Leading precast manufacturer Qanbar Dywidag Precast Concrete Company (QDC) has recently boosted its production capacity to meet the growing demands for precast concrete in a buoyant construction market.

“Over the past few years, we have expanded our factory in Jubail Industrial City by constructing a new production facility, in addition to our existing factory,” says QDC director and CEO Mohammed Al Ansari.
“This new factory – located close to our existing facilities – has doubled our production capacity, enabling us to meet the increasing demand for precast concrete products,” he says.
“Business last year was booming and we expect it to rise further in the coming year,” he adds.
Among the recent prestigious projects executed by QDC include Saudi Aramco’s Khursaniyah gas plant where it provided precast concrete pipe racks. It started work on the project in October 2005 and completed it at the end of last year. The main contractor was Consolidated Contracting Company (CCC).
Elaborating on its scope of work on the project, Ansari says: “The company had to produce a huge number of precast elements comprising the beam and column system which support the equipment at the facility. The work had to be of the top quality and done in a short time.”
QDC is currently involved with a Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) housing project. The development comprises of villas, which are being constructed by a number of contractors. The precast concrete manufacturing started work in April 2004 and is expected to finish by the end of 2010.
Other ongoing projects include the Prince Mohammed University (PMU), where work started in December 2005 and is expected to be completed by the end of this year, and the several projects in Dammam and Hofuf for King Faisal University (KFU), which are being implemented by several contractors.
QDC had also completed the erection works on the Jubail Beach Resort for Al Zamil Group in Jubail, where it supplied and erected its full building system for 57 two-storey villas and 14 four-storey apartment buildings incorporating attractive architectural features such as arches and decorative walls; and the Home Ownership Development at Al Khafji, and workshop package at Al Khafji.
Other projects in which the company was involved include the Al Ansari Compound in Al Khobar where it has done the full building frame system for 50 villas and four apartment blocks; King Faisal University Campus in Hasa and Dammam; Al Dabal Residential Compound in Al Khobar Arabian Drilling Company Complex in Al Khobar; various industrial facilities for Sabic affiliates; large private housing projects such as Bait Ul Umar for Al Suwaidi and shopping malls such as Dammam Mall.
QDC has also supplied its products for several other projects in the Kingdom for clients such as the Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu, Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic), SWCC (Saline Water Conversion Corporation), Aramco and the King Fahd International Airport, among others.
QDC celebrated its silver jubilee last year as one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers of precast concrete in the Saudi construction sector. It undertakes the design, manufacture, delivery and installation of precast and prestressed concrete components in accordance to specifications, which are based on international standards as the PCI/ACI or BS standards.
The company provides a comprehensive range of products, offering basically a one-stop shop for all precast and prestressed concrete requirements, right from standard precast concrete elements, products such as paving and interlocks tiles, manholes, seating, external claddings panels, hollowcore slabs, double-tee slabs, and precast domes to prestressed long-span girders, full frame systems like wall frames, and beams and columns and boundary walls.
It is also involved on various construction project teams as a supplier or subcontractor who produces, delivers and erects precast and prestressed concrete components, taking active part in the construction project under way in the kingdom with its ability to provide value engineering, which ensures faster construction, better quality and lower costs. 
“Although our main market remains the Eastern Province and the Central Region, we can cater to demand throughout the kingdom. We have also supplied to projects in Abha and currently we have projects for Saudi Aramco in Yanbu and Rabigh and other parts of the kingdom as well,” Ansari says.
Before the capacity augmentation, QDC’s production facility could roll out up to 180,000 cu m of products a year, ranging from normal PCC (precast concrete) elements to pre-stressed girders and slabs. These are offered in various external finishes including sandblasted aggregate and different formliner finishes. Its production has increased year on year, with QDC having produced 95,000 cu m in 2002, which was increased to 110,000 cu m in 2003 and 160,000 cu m in 2004.
Established in 1981 as a partnership between Sheikh Abdulrazzak Mohammed Qanbar Al Ansari – a leading businessman in the Eastern Province – and one of the largest West German general contractors and precast concrete manufacturer Dycherhoff and Widmann AG (Dywidag), Qanbar Dywidag has grown over the years to become one of the leading precast manufacturers in the kingdom. Three years ago, the company became a sole ownership with Sheikh Abdulrazzak Mohammed Qanbar Al Ansari & Sons buying out the entire share of Dywidag. The German partner remains for technical support.
QDC’s sales network includes offices in Jubail, Dammam and Riyadh.  The ISO 9001-2000 certified company boasts a 1,500-strong workforce at its factory and various sites.