A comprehensive package comprising quality raised access flooring products, good service and training is helping to reinforce Hewetson's presence in the region, says the UK-based firm.

Hewetson Floors has secured two more new contracts in the UAE and in Kuwait, which are further recognition in the Gulf of the quality of its high-performance raised access floor systems - quality that has underpinned the company's international success.

The company is supplying its RMG raised floor systems to provide flexible under-floor services space at the Triangle project in Deira, Dubai, UAE, and at the MTC (Mobile Telecommunications Company) headquarters in Kuwait.

Hewetson's best-selling RMG panel and pedestal system is designed from high-density particleboard encased in a shell of thick galvanised steel, a combination which provides strength, unsurpassed hygrothermal performance and resistance to corrosion.

The panels are loose laid with positive engagement onto an all-steel galvanised pedestals, ensuring rigid floors which are fast to install and afford ready access to the floor when building users require it. Precision engineering ensures that all panels are completely inter-changeable, further extending the flexibility of the workplace.

These latest projects will bring added lustre to an already impressive track record in the area.

The company has been actively developing its markets in the Middle East for nine years, supplying flexible floorspace to commercial offices, banks, power stations and desalination plants. It is represented by a network of distributors in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. This is reinforced by regular visits by international sales and technical managers.

Training is an important aspect of the Hewetson package. Technical seminars for local clients are a regular feature, as are technical training and updates for local distributors to ensure that expertise and skills stay as sharp as they need to be.

These sessions take place both in the Middle East, and in Hewetson's UK headquarters where there is a chance to see the company's state-of the-art production and product design facilities.

Fully automated, the factory is the most modern of its kind in Europe and further investment is ensuring that it remains that way.

The capacity of 90,000 sq m a week means that even in construction boom conditions, delivery commitments can readily be met.

Manufacture is certified under the international quality management system EN ISO 9002. Quality in manufacture is allied to design quality. Product features are designed for high performance and this is followed through with an insistence upon high-quality raw materials and in-house product testing. A case in point is the RMG panel and pedestal system.

While the majority of contracts require bare panel systems, some call for high-quality finishes pre-bonded to the panel, for aesthetic impact without sacrificing any accessibility. For example, the City Tower II, a commercial complex in Dubai, required 30,000 sq m of access floors, including a significant area of panels pre-finished with Italian marble for the reception area.

Hewetson is able to supply a full range of high-quality pre-bonded finishes and can advise on the most suitable approach.

Although Hewetson is best known for its loose-lay, woodcore systems, ongoing research and development (R&D) and recent expansion of the range means that a very comprehensive choice of products is available for Middle East markets, including lock-down systems.

International sales director Andrew Jordan comments: "Hewetson is a company of substance, but we aim to be as flexible as the floors we make. We aim to provide products and services that move with the times and solutions tailored for the markets we serve."

Hewetson Floors has been at the forefront of the industry for some 40 years, since the earliest days of the access floor market in the UK, constantly driving for ever-improving quality design, high-performance and value for money. As a result, it is the market leader in the UK, with a client list including such high-profile firms as British Telecom, Vodaphone, Citibank, Merrill Lynch, Microsoft and Oracle Computers.

Hewetson worked with UK government agencies and leading architects, contractors and clients to establish the PSA MOB standard, which is arguably the world's most demanding and which will be familiar to many specifiers and contractors around the world.

The company uses its influence and pioneering experience to keep those standards high. With 100 years in business, industry leadership and the strength of the multi-million-pound building materials group Kingspan behind it - Hewetson is well placed to do so.