminium Extrusion Company (Balexco).
Alpobond is environmental-friendly as it can be recycled; it is resistant to humidity, chemicals and saline environment, which is commonplace in coastal areas. The panels also provide thermal and sound insulation, while dampening vibration and can also be manufactured to be flame-retardant.
“From the client’s point of view, Alpobond can help reduce the superstructure costs if considered at the design stage, as it is lighter in weight and imposes less load on the structure than many other cladding materials. In addition, maintenance is easy as the panels can be cleaned with a water jet,” he says.
Besides cladding of buildings, Alpobond can also be used to clad columns, partitions, canopies, soffits, escalators, elevators, and for signage.
The company has also applied for ISO 9001 certification along with the test certifications of its cladding panels for ASTM/BS standards for the various performance requirement parameters.