New entrant into the pre-engineered steel buildings (PEB) market, Mabani Steel, which commenced production in February, has published a manual containing comprehensive technical information on PEBs.

“This manual - available as a single source document - is a great achievement for both Mabani Steel and the PEB industry,” says Muayyad Khudairi, president of Mabani Steel. “It is the first PEB technical manual in the world that distinguishes between the two main product categories of PEBs: namely, the PEB steel structure and the panels and panel accessories.”
The manual is available in both hard copy and PDF file on CD and can be obtained from the company's head office in Ras Al Khaimah or from any of its sales offices.
“The emergence of several world-class specialised panels and panel accessories manufacturers in this region has driven specialised PEB contractors to solicit separate quotation offers for the PEB steel structure from PEB manufacturers and separate quotation offers for the panels and panel accessories from the specialised panels and panel accessories manufacturers.
“Mabani Steel recognises this trend, especially in the UAE, and voluntarily breaks all its quotation offers into these two categories. This segmentation will enable specialised PEB contractors to decide where to buy the panels and panel accessories, thus creating more overall competitive offerings to their customers,” he adds.
The company is a member of the Al-Rajhi Investment Group, which is one of the five largest business groups in Saudi Arabia and the single largest Saudi investor in the UAE. The company also boasts a very experienced executive management, comprising Muayyad Khudairi, president and Ken Krieger, vice president, both of whom have worked together for over three decades and have been responsible for the success of the three largest PEB manufacturers in this region.
Adds Khudairi: “This is the first time that we have had the opportunity to manage a PEB design and manufacturing company from the beginning without inheriting an existing culture, which almost invariably means devoting considerable time to change it to one that respects individual initiative, efficiency, and accountability.
“Learning from our 30 years experience in the PEB industry, we are creating a company that will be the benchmark for PEB not only in this region but worldwide including the US where the PEB industry emerged 60 years ago and where over a million PEBs are sold annually.”
Mabani Steel has identified several performance factors where it intends to become the benchmark and considers code compliance as the most important of them in this region.
Elaborating on the importance of having the latest code he says: “Although all PEB manufacturers in this region use the same three engineering design codes and the same building code, there are considerable differences in the various editions (that is, year of issue) of the codes that are used. Our competitors may use outdated editions of these codes, some using editions that are over 25 years old. We use only the latest, more stringent editions. Even though these latest editions may result in more robust and costlier structures for us to produce, we have managed to develop competitive pricing because of the efficiencies we have gained in a multitude of other factors.
“A key differentiating factor for Mabani Steel is the design software that is being used. Most PEB manufacturers in this region use in-house developed design software or software that was developed by companies that have gone out of business or that which is no longer supported. Mabani Steel uses design software from Metal Buildings Software (MBS), a software company that has one product only: the design and detailing of pre-engineered steel buildings. MBS has over 120 customers worldwide serviced by a 25-member team. As soon as a new edition of a code is published, MBS allocates sufficient resources to incorporate all the latest design requirement updates into its software. The result is total uncompromised code compliance by Mabani Steel.”
The company has its head office, factory and camp located in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE and maintains a sales presence in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, Muscat and Riyadh. In addition, it also offers erection services throughout the UAE.