The UAE has been chosen as the Middle East headquarters for the manufacturer of Panelbuilder, the revolutionary CNC system specially developed for the composite cladding sector, which will make its debut at the Big 5 show.

Coinciding with the launch of the product, a new showroom for the system will be opened in Sharjah later this month.
“A decision on where to base the Middle East operations was not due to be made until after the show – but such has been the response to PanelBuilder in the Gulf that the decision was made by the market,” says a company spokesman.
Shaun Barton-Smith has been appointed Middle East agent for the PanelBuilder system – one of the AXYZ range of machines. He explains: “The reaction to PanelBuilder in the GCC states has been beyond our wildest expectations. We knew we had an exceptional product – but all new products take time to get established.
“We are only now beginning to seriously market PanelBuilder – but we underestimated the power of word of mouth in this region. As soon as we placed our first few machines their performance spoke for itself and the phone lines started buzzing.
“The UAE response in particular was nothing short of phenomenal – so the decision where to base our Middle East operations was the simplest we ever had to make. In truth, the market took it out of our hands.”
“Certainly the plaudits for PanelBuilder have been extraordinary. As Gulf Construction reported last month, two of the first companies to acquire the system, Arabian Profile of Sharjah and Alutec of Doha, have achieved a five-fold increase in production capacity – and Al Abbar Aluminium of Dubai described PanelBuilder as ‘a giant leap forward’,” he adds.
It was also something of a coup for the new system to be ‘put to work’ immediately on one of the Gulf’s most spectacular projects – The Khalifa Stadium in Doha, believed to be the world’s largest indoor arena and host to the 2006 Asian Games. Arabian Profile used PanelBuilder to design and fabricate the cladding for a coverage area of 85,000 sq m in a timescale, which would have been impossible without the new technology, says Barton-Smith.
PanelBuilder’s creator, Stuart Kriskinans, developed the system to fill what he saw as an inexplicable void in the worldwide composite cladding sector. “Sure, there were many commendable software and hardware packages which catered to construction and many other applications. But where was the industry-specific system fine-tuned totally to the needs of construction fabrication alone?”
“Visitors to the Big 5 can judge for themselves: a full-size PanelBuilder system will be on display demonstrating its capabilities from the input of software instructions to the output of the finished panel. Actions speak louder than words – we invite visitors to come and see it,” says Kriskinans.
“The PanelBuilder is not only industry-specific but caters to the more sophisticated needs of the Middle East composite cladding sector. Some people might take issue with that,” says Barton-Smith. “But there is no denying that there are developments going on in the Gulf, particularly the UAE, which in terms of scale and architectural creativity are literally projects without peer.”
But PanelBuilder is determined to bring something else to the market, which is central to the company’s success.
“Let’s talk plainly,” says Kriskinans. “Worldwide, the emphasis is on the business of selling – not on essential back-up and customer service. Just see how long it takes you to get through to a customer complaints line compared to a sales line!
“The best technology in the world is no good if your customers have no confidence in back-up. But in the UK, Europe and elsewhere, back-up is the most important part of the PanelBuilder package. Our new Middle East headquarters in Sharjah will reflect that, holding a full set of spares and providing a level of after-sales service which will become as much a talking point as the PanelBuilder System itself,” he concludes.