Gulf Construction Online - RMD Boards promotes its green credentials

UAE Focus

RMD’s wall panels ... best selling products.

RMD Boards promotes its green credentials

01 May 2014

RMD Boards, a division of JRD International, is optimistic of increasing its market share for decorative wall panels, given the increasing focus on sustainability.

“In the run-up to Expo 2020, our products, which can contribute more towards Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (Leed) building certification, will have a competitive edge,” said Anupam Lunavat, managing director of JRD International, a Dubai-based diversified conglomerate.

Currently the company’s wall panels, wall coverings and shuttering panels are its best-selling products for the construction and interior decoration industries. Its product range also includes false ceilings, flooring material and site fencing.

“As a next-generation material engineered for interior decoration, RMD wall panels are an easy substitute of wood, MDF (medium density fibreboard), plywood, paint, wall paper, granite and marble,” said Lunavat.

“Wood, granite and marble are scarce natural resources and our building processes are consuming these materials. Thus, RMD Boards are definitely an eco-friendly alternative for sectors such as hospitality, residential and commercial,” he explained.

The company manufactures more than 300 types of environment-friendly decorative wall panels.

Another reason for the popularity of its wall panels is the ease of installation, he said. “Our wall panels, for instance, can be fixed on raw walls. A 100-sq-m room can be decorated in three hours and thus the site can be handed over faster. This means that it is not only cost-effective in terms of material and labour for the application of the final layers of cement, paint, but also saves time in terms of work done on each wall. Now a wall can be completed in a matter of hours instead of days,” he said.

Additionally, RMD wall panels conform to ASTM method E-84, which is a ‘reaction to fire’ test applicable to interior finish materials in the GCC region. It also meets requirements of the UAE Fire and Life Safety Code of Practice for interior wall and ceiling finish materials.

The company is raising the profile of its wall coverings as a cost-effective and eco-friendly alternative to marble, granite and stone.

RMD Boards’ wall coverings are available in a variety of designs, and the company can also recreate patterns of marble that have faded into history.

“Marble is a scarce resource and it is a fact that a number of natural designs that marble came in are no longer available. Now, we can recreate those particular designs of marble which no longer exist,” said Lunavat.

“We have customers coming in with samples of marble and asking us to recreate it for them in pre-polished and matt finish. A 100-sq-m wall covering can be fixed in three hours without the need for polishing. The product is stain proof, and one-seventh the weight of conventional marble,” he said.

Another highlight of RMD Boards’ product range are shuttering panels, which are lightweight and also environment-friendly because of their almost zero attrition rate. They are reusable and can be easily stacked, installed and removed.

“These panels can be reused more than 100 times and help in long-term savings though the initial purchase cost is 50 per cent more compared to conventional material,” Lunavat said.

These products from RMD Boards are water-proof, termite-resistant, highly durable, lightweight and 100 per cent recyclable.

JRD International’s flagship venture, RMD Boards has a plant in Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai.

The state-of-the-art manufacturing unit-cum-corporate headquarters, which spreads over a sprawling area of 10 acres, employs around 700 people.