Gulf Construction Online - Kirby upgrades plant to meet future demand

Steel

Kirby projects ... the dome of the Qurdoba Cooperative Society premises.

Kirby upgrades plant to meet future demand

01 July 2004

Kuwait-based Kirby Building Systems – a premier manufacturer of pre-engineered steel buildings and structures in the Middle East – continues to upgrade its facilities and systems to enhance the quality of its products and increase its output, in a bid to satisfy the more complex requirements of its customers.

“We have upgraded our drafting systems and are now using Kirby automated drafting system (KADS) and BoCad software to enable faster detailing and fabrication of pre-engineered and structural steel projects, through generating high-quality approval and erection drawings and, shop drawing. The bill of materials is produced through the KABS system, with a quick menu-driven user-friendly input,” says Nabil Sleiman, general manager.
The ERP system has been implemented throughout the company, integrating the engineering system with all other functions, resulting in a totally integrated business system.
“Hand-in-hand with these enhancements, we have embarked on automating our standard manually-operated processes with advanced CNC (computer numerical controlled) units, using fully computerised systems, which has improved the quality of our products as well as increased our productivity,” he adds.
Early this year, Kirby introduced a Robotic Plasma steel cutting system, which is believed to be the first of its kind in the region’s steel fabrication industry. The process is directly linked to the engineering drafting system through computer-aided manufacturing interface (CAM), which is an advanced version of CNC. The robot produces accurate structural components from plates and hot-rolled sections through direct download of the shop drawings. This ensures a high-quality end product, avoids shop errors and allows faster delivery times on structural steel projects, Sleiman explains.
“These fully-automated systems have allowed us to significantly increase our output,” he points out.
Set up in 1975, Kirby is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Alghanim Industries – one of the largest privately-owned group of companies in Kuwait. Since its inception, Kirby has erected in excess of 26,000 steel buildings in more than 20 countries in the Gulf, Africa, Europe and Asian markets, for industrial, commercial and recreational applications.
These projects have been executed through its extensive network of sales offices and certified builders in selected cities. These offices are staffed with well-trained and experienced sales and technical engineers who provide optimum building solutions to customers.
“We continue to expand our network in Africa, Asia and Europe to enable Kirby to provide better services to customers,” says Sleiman.
Kirby certified builders in each market complement Kirby sales offices in providing total solutions to customers from civil works, erection of Kirby steel buildings to complete turnkey services.
Besides customer service, Kirby has also built a solid reputation for its outstanding product quality and has already revalidated its ISO certification into the latest ISO 9001:2000.
This focus on quality has enabled Kirby to become a generic name for high-quality PEBs, particularly in the Gulf countries, he points out.
Kirby is confident that with its continuous quest for the latest technology and its keenness to expand and upgrade its product range, the company will maintain its position as a leading supplier of pre-engineered and structural steel projects in the industrial and commercial market segments.
Kirby Building Systems also operates a state-of-the-art PEB manufacturing plant in Hyderabad, India, supplying projects to the Indian subcontinent and East Asian markets.