Reynaers secures company's first order in Oman

Reynaers Middle East, a company specialising in architectural aluminium systems, said it is penetrating new markets within the region and has secured the firm's first order in Oman.

Ali Khalaf, Managing Director Reynaers Middle East yesterday told Emirates Business that the company is currently negotiating projects with contracts valued at over €5 million (Dh25m) and is confident of achieving higher target this year compared to 2008.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Façade Design and Engineering 2009, an event organised by IQPC, Khalaf said he expects growth to continue and is also looking towards recruiting additional staff. "Reynaers continues to see exciting sales growth despite the challenging market. This, thanks to our existing loyal customers, who continue to support us. We are not dropping our capacity and staff; rather we are increasing our capacity," he said.

"At a time, when companies are hesitant, we are bracing for more competition by investing in more staff and embarking on an innovative strategy so that we will continue to lead the market. We are still expanding so that we can be prepared when things go back to normal next year. While 2009 will not be an easy year, we will continue with our many projects and we have also increased our product lines," said Khalaf.

Established in 1965, Reynaers' is present in more than 30 countries. Globally its sales last year reached about €350m and sold about 30,000 tonnes of aluminium. The regional office was set up in Bahrain in 2004.

"During the past five years we have been involved in some prestigious projects in the region. We are currently working on the Ferrari Theme Park at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. We are also in the process of placing the order for the 50-storey Era Towers in Bahrain," he said.

Last October, Reynaers Middle East was awarded the contract for providing customised solutions for the Ferrari theme park in Abu Dhabi. The project is due for completion in time for the 2009 Formula One race in Abu Dhabi. "The project has required the design of almost 30 new aluminium dies, 12 new gaskets and over 27,000 sq m of glass," said Khalaf.

"Highly customised aluminium glazing systems are being utilised for a 100m diameter centrally positioned funnel shaped structure that descends from the roof into the interior of the theme park building. Most of the panels are trapezoidal and three dimensional in shape, which has been achieved by designing a special gasket. The entire facade – known as the 'shield' of the building, which sits under the expansive red coloured metal roof – will be dressed in our unified curtain walling.

Its façade systems has also been used in Sports City Tower in Qatar. "It's a 300m high tower with a hotel, a revolving restaurant and a sport museum. The design is based on a central concrete core, covered with a steel mesh facade. We have developed a special design for inclinated unitised curtain wall apart from a special design for stick system and slim line," he added. Last July, Bahrain-based Aluminum company Ashbee Metal Cladding SPC – a Reynaers authorised fabricator – signed a BD5m (Dh48.7m) contract with the China State Construction Engineering Corporation for the Era Tower located in Seef Area.

"The Era Towers' project team has specified Reynaers systems for the project. Our technical team has followed the project from its early design stages, to guarantee optimal solutions and value engineering," said Khalaf. The project he said is expected to be finish by end-2009.

According to him, Reynaers Middle East experienced significant growth during the past two years. "We reached our target of €7m in 2008. This year will be tough and is difficult to predict. We are on the right track. At present, we are negotiating orders for €5m and have put a much higher target for 2009. We are pretty sure of meeting the target," said Khalaf.

The company, in its efforts to enter into new market, has started negotiations with architects in Oman.

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