Saudi-based company recognised for innovation in manufacturing and marketing

Al-Jazierah Home Appliances Company , which specialises in commercial and domestic electrical appliances, has announced winning the Saudi Innovation Award for 2010 for innovation in manufacturing and marketing its products. With this, the company has entered the list of Saudi inventors.

Mohammad Bin Hammad Al-Shammary

Mohammad Bin Hammad Al-Shammary, General Manager and member of the board of Al-Jazierah, evidently delighted at the recognition, reportedly said to the Arabic Press, “Our listing in the innovation table is our way to globalisation.” Al-Shammary believes that one of the important benefits of the award is, being able to evaluate the real status of innovation in the company and comparing it to other local and international ones in the field. This is in addition to being able to market the company as one of the best in innovation, which adds value to its reputation and also its market value.”

Wael Enani

Wael Enani, Marketing and Business Development Manager of the company, speaking to Climate Control Middle East, said: “It tells us what we are doing is the right thing. It assures us of the confidence our clients have in our products. How we design the products and how we create the brand name in the Saudi market is important. It is not only about making the products, but also about delivering them to our customers and after sales. We are trying to be innovative in all these three areas. We are number one in the world in evaporative coolers. This is an achievement. So, the award means we are on the right track.”

Its projects win accolades at Arabian Property Awards 2010

Aldar Properties announced that it has received six awards at the Arabian Property Awards 2010 held recently.

Aldar said that it won awards in the following categories:

• The Souk at Central Market: Best retail development
• Ferrari World Abu Dhabi: Architecture award
• Ferrari World Abu Dhabi: Best leisure development
• Yas Island: Best mixed use development
• The Yas Hotel: Best hotel construction and design (over 50 rooms)
• Al Bandar: Best apartment

Commenting on the awards, Sami Asad, Chief Commercial Officer, Aldar Properties, said: “2010 has been another year of great project delivery for the company, and it is testament to the incredible work of all our staff that the projects honoured all represent key completion milestones achieved this year. The quality product that Aldar is creating across the full development spectrum – residential, commercial, retail, leisure, education, health – is very much part of the first-class infrastructure that supports the economic diversification in progress in Abu Dhabi. We are, therefore, delighted to be rewarded for this essential work.”

Selected “Best Newcomer” in region at CSR Arabia Awards

Aldar Properties, the Abu Dhabi-based property development, management and investment company has announced that it has been selected as the “Best Newcomer” for its work in the field of sustainability at the 2010 Arabia CSR Awards, held in Dubai recently.

First launched in 2008, and supported by the United Nations Global Compact, the awards were created to recognise organisations in the Arab region that demonstrate outstanding leadership and commitment to corporate sustainability and promote CSR as an essential element of a successful business model, the announcement explained.

According to Aldar, earlier this year, it issued its first sustainability report with an aim to demonstrate the company’s approach to sustainability, showcase its accomplishments in the area and outline the company’s future direction, as it sought to embed sustainability into its operations. Aldar added that it is an elected member of the General Secretariat of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group (ADSG) and is a key contributor to the overall direction of the group, comprising 20 leading government, private and NGO organisations in the Emirate, which are committed to the adoption of sustainability reporting and management.

Commenting on the win, Andrew Broderick, Director of EHSS, Sustainability & CSR, said: “I am delighted to accept this award on behalf of everyone at Aldar. Taking sustainability seriously is more than a “should” do; it is a “must” do, not only for the preservation and protection of natural resources and society, but also for the true and lasting success of any business.”

Products to be launched at The Big 5

Aero Textile Concept (ATC), France, which has been designing, manufacturing and providing the maintenance of fabric ducts and air diffusers since 1995, has announced that it will be launching its products in the Middle East during The Big 5, being held from November 22 to 25. According to the announcement, the products will be launched at the Unigulf stand. ATC had signed a deal with Unigulf at the end of October to market the products in the region.

“We hope to be selling to customers in Dubai and Sharjah,” said Jean Senegas, Area Sales Manager, ATC. “Our business strategy is to increase our sales in the UAE and, then, enter the market in Saudi Arabia.”

Elaborating on the concept of fabric ducts, Senegas said that many types of fabrics are being used for ducting, depending upon the application, but polyester is the material that is generally used, as it is very light and resistant.

“It is light weight, in order to reduce static pressure to distribute air, so less power is consumed, because there is less static pressure,” he said. “The material is versatile, and since it can be easily cleaned and reused, it can be used in the food industry.

Senegas said the company can go from 100 cfm to 80,000 cfm. He added that the company’s strength was definitely the food industry. “We have a special fabric for the food industry, and also, a lot of supermarkets use them,” he said. “We have been working with Carrefour for many years, and with Wal-Mart in Mexico. We have been supplying our fabric ducts to them.”

