KIRBY Building System, a pioneer in the pre-engineering buildings (PEBs) industry in the Middle East, is utilising its state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and global sourcing practices, to take on some of the most challenging projects in the region.

“Today, due to the scarcity of space, architectural aspects and environmental issues, there is a positive shift toward the use of steel in multi-level buildings,” says Alaeddin Jarrar, engineering director of Kirby Building System, Kuwait. “Low-rise multi-storey steel buildings represent the engineering miracles of modern architecture and in general, are selected based upon cost and the associated construction time.”
While multi-storey construction is cost-effective, faster and safer, the use of pre-engineered buildings (PEBs) offers the added benefits of earlier occupancy – which translates into quicker returns on the investment. Additionally, large column-free space, and cost-effectiveness in terms of time and labour are some of other advantages of steel buildings,” he adds.
Facilitating this trend towards steel building construction are the efficient services offered by leading PEB manufacturers such as Kirby, which have advanced design and execution capabilities.
Kirby Building System has a total annual production capacity of 400,000 tonnes spread across five strategically located manufacturing facilities worldwide.
“It also has a strong product development team and is amongst the first few companies in the world to adopt the latest building codes and practices. These strengths are helping Kirby to respond efficiently to growing demands and changing customer preferences across the Middle East,” Jarrar asserts.
He continues: “In addition, Kirby has a knowledgeable and seasoned sales team. Our engineers pay close attention to the customer’s project requirements and meticulously transfer the required inputs to the highly-skilled team of structural engineers and steel detailers.”
For example, Kirby recently undertook an ambitious project involving the construction of three multi-storey hospitals in Kuwait. Each of these buildings – comprising basement-plus-three storeys, ground-plus-three storeys and basement-plus-seven storeys respectively – was unique in architectural design and shape. This apart, even the client requirements and site conditions of the buildings varied significantly, he states.
“All these projects had a very tight completion deadline and Kirby was the only steel manufacturer in the region to accept this challenge. Our state-of-the-art manufacturing and global sourcing practices allowed us to manufacture an array of steel structures – from thin columns to heavy curved arches.
“Our integrated SAP system permits us to source and execute the project at multiple locations. Simultaneously, efficient scheduling algorithm permits Kirby to deliver the project on time, in erectable sequence with optimal use of raw material. These savings are passed on to the customers and the contractors, thus they also gain from Kirby’s best practices,” Jarrar explains.
Projects of this magnitude, he says, require proper coordination and expertise during erection. “Use of 3D modelling tools was instrumental is generating error-free shop floor and erection drawings, while contributing in reducing the time taken as well as doubling the efficiency of the engineering team. Steel structures were delivered at sites through our integrated SCM (supply chain management) function.”
As a regular practice, a Kirby technical representative was involved right from the site preparation to the monitoring of the entire erection of steel structures along with Kirby-certified builders who erected the buildings. This resulted in the successful completion of the task – without errors or site modifications, he points out.
“Accepting landmarks projects like these and many other complex projects in the past has been the real strength of Kirby,” he says. “Our customers have realised that they always get a competitive advantage when they partner with Kirby. Our best practices and professionalism has added values to the entire customer process. Be it pre-technical guidance for right selection and optimisation of building structures or the final error-free erected buildings, our customers know that Kirby – as proven by its performance time and again – is always committed to excellence.”
Among the projects that Kirby has executed in Saudi Arabia are the Al Rajhi warehouse, Al Zahid showroom and Al Faysal Ceremony Hall, all in Jeddah; Panda Distribution Centre and Othaim Shopping Centre, both in Riyadh; Nissan showroom, Dammam; and Giant Stores, Jubail.
Kirby solutions cater to applications such as warehouses, factories, showrooms, shopping malls, offices, camps, supermarkets, workshops, mosques, aircraft hangars, car-parks, gas stations, sports complex and schools. Its products include low-rise and medium-rise PEBs, conventional structural steel buildings, primary and secondary frames, mezzanines, fascias, canopies, open web joists and trusses. Secondary members such as purlins, girts and related accessories – either painted or pre-galvanised – are produced in-house to complement the whole structure and provide clients with an all-inclusive package.
Roof and wall cladding systems can be supplied in a wide range of profiles and colours while insulation is also available in single cladding with fibreglass insulation or in polyurethane insulated panels.
Kirby also offers a range of structural steel products, which cover applications in several market segments including oil and gas (onshore and offshore); heavy industry – petrochemicals, steel, aluminium smelters, cement and fertilisers; infrastructure – bridges, power and desalination plants, airports, seaports and railways; and buildings – multi-storey residential and commercial buildings, malls, car-parks, leisure, special-purpose/heavy-duty factories and warehouses, all of which meet the highest design and manufacturing standards in the industry, he adds.
Kirby Building System was established in 1976 and is today well positioned as a global leader of PEBs with operations spread across more than 70 countries.
With state-of-the-art plants in Kuwait, Ras Al Khaimah (UAE), Hyderabad and Haridwar (India), and at Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), ISO 9001-certified Kirby produces hundreds of custom-made steel buildings every year that surpass the required quality levels.
Kirby has designed, fabricated and supplied more than 35,000 steel building structures across the globe. Some leading clients are General Motors, AT&T, Pepsi Co, Coca-Cola, Nokia, Ford, Shell, ABB, Bridgestone, Toyota, General Electric, Unicef, Tata, Saudi Aramco, Schlumberger, Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC), Halliburton, BMW, P&G, Unilever, Sabic, Texaco, Agility, Henkel, Orascom, Cleveland, Suzlon Energy, Wipro, Asian Paints, Delhi Metro Railway, Royal Jordanian, Larsen and Toubro, Reliance and many more. Kirby has 70 sales offices located across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Indian sub-continent and Asia Pacific to service customers’ needs locally. It also has more than 250 certified builders worldwide, who provide erection services for steel buildings along with other services including turnkey project management.