and compatibility with a low-carbon world”
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| 10 Jun 2012 |
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Green aluminium. |
Masdar City in Abu Dhabi is one of the flagship projects in the region using Novelis architectural products.
Novelis president and CEO Philip Martens speaks to Construction Week about the role of polyethylene ‘sandwich’ panels in the recent spate of building fires.
Can you tell our readers a bit about Novelis’s presence and involvement in the Middle East?
For more than ten years, our European architectural team has delivered Novelis aluminum for building and architectural projects in the Middle East, taking part in construction exhibitions such as Dubai’s Big 5 and Project Qatar. In addition, we have equipped various building landmarks in the region with our painted and anodised façade materials.
The company was represented at Project Qatar in Doha: are you actively targeting the Qatar market in its build-up to the FIFA 2022 World Cup?
The World Cup will have a substantial impact on Qatar’s already promising economic growth over the next years.
Investments in infrastructure include a light-rail- system, a new airport and the new Lusail urban development, plus 12 stadia and associated facilities. Due to active marketing with local distribution partners, Novelis is well-positioned for the challenges of the coming years. The World Cup will be an important business opportunity for the Novelis architecture team.
Can you tell us a bit about Novelis’s aluminum architectural and building material products?
Novelis supplies solid rolled and surface finished aluminum sheet for roofing, façade and building applications, such as interior decoration and ceilings. Well-known brand products, like our anodising brands J57S and J73A or our ff2 pre-painted material, stand out with excellent flatness, ideal permissible load, optimum UV and corrosion resistance, all while achieving excellent colour and gloss uniformity.
All Novelis architectural products are non-combustible and fire rated A1 according to international standards. Novelis sheet is 100% recyclable, produced in environment-friendly production processes and designed for long-lasting, sustainable architecture.
Novelis façade sheets are certified for use on high-rise buildings, with the added benefit of full coverage by international insurance companies. New innovative surfaces like stone design, textured design and coloured anodised finishes extend the range of products.
Novelis surface pre-painted aluminium is produced by the environment-friendly coil-coating process. All paints and lubricants produced are processed in a closed material cycle. When stoving the lacquer, 100% of the extracted solvents are combusted and fed back into the process.
The pigments used in the paints are non-hazardous. Novelis aluminium is ground-water neutral and can be recycled as a raw material without any loss of quality.
This is a very competitive sector – what would you say gives Novelis a leading edge in the market?
The severe fire accidents, mostly caused by combustible metal composite materials, in the Middle East during the past months and years has lead to a focus on non-combustible materials for façades and interior building applications. All Novelis aluminum architectural products are certified as non-combustible with a rating of A1.
Novelis materials are applicable for all construction. Novelis’ strong relationship with Middle East local distribution partners, investors, consultants and construction companies is a sustainable base for its business success in the region.
Is the Middle East an important growth market for Novelis? How does it compare globally, and what are the main opportunities?
The Middle East is a target market in respect to building and construction. The Middle East market is, in part, on the same level with Europe and the US in terms of how technical standards are applied.
The main opportunities, clearly, are the level of investment in infrastructure and the speed at which this is taking place. The challenges connected with this are having the right local business partners, and being recognised as a market player that can provide the required support.
There is a major trend toward sustainability and green building in the Middle East, which makes aluminum an ideal building material?
Yes, there is a strong trend towards sustainable and green buildings, especially at construction summits and conferences.
Source: Construction Week Online
