Gulf Construction Online - Prospects exciting says Heat Shield

UAE Focus

Prospects exciting says Heat Shield

01 September 2009

DUBAI-BASED Heat Shield, a stockiest of thermal, acoustical and fire barrier insulation, cladding and ancillary products manufactured by companies based in the US, Europe, Korea and Japan, says it is well placed to meet the challenges of what promises to be an “exciting year ahead”. The firm says it is the largest insulation package dealer in the region catering to all the insulation requirements in the industrial and commercial sector.

“Our main objective is to serve the insulation industries with the best quality materials at the most competitive prices. To ahieve this, we always endeavour to develop new products and sources,” says Premnath Shetty, Heat Shield’s technical and sales director.
Shetty, who has formidable technical knowledge of insulation systems acquired in a career spanning 21 years, uses his expertise to extend Heat Shield’s service as a solution provider in the industry, which is done “as a goodwill gesture without any charges”.
He continues: “With Heat Shield finding new sources, it has broken the monoploy which some products previously had on the insulation market. This has not only saved money for the contractors and owners but also saved time in the project execution.”
Considering the current economic crisis as a period of correction on the market, marketing director Mohamed El Bana says: “From the end of 2006 until the last quarter of 2008 there were increases in the prices of materials, which were against the fundamen1tals of economics. Today, the market has corrected itself and prices have fallen back to the levels prevailing between 2005 and the third quarter of 2006.”
Now, as the dust settles, Heat Shield is optimistic of hitting targets achieved in 2005 and 2006 when business levels were more realistic, he says.
Shetty adds that although the sales are expected to come down, it will not affect overall operations of the company because 2008 sales were 43 per cent more than the target figures. “However, this year has given us more time to re-structure, develop more products, improve warehousing, logistic, office and quality control facilities. Further, we are in the process of setting up manufacturing facilities for some premium products, which we expect to start production by the second quarter of 2010. Although, this year’s sales would turn out to be lower than last year, it has given us lot of time to think and plan for expansion and improvement,” he says.
Heat Shield holds huge stocks worth $5 million of insulation, accessories and jacketing available at very competitive prices and is totally committed to quality, safety, and on-time delivery. “We do not limit ourselves to supply only but we serve the insulation industry beyond this horizon by suggesting the correct material and also providing solution,” he adds.
Commenting on the company’s procurement policy, El Bana says: “It is our policy to procure materials from sources offering the best material in terms of specification and cost.”
Heat Shield has long-standing supply agreements with manufacturers based in Europe, Japan, the US and is well versed with the technical standards followed in these countries. The company has supplied numerous industrial and commercial projects with orders ranging in value from $1 million to more than $20 million.
Its major projects in the UAE include Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company’s (Takreer) Borouge Phase II in Ruwais, Ruwais Refinery Expansion Phase One (unleaded gasoline) in Ruwais, Onshore Gas Development Project Phase II in Habshan, Abu Dhabi Gas Industries’ (Gasco) NGL 3 in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi Electricity and Water Authority’s (Adewa) Shuweihat and Taweelah desalination and power plant, Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority’s (Sewa) desalination and power plant project, Fujairah desalination and power plant, the Burj Dubai, the Dubai Metro and Etisalat building projects.
In Qatar, the company was involved in supply of all insulation materials to Qatargas’ LNG trains 4, 5, 6 and 7, one of the largest LNG projects in the region. Additionally, other projects in Qatar where the company have supplied insulation materials are Qatar Petroleum’s (QP) Pearl GTL (gas-to-liquids) project, Ras Abu Fontas desalination plant, Ras Laffan desalination plant, Qafco’s EPS project, Qatargas debottling project, Qafco 4 project, Rasgas LNG trains 3 and 4, Al Khaleej Gas expansion project, QP’s LAB project, Laffan Refinery (condensate) and Q-Chem project.
In Saudi Arabia, the company has been involved with the Marafiq desalination project, Saudi Kayan Petrochemcial Complex, ROPP project, Yansab ethylene project, Rabigh Refinery utilities and offsites project, Aramco’s Ras Tanura project, KCC project, Khurais, Khafji crude onshore production facilities, Jubail AAC EA (Arabian Amines Company’s ethylene amines complex) project and a power and desalination plant in Jubail.
Its export markets include industrial as well as commercial sectors in Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Kenya, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Singapore, Vietnam, Sudan, India and Russia.
“We are now focussing on expanding our reach to cover more markets, especially in Africa, the Far East, and Russia, and we are also planning to further increase the investments in our Dubai facilities,” says El Bana.
In the past, Heat Shield has saved on competitive sourcing and overheads, which will be now spent on its reinvestment programme, upgrading its facility and head office, re-developing its warehouses and implementing hi-tech warehouse management systems.
Established in 1995, Heat Shield has been registering excellent growth year on year. Since its inception, Heat Shield has grown thirty-fold. Its major clients are from the oil and gas, power generation and desalination and commercial sectors. Heat Shield issues internal procedures covering quality assurance and control for all orders. It is often called on to prepare specification for projects in accordance to international standards.
To ensure timely execution of contracts, the company has, over the years, developed procedures appropriate to the planning and execution of orders. It also has a safety policy in place adhering to the standards applicable in the UAE.
Heat Shield has vast experience in thermal, acoustical and fire barrier insulation and can also offer consultancy and trouble shooting services. In addition, the company offers technical expertise for complex thermal, acoustical and fire-barrier insulation contracts. Its product range covers rockwool, ceramic fibre, PIR, PUF, phenolic foam, cellular glass, expanded polystyrene, calcium silicate, fibreglass, microtherm, recently-introduced aerogel, refractories, fabricated/non-fabricated cladding/steel formers, insulation adhesives, mastics, fasteners, steel straps, screws, insulation ancillaries, thermal, acoustical and fire-barrier insulation jackets.