Archicom, a Singaporean composite panel producer, has secured its first major win in the region with a contract to supply its aluminium honeycomb panels to Muscat International Airport.
The deal involves the supply 25,000m2 of the insulating and lightweight panelling as roofing material for a 35,000m2 car shelter at the airport project.
“Muscat Airport, which will be our first project, is a sizeable project, and it is using our highest grade of materials,” says K.M. Liew, managing director of Archicom Singapore PTE.
“We are supplying curved 15mm-deep honeycomb panels for the roof shelters. Our company played a part in the design, proposing a system to the consultants on how to attach the panels to the steel trusses. We are also going to be supplying to Dubai’s marina industries for internal panels on ships.”
In its home market of Singapore, Archicom is also taking on major projects, and this year completed a contract to provide its basic aluminium composite wall panels for the International Cruise Terminal.
“We are the major supplier for Singapore government projects,” added Liew.
Its products also comply with government fire safety regulations. Archicom also makes stone wool panels which, though heavier, provide superior heat insulation.
“For the Muscat International Airport, we are the first in the whole industry to produce the larger width of 1.8m for panels, whereas traditionally panels are below 1.6m. The maximum width that we can now produce is 2m, but we are proposing the 1.8m for Muscat,” says Liew.
“What people want when they are choosing aluminium panels is the light weight, and then that it is fully recyclable, heat-insulated and soundproof.
“Since the material is lightweight, it is also quicker to install, so at the end of the day the contractors save on construction costs,” says Liew.
A final testament to Archicom’s R&D-intensive approach is its involvement in several highly specialist projects, providing its lightweight honeycomb to the Singapore military for emergency shelters and to the Civil Defense Force, which has used the panels to replace the steel platforms of its fire engines.