The newly-formed Plastbau Arabia Limited (PAL) is looking forward to launching operations of its manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia which would provide an innovative building system that would offer the benefits of speed, quality and cost-efficient construction.

The new SR38 million ($10 million) Plastbau manufacturing plant is being set up in Dammam and will meet the demand for the innovative building system – Plastbau – in the kingdom and beyond. The plant, targeted for completion by the year end, is expected to start production by early 2006.
The facility is being established by PAL, under the Saudi Economic Offset Program. PAL is a joint venture between Advanced Projects and Building Systems Limited (APBSL) – a closely held Saudi Arabian company led by Tarek Al Kasabi – Plastbau Holdings, and the Saudi Offset Limited Partnership (SOLP). The new venture will manufacture and market polystyrene building forms constructed using Plastedil technology in Saudi Arabia.
SOLP is a direct equity, venture development limited partnership designed to invest offset funds in effective commercial ventures in Saudi Arabia. Its founding partners are Raytheon Company (71 per cent) and Thales (29 per cent) with DevCorp International as the general partner.
“PAL will seek to introduce Plastbau building technology, which integrates sound and thermal insulation into the construction process, in the kingdom,” says Al Kasabi.
“The Dammam plant will produce Plastbau floor/roof and wall shuttering elements. The system is essentially based on the use of steel and polystyrene, thus benefiting the national economy by adding value to locally-produced products, while simultaneously reducing the need for imported wooden shuttering material,” he explains. 
The technology improves the traditional poured concrete system of construction by incorporating thermal and sound insulation through the use of the polystyrene forms. This advanced insulated concrete form (ICF) system enhances the usual poured cement method of construction and can cut time and costs by 30 per cent over conventional building techniques. These forms do not have to be removed, as with wood shuttering, thus affording cost savings as well as a higher quality of construction to the building contractor, Al Kasabi comments.
The unique feature of the Plastbau system is that it uses polystyrene blocks as formwork during the construction stage. These same blocks stay on during the life of the building providing excellent thermal insulation. Due to the modular construction technique and very light weight of the panels, the total time taken for construction comes down drastically and makes a very low requirement on manpower.
“In the construction of a 2,400 sq m model building in Dhahran – specifically constructed to establish the local adaptability of the Plastbau system – evaluators found that time and costs were cut by over 30 per cent compared to conventional building construction methods,” he points out. “Moreover, since the basic method is still in-situ poured concrete, with which local contractors are very familiar, the transition to the new technology is easily facilitated.
“Time and expense of construction are also reduced because the lightness of the polystyrene forms, reinforced by pre-engineered and factory-installed steel cages eliminates the need for heavy lift cranes at the site. Furthermore, the final quality of the building is exceptional as the polystyrene allows the concrete to retain its water content and therefore cure faster, to achieve the rated strength. The monolithic concrete structure resulting from the use of the Plastbau building system enhances earthquake resistance. Blast-proof buildings with double wall designs can also be built with minimal changes in the construction practices.”
Wall and roof panels
The Plastbau building system initially being introduced in the region includes two products: wall panels and metal floor/roof panels. The Plastbau metal floor/roof is an ICF system that produces a one-way joist slab.
“A major breakthrough in this system is the ability to produce a composite forming section made out of polystyrene and steel. It permits the use of variable thicknesses of concrete joist (10-29 cm) and variable insulation thickness of polystyrene (3 to 8 cm). Consequently, the overall thickness of the panels ranges from 18 to 32 cm, providing flexibility in design,” says a company spokesman.
The system eliminates the use of regular formwork as it requires joist support at 1.5 to 2 m spacing only.  In addition, being lightweight (6 kg/sq m) it eliminates the use of cranes and heavy-duty material handling equipment at site. It can be used for the renovation of floor/roof components without adding excessive extra weight to the foundation and vertical supporting elements.
The Plastbau metal floor/roof system is structurally pre-engineered and acts as a one-way joist system and thereby eliminates the extra use of steel and concrete. The lightweight feature does not compromise the ability of the system to sustain loading, in addition, it has continuous holes (of a diameter of 12 cm) in the polystyrene, which can be used to run service lines as well as ventilating ducts.
The Plastbau wall panels, which are equally well engineered, comprise two slabs of high-density expanded polystyrene. The core is pre-reinforced with three-dimensional triangulated steel bars. The reinforcement is composed of two welded wire fabrics tied together horizontally and diagonally. The tie rods, responsible for holding the forms together and capable of withstanding the fluid pressure of concrete, are held together by special screw caps made from pre-reinforced plastic. These ties avoid any thermal bridging and can withstand a maximum concrete fluid pressure of 120 kg, enabling the casting a 3-m high wall in one pouring.
Cost benefits
A 2,400 sq m model office building was constructed in Al Khobar using Plastbau wall and floor/roof panels. The construction of the building was completed in a record time of less than six months, utilising local contractors and workforce, with initial supervision/training by a specialist engineer from Plastedil for approximately one week. The data collected during the construction of the model office clearly established the cost and time savings. The key parameters, based on empirical data, were
• 52 per cent savings in construction time for the main structure;
• 42 per cent savings in overall construction time; and
• 13 per cent to 52 per cent savings in overall cost of construction (depending on the type of construction compared).
Based on the positive interest shown by local real estate developers, plans are under way to establish a second plant in the Riyadh area to service construction projects in the Central Province. A third plant may be established in the Jeddah area in due course.
Al Kasabi notes that in addition to its advantages for dwelling houses, the Plastbau system is ideally suited for Saudi Arabia, particularly to fulfill the kingdom’s plans to build a large number of new schools.
“The polystyrene forms automatically provide sound insulation, which will create a better learning environment for our children, and the speed of construction could result in enormous cost savings for the government of Saudi Arabia,” he says.
The sound insulation properties of the building system has also received praise from owners of airport hotels, such as the First Hotel at Milan Airport, and administrators of hospitals.
In addition to PAL, Plastbau Middle East (PME) has also been formed in Bahrain by Plastedil of Switzerland, DevCorp International and a group of professional engineers and architects is to promote the concept of the Plastbau system in the Middle East.
PME also promotes the sale of the manufacturing machinery for the building system consisting of the wall, floor/roof and the partition elements and assists in the establishment of joint venture companies in various countries in the region for the manufacture and marketing of the systems. The company also provides technical support to manufacturing companies in the region both for implementation of the project and during the operation of the plants, he adds.
 Further information about the company can be obtained at www.plastbau-me.com.