Since the start of operations, more than 1,000 projects have been completed. Among these projects are large shopping centres (up to 100,000 sq m), large housing compounds (up to 200,000 sq m) and large factory projects (up to 45,000 sq m), says a company spokesman.

In 1985, Al Rashid-Abetong introduced the Swede Beam System to the Saudi market. Since then, more than 135 projects - or 700,000 sq m - have been constructed with this system as a structural frame, continues the spokesman.

Among the executed projects are shopping centres, various showrooms, gymnasium halls, wedding halls and industrial buildings.

The system provides advantages unmatched by conventional or standard precast building systems, he says. The benefits include:

For housing projects, Al Rashid-Abetong has a wall frame system which is used either in combination with hollowcore decks or form slabs.

"Our systems are always designed to give a rigid and strong structure in order to avoid costly future maintenance requirements," says the spokesman.

"Exterior facade walls are normally made as white sandblasted concrete sandwich elements with high heat insulation capabilities which give low power requirement in addition to lower installation requirement for heating and cooling. This means that the running cost for the buildings can be minimised. Our systems can be used for villas and for high-rise apartment buildings," he says.

In addition, the company's Precast Division also manufactures and delivers almost any type of precast elements, including: beams (prestressed); precast containers, columns of different types, stairs, TT-slabs (prestressed), sleeper (railway), solid slabs (prestressed), concrete poles for transmission lines, boundary walls, minaret elements, barriers, water towers, foundation units, decorative units, water-tanks, manholes, sandwich and cladding elements, he says.