Gulf Construction Online - Hira continues with quality insulation

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Hira continues with quality insulation

01 August 2011

WITH the recent launch of Aerofoam-NBR, the UAE-based Hira Industries now offers a technically superior insulation material for pipe and duct insulation in refrigeration, ventilation and air-conditioning applications.

Aerofoam-NBR follows the successful launch last year of Aerofoam-XPE and expands Hira Industries’ wide product range, which includes ducting accessories, Diamond pipe supports, self-adhesive tapes and moulded and extruded rubber products.

Aerofoam-NBR tubes and sheets, used to insulate pipes and air-ducts, prevent condensation, absorb noise and vibrations and protect installations against energy losses.

The new product already complies with most of the requirements set by British Standards (BS) and American Standards (ASTM) for pipe insulation using nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), according to Hira Industries.

“The company decided to begin the production of Aerofoam-NBR with the aim of offering a complete solutions package to customers in the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) field,” says Laurentiu Pestritu, insulation product manager for the Middle East, India and Africa. “Further product development will follow the market needs, will integrate cost-effective and environment-friendly production technologies and will focus on product quality and high service level.”

Describing the product, Pestritu says: “Aerofoam-NBR is a highly flexible, closed-cell insulation material that provides installations with reliable protection against condensation and energy losses. Due to its sound technical properties such as high resistance to water vapour diffusion (µ ≥ 7,000) and low thermal conductivity (l=0.035 W/m deg C at 20 deg C), Aerofoam-NBR ensures long-term condensation control. It thus also increases the energy efficiency of the installation in comparison to other elastomeric as well as other insulation materials used for the same scope. Furthermore, the balanced price-performance ratio makes it a particularly economical, energy-saving solution.”

“As Aerofoam-NBR has a high resistance to diffusion and low thermal conductivity, with this material the risks of moisture penetration are lower than with other insulation materials. The resistance to diffusion is built up continuously – cell by cell – throughout the entire material thickness. The cell walls are ‘sealed’ during production, allowing a very high resistance to water vapour diffusion to be achieved,” he adds.

The product’s fire classification is according to BS 476 parts 6 and 7. Other benefits cited for the product are great form stability, ease of use and noise reduction properties.

Aerofoam-NBR has a wide range of applications that include refrigeration, HVAC air ducts, water pipelines, water tanks, under slab, raised floors, air-handling units (AHUs) and fan coil units (FCUs).

Hira Industries started producing elastomeric pipe insulation earlier this year.

The product is available in a wide choice of tubes and sheets (also in self-adhesive, continuous-length and pre-cut versions, on demand). The range includes tubes (with thicknesses of 6, 9, 13, 19, 25 and 32 mm and with a diameter ranging from 6 to 89 mm); rolls, standard or self-adhesive (with thicknesses of 6, 9, 13, 16, 19, 25, 32, 40 and 50 mm); and sheets (with thicknesses of 10, 15, 20 and 25 mm).

“On demand, we are able to also offer sheets or rolls with different aluminium-based foils and pre-cut tubes. Accessories like self-adhesive rubber tape, adhesive, cleaner and ultraviolet (UV) protective coatings are also available.

“Specification clauses and the technical calculation programme have already been created for the new product,” he says.

Dubai-based Hira Industries, which manufactures rubber and polyethylene products, tapes, ventilation accessories and the Diamond pipe supports, claims to be the only company in the GCC region that can provide both XPE and NBR pipe insulation. The ISO-certified firm, which achieves an annual turnover of about $45 million, has branches in Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and India, employing more than 500 people and intends to open others soon in Africa.