Bahrain-based Paschal Concrete Forms Company – the regional office of German formwork specialist Paschal Werk G Maier – says that its formwork systems are currently being used to great success at the Wadi Hanifa restoration project in Riyadh, which was started some months ago.

“The project is progressing well on schedule,” says Khalid Halawa, construction manager of Al Mashrik, the main contractor of Wadi Hanifa project. “To date about 14,000 cu m of concrete has been used for approximately 5 km of walls, which include straight, curved, and zigzag shapes.
“The formwork is still in excellent condition and with the same plywood of Paschal modular panels, it can be used for about 100 times again.”
“We are extremely happy with the performance of Paschal formwork systems which is very flexible, easy to handle as well as suitable for any complicated layout. In addition, Paschal modular panels have helped us obtain smooth surfaces,” says Halawa.
 “Since the project is on a riverbed and most of the areas are not reachable by a mobile crane, the contractor was also pleased to get a system such as ours, which could be used with or without crane,” says Amir Delghandi, Middle East general manager of the Bahrain-based Paschal.
In addition to the Wadi Hanifa restoration project, Paschal’s formwork has been used in the construction of several projects in the kingdom, which has given the company a firm foothold in the Saudi market.
In a bid to strengthen its presence in the region through entering into regional alliances, Paschal joined hands with a leading player in the Saudi market.
“We are working with Saudi Scaffolding Factory (SSF) in the Saudi market, supplying our quality formwork system.” says Delghandi. “SSF, one of the leading suppliers of formwork and scaffolding in Saudi Arabia, has decided to add Paschal formwork to its rental stock because of the various advantages that the system has to offer.”
Paschal provides support to the Saudi company by training its staff in the application of its extensive product range.
“We have also supplied SSF with the Paschal software to enable them to prepare quotations for the various orders they receive,” he adds.

Versatile system
Paschal Bahrain, set up in 1998, has continued to penetrate the regional market and has added about 250 successful construction companies from the GCC countries to its customer list.
“We are the only formwork supplier in the region to offer the plywood prefixed to the panels, the width of which starts from 5 cm. This enables contractors to start work on the same day that the formwork arrives on site, without using any filler pieces of wood between the panels. Since we established our regional office, we have seen our turnover for the Gulf increase tenfold,” he says.
Elsewhere in the gulf, Paschal opened an office in Dubai in November 2004. Paschal Emirates offers the entire spectrum of services offered by the Bahrain operation, including supply of quotations, design and backup. The formwork is offered on a rental basis or outright purchase – or even on a lease-and-buy option.
Formwork supplied by Paschal has helped in ensuring timely completion of a number of civil projects in the Middle East in Bahrain, the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Iran are currently using these modular systems.
Paschal’s cost-effective and environmentally-friendly formwork systems have become popular because of its many advantages, says Delghandi.
“The ease in erection and dismantling of the formwork systems – with or without cranes – allows contractors to save up to 30 per cent of their superstructure cost through a cutback on labour, materials and time. In addition, the modular panels offer contractors an unmatched versatility, flexibility and durability,” he explains. “The panels – manufactured from 6-mm-thick frames of sturdy steel – are strong and durable, and offer high protection against corrosion. The panel surfaces feature high-quality Finnish birch plywood coated with a special phenolic resin of 220 gm/sq m, offering it a lasting protection. Additionally, steel frames protect the edges of the plywood panels and the gaps between the panels are filled with a special sealant. All these measures, allow users to reuse the panel’s plywood up to 250 times and the steel frame will remain good for more than 20 years.”
Paschal has also gained recognition of its simple climbing system, which has proven to be a big hit with construction companies for its ease of use and also for the system’s versatility.
“The safe and simple new system was introduced as an alternative to slip formwork, for forming shear walls, shear-cores, lift-shafts in high-rise buildings,” says Delghandi.
The system has already been used at the Citibank headquarters at Seef, Taib Bank at Manama, office tower of Trust Insurance at Diplomatic area, airport tower, among several others in Bahrain and is now gaining popularity in the Dubai market.