Climate Wizard from Australia’s Seeley International wins gold at The Gaia Awards 2010

‘Climate Wizard’ from Australia’s Seeley International won gold at the Gaia Awards 2010, dmg ::events, the organisers of The Big 5 exhibition, said. The award will be presented at a Dubai World Trade Centre ceremony, to be held on November 21. The Big 5 starts on November 22 and runs through November 25.

The ‘Climate Wizard’ uses the natural cooling power of evaporation to reduce air temperature with a full counter-flow, water-to-air heat exchanger that produces very cold air. The water and air never come into contact, meaning that no moisture is added.

Seeley International’s Chairman and founder, Frank Seeley AM, said the win was particularly gratifying, as energy efficiency and innovation were key company values. “We believe that you can deliver superior cooling performance without sacrificing energy efficiency, and Climate Wizard proves this,” he said. “Climate Wizard is an innovation revolution and is already starting to change the way the world looks at air conditioning.”

The Gaia Awards were launched in 2008 and have quickly grown to become one of the industry’s most respected accolades. Joining Seeley International on the winners list this year are four silver-award winners, six bronze-award winners and 13 finalists.

Regional companies have also made their mark, with the UAE’s Mulk Holdings picking up a Silver award for its product, ‘ALUBOND Green’, and Gulf Engineering System Solutions was awarded Bronze for ‘Steril-Aire UVC Emitters’. Saudi Arabia was represented by DMC Saudi Arabia, which was announced as a finalist for the ‘DMC HR50 INSULATION RENDER’.

Simon Mellor, senior vice president of dmg :: events, said: “The standard of entries, this year, was outstanding, and congratulations to all companies who made the winners list, this year. As the importance of environmental responsibility continues to increases across the international construction industry, the technologies and innovations that are being put forward for Gaia Award become further advanced, and it has been fantastic to see the commitment to the environment from so many companies.

“The Big 5 will provide a showcase to help raise the profile of the winning green solutions, and we know from previous Gaia Winners that the awards can make a real difference to their business.”

Carlos de Jesus, operational director of Gaia Sponsors, APCOR’s Intercork Campaign, will present the awards.

The winners and finalists are:

Expands presence in Abu Dhabi with new on-shore and off-shore projects

Al Shafar General Contracting (ASGC) has stated that it has massive expansion plans, despite enormous challenges faced by the construction industry in the UAE over the last year. It says that it will make major announcements at the The Big 5 show in Dubai, from November 22 to 25.

Bishoy Azmy, CEO, ASGC, will be among the key speakers at the Big 5 Construction Conference, and will talk on the need to maintain growth and client satisfaction in the current challenging environment.

In this context, he said: “Our industry has no doubt been hit hard by the downturn. However, despite increasingly challenging market conditions, we have maintained a quality construction order book.

“Effective management of the company’s resources and calculated response to risk helped us to successfully overcome a critical period. There is still some way to go before we emerge from the crisis. But we are confident that our strategy to expand our presence in more resilient markets like Abu Dhabi, Egypt, KSA, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Libya will pay off. In addition, we are looking into opportunities in CIS and other Asian countries.”

ASGC says that it is well supported by its sister companies providing a broad array of specialised contracting services and construction materials, as it has over 16 companies under its umbrella. Also, in an effort to mitigate falling demand in commercial and residential sectors, ASGC is looking to boost its exposure in more secure, higher-margin contracts, it has announced. “We have recently established ASGC Al Shafar Oilfield Contracting, which is based in Abu Dhabi and will focus on providing building services in the on-shore and off-shore oil gas fields,” Azmy said.

Demonstrates safety ventilation window technology at seminar

Geze Middle East, developer and manufacturer of German construction systems for doors, windows and safety technology, organised a seminar, at the Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai, with a view to refreshing and retooling its operation in the Middle East for the coming year. The event was attended by over 300 industry professionals and local dignitaries. During the event, they viewed the company’s new RWA technology in automatic smoke detectors or manual triggers.

Charles Constantin

Explaining the working, Geze said that the RWA openings at the top of the building are operated by electromechanical drives. Smoke gases thermally rise and can escape through the openings at the very outset. The required intake openings in the lower parts of the building reinforce this process through compensation of mass flow, an element integral to design implantation considerations for the architects, designers and consultants to incorporate in their structural plans, added Geze.

The seminar included a live demonstration of the RWA products, to give an insight into the best use of the latest technology that had been incorporated into the design.

“Our partners – the architects, consultants and developers – are integral to the design of any product developed by Geze,” said Charles Constantin, Middle East Managing Director, Geze. “We always consult our partners for the introduction of any product in the region to ensure that we offer them the best possible solutions to meet there every increasing need.”

