In line with its goal of providing construction companies all round the world with high-quality formwork equipment, solutions and services, Doka has been supplying Qatar with safe, fast and efficient formwork systems and solutions that have met the demands of contracting companies, who have very quickly appreciated the advantages they were provided with, according to the leading European formwork manufacturer.

Systems from Doka have played a central role in a number of prestigious projects in Qatar including the first stages and ongoing development of the West Bay Complex area, The Pearl-Qatar, New Doha International Airport and Qatar’s ‘dancing towers’.
“We are committed to helping contracting companies to form swiftly, on schedule and cost-effectively with Doka high-performing products, flexible systems and high safety standards. Whether it’s a wall, a slab or a climbing formwork that is required, we are able to provide the right formwork solution,” says Geir Jensen, the general manager of Doka Qatar, Doka’s subsidiary which was set up in 2004 in the country.
“Our team in Doha can provide all the engineering and technical services required by a construction site. In addition, to comply with customers’ work programmes, our warehouses are ready to despatch materials at a short notice,” adds Jensen.
Doka’s goal is to supply construction companies all round the world with high-quality formwork equipment, solutions and services to help build concrete structures faster, better, cost-effectively and safely. With a strong focus on globalisation, Doka has set up branches and subsidiaries all over the world and has actively expanded its presence in the Middle East with technical assistance, timely deliveries, support and supervision and training on site.
One of the key factors for its worldwide success is Doka’s constant quest for innovative products and services that bring benefits to the customer, reducing their labour input and thus saving the overall construction time and costs, says a spokesman for the company.
Doka systems aim to reduce the workload on construction site and increase profitability while providing the site staff with easy and safe working environment, he adds.
The company’s range of vertical formwork systems include the Doka large-area formwork Top 50, which is designed to suit different shapes and sizes and meet various requirements. Top 50 forms even conical, rounded and irregular structures in fair-faced concrete, the spokesman points out.
“In order to meet an increasing demand for fast-forming sequences and high-performance formwork on large-area walls, Doka offers its Framax Xlife system developed for extremely long usage,” he says. “Framax Xlife uses only a few different sizes of matching panels, achieving a continuous 15 cm grid and ensuring best possible utilisation, maximised re-use cycles as well as smooth concrete surfaces due to the innovative plastic coating of the plywood sheet. This framed formwork is a perfect solution for casting high walls in a very short time and can also be used for columns, circular formwork and foundations.”
To meet the growing trend towards high-rise construction in Qatar, Doka recommends the use of its automatic self-climbing formwork system SKE, which has been utilised successfully at many job sites in the country such as Al Fardan Towers, City Tower and several others.
“The SKE system is a crane-independent climbing formwork for structures of any shape and height. The wide working platforms that are enclosed on all sides and the fact that the units are lifted hydraulically with no need for a crane together ensure both safety and speed,” he says.
Another recently-developed time-saving solution from Doka is the Table Lifting System (TLS), which enables floor-slab forming operations to be carried out at top speed without using a crane.
“With TLS, tableforms can be shifted without a crane irrespective of wind conditions. In fast track projects where a large number of tableforms are to be used, the Doka TLS system optimises the construction workflow and the logistics for the entire site. Horizontal and vertical repositioning is carried out with a Doka shifting trolley, thus saving time and money,” the spokesman says.
All these and other formwork products that widely used in the Middle East market, such as the brand new Doka beam H20 Top, will be presented at the Project Qatar 2008 exhibition – the fifth international trade exhibition for construction technology, building materials, equipment and environmental technology, which will be held in Qatar next month (April 7 to 10).
“We are keen to accomplish challenging large-scale projects and are at the same time ready to prove all large, medium and smaller-scale contractors that we can help them build safely, quickly and efficiently,” concludes Jensen.