With yet another Spancrete Machinery Corporation-supplied precast production facility set to go onstream in Abu Dhabi early next year, the US-based manufacturer of precast and prestressed concrete hollowcore wall panel and floor plank production systems, is upbeat about prospects for growth in the Gulf.

“Spancrete Machinery Corporation clearly recognises the need for its system in the Gulf states. We have analysed the tremendous growth in the Gulf region and feel that the high-volume, flexible capabilities of our machine systems gives our producers a clear advantage in the marketplace,” says Joe Dugan, vice president.
The company is now looking forward to exhibiting at the Big 5 show in Dubai for the fifth consecutive year with a product display that will include all four of its manufactured hollowcore machine systems as well as hollowcore finished products.
“We will also be introducing the Spancrete 2.4 m-wide, insulated/non-insulated wall panel at our stand 3F119 at the event this year,” says Terence W Dittrich, international sales manager of the company.
“The Big 5 trade show has always been a significant event for us as it offers us the ideal platform for conducting business deals as besides being well-organised with a good show length, it also has a consistent and qualified customer representation from all countries in the Gulf. This year also we hope to generate the same volume of business as last year, where we secured an important business lead which translated into the sale of a GT-240 system to a customer in the UAE,” he adds.
The customer is now building a new factory in Abu Dhabi that is set to open in the first quarter of next year. Currently there are six Spancrete factories in the Middle East, which have been in operation for at least 12 years, showing the reliability of the Spancrete system within the regional conditions, Dittrich points out.
Over the past 50 years, Spancrete Machinery Corporation has also sold its machine systems worldwide and currently there are more than 60 producers around the globe, including in Turkey, Egypt and Armenia.
Established in 1946, Spancrete Machinery manufactures high-quality and reliable machines and accessories for the production of both 1.2 and 2.4 m-wide hollowcore applications. The standard thicknesses range from 10 cm to 40 cm and with the same machine a producer has the ability to produce floor and roof slabs as well as insulated/non-insulated wall panels with a variety of textured finishes, he points out.
Spancrete Machinery continues to conduct research and supplies all of the production facilities of its parent company, the Spancrete Group, a full service precast producer in Wisconsin and Illinois in the US. In the coming year, the company intensify its research and development efforts on accessory products at its new research and development centre in Waukesha. It is also looking at boosting its production staff, as part of its ongoing focus on quality and quest for innovation.
“Our company has witnessed some significant developments over the last year which includes new improvements and developments in our accessory equipment along with more streamlining of specific aspects of our machines,” says Dittrich.
Business prospects in the export market have been looking up for Spancrete, which has supplied to three new plants in Europe in Belgium, Spain and Hungary. The company is also actively pursuing new producers in the Gulf and throughout the Middle East where the surge construction activity has led to additional sales especially for hollowcore machine systems that are extremely popular in the region.
Spancrete has around 40 employees and achieves an annual turnover of more than $10 million.