The Big 5

New system on show

A public administration building in Dammam ... a Space Structures project.

SAUDI-based Space Structures Company, which specialises in the design, fabrication, supply, and installation of space-frame structures according to the ME-SSP system, will be promoting its new Flange 6 concept at The Big 5 Saudi Arabia.

The product is based on the success of the Flange 5 and research and studies have proved the high constructability of the new version.

“The Flange 6 technology produces better products and more aesthetic space-frames,” says a company official.
The company will be providing an insight into the properties and advantages of the system at the show.

The space-frame system can span large areas allowing for expansive column-free spaces, is easy to install and low in cost, while maintaining a high degree of quality and safety, says Mohammad Ghannam, the company’s business development manager.

“The unique system utilises the proprietary Multi-Flange connection concept, in which tubular members are connected directly to each other, without the need for a connector hub or external node,” he says.

The ME-SSP system was developed following more than 10 years of extensive research and development (R&D) carried out by Space Structures along with Saudi Steel Pipe Company. It offers a structurally-efficient joint system that can be designed to any degree of moment and axial force capacity. The system has proved to be highly efficient in transferring and distributing the loads and forces across various elements of the structure, he says.

The flexibility of the ME-SSP system allows wide possibilities of development and innovation in space-frame structures.
The company, which is keen to offer high-quality products that meet the market’s needs, is also focusing on developing systems to match the urban development witnessed in Saudi Arabia. A high percentage of its annual budget is allocated for research and development through its close cooperation with Saudi Steel Pipe Company, a leader in pipe manufacturing. Commenting on the upcoming The Big 5 Saudi Arabia, Ghannam says: “We have confidence in the The Big 5 show and we hope to expand through it to the entire country and beyond.”

Space Structures’ systems are widely used in many private and governmental projects and Saudi Arabia is the largest market in the space-frame business, he says.

Over the past year, it has supplied its space-frame systems for the sheds over the cargo security and checkpoints at Al Khafji joint operations (Saudi Aramco-Texaco Arabia), the passports office building at Jubail Industrial City, the entrances to King Abdulaziz Air Base in Dhahran, Power Plant 10 in Riyadh (Sceco) and Saudi Iron and Steel Company (Hadeed) and Sadaf.

Its space-frames have been used for Hadeed’s mosque project in Jubail. In addition, its systems form part of imposing canopies at the entrances as well as security gate canopies of several major companies including Saudi Basic Industries Company (Sabic), Aramco, Nadik Company in Harad, as well as in Khafji Joint Operations. The company has also supplied various shades for the King Fahad Causeway, especially on the Bahraini side, and warehouses over an area of 3,600 sq m for a refrigeration company.

Commenting on the company’s business prospects for the current year, he says: “This year seems quite promising, judging by the number of request for quotations that we received last year.”

The company continues to focus on establishing its new factory in the Second Industrial City in Dammam. This new factory will triple its production capacity of space-frame structures and will help it reach out to other Gulf markets.

The firm had its origins as Y Al Mandil Establishment for Steel Structures, which was established in 2001 for designing, fabricating, supplying and installing space-frame structures. This establishment was restructured in 2007 as Space Structures Company with a paid-up capital of SR2 million ($533,293).

Its head office is located in Al Khobar and it employs 25 technical staff, in addition to having an engineering department for marketing, designing and managing the company’s projects. It has annual production capacity of 100,000 sq m, which equals to 3,000 tonnes.

The company will be present at Stand C67 at The Big 5 Saudi Arabia.