Given the accelerated pace of construction in the Gulf, Alukbond – India’s premier revolutionary and versatile aluminium composite panel specialist – is aggressively expanding and targeting potential markets in the GCC region.

While its focus is primarily on the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the company is also eyeing prospects offered by Bahrain, which is witnessing a surge in high-rise construction, says a spokesman for the company.
Alukbond, which has been in the regional market for the past three years, believes it has a competitive edge on the market.
Alukbond’s managing director Navin Keswani attributes the company’s success to two factors: the first being its advanced lamination bonding process, which ensures that there is no delamination of the panels and the second, its cost advantage.
Alukbond composite panels – designed for use in curtain-wall and cladding applications - consist of two aluminium cover-sheets and a high mineral and thermoplastic-filled core with an exterior surface coated in PVDF or polyester providing a durable finish. The surface is resistant to corrosion, chalking, fading and weather damage as it is extensively tested according to ASTM and BS standards and gives architects a wide choice of colours including solids and metallic.
“We offer the first-ever aluminium composite panel made using superior technology that exceeds our customers’ expectations. Alukbond has an elaborate technical customer support service and back-up from its in-house design department which offers practical advice to architects and contractors,” says the company’s director of marketing Uday Shetty. “Alukbond is a reliable partner for builders and architects as it not only has a superior production process but also evolves and innovates to take its products to new heights of standard.”
Alukbond has a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Maharashtra, India, and its infrastructural facilities rival those of some some of the best in the world. With a manufacturing capacity of over one million sq m, the production of composite panels is carried out on a high-speed quality-controlled 70-m-long production line where the pre-painted imported aluminium skins are fed automatically.
Elaborating on the manufacturing process, he says: “The production process involves lamination where aluminium skins integrate with the adhesive for bonding by a twin extruder (E-II process). One extruder extrudes the virgin LDPE and the other extrudes the glue (adhesive). During production, the aluminium skins are pressed with the inner and the outer surface of the virgin LDPE by a hot-rolled production process and afterwards cooled down to room temperature.
“Alukbond process also has a vertical accumulator for stretching the coils vertically before lamination to ensure the flattest panel.”
 Ex-stock availability of panels in the sizes required by the customer is one of the advantages of using Alukbond panels which can be delivered in any part of GCC between one and three weeks depending upon the distance from Mumbai Port.
Alukbond promises the shortest delivery lead-time as it stocks a large inventory of pre-painted coils. All the coils of aluminium for the upper skin and the lower skin are duly pre-processed, primed, acid-washed and PVDF or polyester coated. These coils are imported either from Europe, China or Korea,” he points out.
“Numerous builders, developers and aluminium fabricators all over the world have discovered the advantage of using these panels and over the last four years, Alukbond has exported and supplied over 1 million sq m of panels for new projects in India, Sri Lanka, and GCC countries,” Shetty points out. “Alukbond is currently negotiating and will soon be supplying large quantities to the UK, Turkey, Iran and South East Asian countries. The company has worked hard and is already regarded as an international giant in aluminium composite panels manufacturing.”
In the Gulf Alukbond has recently supplied to the Television Tower, Almughni Clinic and Kuwait Naval School in Kuwait and the Almana Hospital in Saudi Arabia.
The company’s product line includes Alukbond Excel, Maxin and stone varieties. Alukbond Excel is the best choice for architects, developers and aluminium fabricators as it consists of a polyethylene core laminated between two sheets of 0.5-mm-thick aluminium skins, with the exterior skin coated with PVDF (min 70 per cent) resin. Also, offered is Excel–FR in which the in-fill is a high mineral core protected by non-inflammable aluminium cover sheets.
Alukbond Maxin, which provides a balance between performance and economy, consists of two sheets of 0.3-mm-thick aluminium skins with a polyethylene core, and its front surface is coated with super-polyester for enhanced colour life. It is the preferred facade choice for low-rise buildings, and extremely economical for interior cladding applications, he says.
Alukbond Stone comes with a natural stone finish on its exterior surface, which is possible due to the technology of PET film transfer. It makes the most complex shapes with a stone finish possible which would be is virtually impossible to achieve with natural stone, he points out.
“Alukbond is India’s new revolutionary entrant which has comprehensive command of the aluminium and cladding technologies.  Alukbond is here to create the aesthetically pleasing facades for the modern-age builder and the 21st century creative architect around the world,” Shetty concludes.
Alukbond will be participating in GulfBid, the Gulf building, interiors and design exhibition being held during May 16 to 18 this year. The event is jointly organised by the Al Hilal Group and dmg world media Dubai.