Alcopanel’s aluminium composite panels to revamp UAE’S fire and safety practice

According to UAE Civil Defence’s Fire and Life Safety Code of Practice, the panel manufacturers who sell “non-listed materials” in the construction processes for building in the UAE are punishable and illegal. In August 2016, Alucopanel Middle East, a subsidiary of Danube Group, has started a new manufacturing plant producing A2 fire-rated aluminium composite panels (ACP) in order to supply in accordance to this requirement.

Alucopanel has spent a $27.2m in the manufacturing plant of ACP. The new panels are produced with a non-combustible mineral core consisting mainly of magnesium hydroxide.  The ACP panels have now been widely used on Dubai and across the Gulf.

Zohaib Rahman, the head of panel-manufacturer, Alucopanel Middle East, said that for installing Alucopanel’s A2 fire-rated aluminium composite panels, a facade contractor must use the same installation system that was used in the laboratory when the panels received their A2 rating.

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Ahmed Salem, principal design architect at National Engineering Bureau (NEB), said: “The shifting of aluminium cladding practices has [helped to close the price gap] with non-traditional cladding systems. Innovation in cladding systems gives a tool to designers to express their creativity, discovering unique design trends and not bound to one specific system.”

He further emphasised that the aluminium composite panels (ACP) will remain the product of choice for many projects. The ACP offers durability and significant weight advantage and is rightly suited for non-labour intensive installations.

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