Landmark ... the Yanbu Information Centre.
Business builds up for brick specialist
Madinah-based El-Maimani is embarking on a drive to increase the use of bricks in commercial and residential projects.
01 December 2001
Load-bearing clay bricks are being increasingly used to build homes and offices in Saudi Arabia's western region, as builders realise their economic and thermal and aesthetic advantages, says local manufacturer El-Maimani.
"Our bricks help cut down both time and cost of construction," says Kamal Al-Gobali, the marketing and projects manager of El-Maimani Red Brick and Clay Products Factory. "They also have aesthetic appeal and good insulation and load-bearing values."
The Madinah manufacturer's red bricks have been used on several residential and commercial buildings, including the Yanbu Information Centre, a distinctive landmark in the industrial city and one of the company's more unusual projects.
Over the last year, El-Maimani has been busy building villas for Saudi Aramco, a housing compound for Sahal Noamaan, a dormitory for Yanbu National Hospital and other housing projects.
"We recently completed a major project for Saudi Aramco in Yanbu, under which we built 50 two-storey villas over an area of 25,000 sq m using our distinctive load-bearing bricks," says Al-Gobali.
The complex was built using El-Maimani's load-bearing construction technique, which involved the extensive use of a variety of bricks on the foundations, walls, roofs and finishes. Insulation was further boosted through the use of the cavity-wall technique on thd the entire lighting package for the prestigious Oman Medical College which is being built at Bausher by the Galfar group of Oman. This project uses a wide spectrum of the company's lighting products including the new T5 luminaire, indirect luminaires, downlights with conventional and dimmable control gear, floodlights, streetlights, ceiling lights, continuous recessed double parabolic fitting with dimmable ballast and recessed weatherproof fittings.
Another major project won by MajeLite is the Sharqiyah t this level of activity will be maintained over the next decade.
Also, the company's new contracting office which covers Jeddah and Makkah has got off to a brisk start, winning five housing projects in just three months.
The company is now embarking on a drive to further promote the use and advantages of its load-bearing bricks.
"We plan to conduct a series of technical seminars on our insulation and load-bearing construction system," says Al-Gobali. "We have signed a contract with King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), which will conduct seminars for industry professionals in Makkah, Jeddah and Madinah."
"Our products are the result of extensive research and development and they have been well accepted in the market," he adds.
Established in 1980, El-Maimani Red Brick and Clay Products Factories manufactures small hordi bricks for ceilings, fair-faced bricks, utility (plumbing and electrical) bricks, 'marble' bricks and lightweight hollow bricks for high-rise construction.
Also within the El-Maimani Group are the National Rockwool Insulation Products Factory, which markets a range of insulation materials under the Azel brand, and a water-bottling and construction contracting division.