While launching RWA exhaust air solutions at the event, Geze said that it stressed the need for safety in today’s high-rise residential and commercial projects, with heat and smoke extraction smart sensors built in to ventilate rooms, and avoid the risk of asphyxiation and prolonged exposure to harmful substances.

Claims that total building services significantly reduce cost of ownership

Saying that controlling the cost of heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems is a top priority for building owners, and that Building Management Systems are an important contributor to these goals, Trane has announced the introduction of a service programme. It claims that the programme ensures optimum performance of these systems.

According to the announcement, Trane Controls Services consists of regular monitoring and adjusting of existing HVAC controls systems to maintain continuous optimum performance at the lowest possible operating and maintenance cost.

The new programme complements the predictive maintenance services offered by it, said Trane, and added that Controls Services and the existing Trane Select Contracts, which focus on servicing mechanical equipment, are designed to work together to offer customers a total building service solution to suit their needs. As with Trane Select, customers can choose from four levels of coverage, ranging from preventive maintenance to fully comprehensive services, the company claimed.

It further claimed that the Controls Services programme recognised the critical importance of building controls, which effectively serve as an HVAC system’s ‘brain,’ directly affecting energy efficiency, building equipment and occupant comfort and satisfaction.

Commenting on the new services, Jose Laloggia, Service and Parts Leader for the Trane commercial business in Europe and Middle East, said: “The effectiveness of a Building Management System has a direct effect on overall HVAC operating costs. With Trane Controls Services, customers can keep their systems functioning optimally so that energy-saving strategies continue to deliver the intended results.”

Saying that over time, small changes and adjustments can cause inefficiencies or mechanical wear on HVAC equipment, Trane maintained that through regular controls servicing, the company helps prevent emergency failures. It added that it also performed a proactive evaluation of building performance to identify and expose possible HVAC system improvements.

NWC will supply 20,000 cubic metres of treated water per day to Saudi Tabreed

The National Water Company (NWC) and Saudi Tabreed have signed a memorandum of understanding for the sale of treated sewage water. This was done on the sidelines of the Investment Opportunities in the Water and Sanitation Forum, in the Kingdom.

As per the MoU, which was signed by Loay Al Musallam, Executive Chairman of the NWC, and Mohammed bin Abdullah Abu Nian, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saudi Tabreed, NWC will provide Saudi Tabreed with 20,000 cubic metres of treated water per day, for a period of 25 years, to be used in cooling commercial areas near the Holy Mosque in Makkah.

In this context, Al-Musallam said that treated water was widely being used in developed countries, owing to its economic and environmental benefits, and that it was the best option for large-scale use, such as in industries, agriculture and cooling systems.

Al-Musallam acknowledged that the memorandum would ensure the NWC’s assistance in dealing with water demand management and making sure that the treated sewage water was used for ‘non-human purposes’. Al-Musallam added that NWC has already signed a number of memorandums with several local companies, to provide them with treated water at agreed-upon prices.

One of the themes that emerged during the recently concluded 5th International District Cooling Conference and Trade Show, in Doha, Qatar, was that the industry needed to do a better job at getting its point across to the authorities, in a bid to earn a level playing field for district cooling.

B Surendar

Dr Anwar Hassan, one of the delegates at the conference, conducted by the International District Energy Association (IDEA), perhaps put it across most succinctly when he indicated that it was about time the industry talked the walk. He felt it was no longer enough for the industry to say that district cooling can reduce power consumption, save on footprint costs, slash maintenance costs and offer better service while doing so; it had to go ahead and provide hard, cold facts to substantiate the statements.

I cannot agree more with Dr Hassan. It is important for the longevity and well being of the industry that it evolves a culture of collecting, analysing and sharing the data. This is a task easier said than done, though, because it involves the need to be transparent and forthright. District cooling companies in the region have different approaches and operating procedures to providing chilled water, which impacts the data that emerges; as a result, companies are, perhaps, reluctant to share the data, apprehensive that their operations may appear to be inefficient in comparison to their competitors. A second challenge is the cost and the time involved in collecting the data; in many ways, this is an offshoot of the first challenge.

Impractical as this suggestion may sound, the industry urgently needs a certain dose of intellectual honesty to survive. And also unity.

Almost from the beginning of district cooling in the region, there has been a certain polarisation in the industry. This is painfully evident during the conference season (which now is all-year round, such is the surfeit of platforms), when there is hardly one event that attracts all the key players. For reasons best known to them, different players stay away from different events, preferring to attend, what they feel, is the most important of all. As a result, there is hardly a single platform for a comprehensive discussion on issues.

As Climate Control Middle East, we attempt to bridge the gap and share all that is discussed during the various conferences, but in all honesty, while it has its merits, this approach to communication is, at times, second to face-to-face interaction.

B Surendar