Zamil Steel launches new "S" roof panel
Sunday, 1st July 2001
Zamil Steel has added a new profile to its roof and wall panels with the launch
of production of its new "S" roof panel at its pre-engineered steel building
factory in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
The type "S" panel will replace the type
"B" panel that Zamil Steel had been using as its standard roof
panel.
"The idea of developing this panel came about as we started to
enter more and more markets that has challenging weather conditions", says
Muayyad Al-Khudairi, vice president of the pre-engineered buildings
division.
"We have been supplying steel buildings to cyclonic area where
the wind speed can exceed 300 km per hour; to earthquake prone regions
classified as Zone 4, which is the most critical seismic zone; and to snowy
regions where snow loads could easily exceed 2.5 kN/sq m on the roof - that is
approximately 2 to 3 ft of snow. So, it was important for us to develop this
supreme panels," adds Al-Khudairi.
The new "S" panel is wider and deeper
than the old panel. The panel width coverage is exactly 1,000 mm and the ribs
are 34 mm deep, compared to the 960 mm width and 32 mm depth of the "B" panel.
The "S" panel is at least 30 to 50 per cent stronger than the type "B" panel,
which means that the panel can span longer lengths and width-stand heavier
loads, he points out.
Zamil Steel offers its "S" panel in steel and
aluminum. "As with all our other roof panels, the "S" steel panel is protected
by a layer of Zincalume, that is far superior than galvanized coatings in
corrosion resistance. Zincalume, a registered trademark of BHP, Australia, is a
special alloy coating that consists of aluminum and zinc," says Al-Khudairi. "In
addition to unpainted steel, our "S" panels are also available in modified
polyester pre-painted steel in a variety of colors. We also have the highly
durable XPD pre-painted panels in Frost White color. XPD is a polyvinyl fluoride
coat that immensely increases the durability, and thus the life-span, of the
panel."
Zamil Steel has also changed its factory injected sandwich
panels, to include the new "S" panel as the outer skin.
"We have also
redesigned our high-rib Tempcon panel to use the new "S" panel," he says.
"Furthermore, we have introduced an interlocking side lap to our Tempcon panels
that would significantly increase the insulating efficiency of the panel at the
lap. So now, we have a stronger sandwich panel with a much more efficient
lap."
Product enhancement and development at Zamil Steel is an ongoing
process. The company invests heavily in research and development and has a staff
of more than 15 employees in its R&D department.
Zamil Steel is a
leading pre-engineered steel building manufacturer in Asia and Africa and a
premier exporter of such buildings in the world. In addition to its two
factories in Egypt and Vietnam, the company says it operates the largest
pre-engineered steel building factory in the the world in Dammam, which has a
capacity to produce 6,500 tones (equivalent to 200,000 sq m) of steel buildings
every month.
Zamil Steel is one of the three business units of Zamil
Industrial Investment Company (ZIIC). The other two business units are Zamil Air
Conditioners and Zamil Glass.
