With the addition of Hunter Douglas to its growing portfolio, UBM offers the industry products that deliver revolutionary style and functionality.

Universal Building Materials Merchants Company (UBM), a Saudi-based building materials specialist, has recently added renowned US brand Hunter Douglas to its growing portfolio, in line with its commitment to deliver the best products from around the globe to the kingdom’s construction market.

With this brand, the Riyadh-based company now offers a selection of metal, wood and acoustical ceilings from the leading manufacturer of architectural products, as well as its popular roller and Venetian blinds in the window coverings range, and Terracotta and Quadraclad façades and sun control systems in the architectural category. Hunter Douglas is a market leader in window covering products. Headquartered in the Netherlands, and with a management office in Switzerland, the group comprises 125 companies with 50 manufacturing and 75 assembly operations and marketing organisations in more than 100 countries. It employs about 16,500 people and registered sales in 2014 of $2.7 billion.

Tracing the history and growth of the brand since it created the aluminium blind in 1946, a spokesman for UBM says: “Hunter Douglas has defined the industry with products that deliver revolutionary style and functionality. Also, its expertise in customisation helps keep customers around the world at the forefront of design.”

The EOS 500 roller blind system offers a number of components to design a custom roller blind based on product specification, such as integrated levellers to reduce skewing roll, a collection of fire-retardant fabrics that will not sag or stretch, and screen fabrics available in different openness (the area of the shade fabric surface that light can pass through) factors and colours. In addition, modular operating systems allow chain, crank and motorised applications and Duo blind fascia system provide nicely concealed dual roller blinds with black-out and translucent fabric.

Also, Z-brackets allow overlapping of fabrics for the installation of multiple blinds next to each other in large façades without intermediate light gaps.

Hunter Douglas offers a choice of ceiling systems including Techstyle and Luxalon.

Techstyle acoustical ceilings provide the perfect blend of functional performance and design flexibility, with a noise reduction co-efficient (NRC) of 0.80, creating buildings that have never been quieter, says the spokesman.

“Techstyle ceilings bring design flexibility to the forefront with panels in the standard sizes of 1,200 by 600 mm and 1,200 by 1,200 mm. Its modular system lets you mix and match sizes to create a distinctive look for a room.

Market leader ... acoustic ceilings and window coverings from Hunter Douglas.

“Whether your project uses a T-grid or calls for a direct mount, tiles are easy to field adjust to fit nearly any applications. From islands to curves along a wall, Techstyle acoustical ceilings covers all requirements,” the spokesman adds.

The Luxalon tile ceiling systems are manufactured from durable aluminium or steel. Finished with a powder coating or produced from durable coil-coated material, these ceilings will last longer and require less maintenance, according to him.

The range includes lay-on and lay-in tiles, which provide easy access and are described as being ideal for applications where regular maintenance or service is required on installations in the plenum. Clip-in tiles are available in a wide variety of pre-defined square and rectangular module sizes that are commonly used in ceiling design.

Meanwhile, NBK Ceramic, a Hunter Douglas company, has developed the Terrart terracotta system, which has opened up a completely new dimension in façade design. “Architects around the world appreciate the tremendous creative and performance possibilities offered by this terracotta façade system,” says the spokesman. “Combining traditional craftsmanship with advanced manufacturing technology, Terrart enables the finest design details to be developed in shape, colour, texture and glazing for unique, tailored solutions.

“Produced from one of the most weather-resistant construction materials available, this highly robust and made-to-measure façade solution is able to withstand the most challenging environmental conditions like severe frost, high humidity levels and harmful, naturally occurring chemicals. The system protects buildings against heat and noise and shields them from rain, wind and snow whilst ensuring consistent interior temperatures and humidity levels.”

Another product from Hunter Douglas is Dynamic Sun Control, which has the proprietary functionality of tilting and stacking large-span louvre fin applications. The ability to fully control aperture openings creates excellent flexibility: from a fully closed plane to a clear view in a stacked position, he says.

“The sophisticated Dynamic Sun Control provides outstanding shading performance for a building and its occupants and complies with energy conservation requirements,” the spokesman adds.

With these additions to its portfolio, UBM continues to build on its reputation as a total solutions provider of mechanical, door hardware, and architectural products, from design to delivery of products and services.

UBM has been a leading supplier of mechanical and door hardware products in Saudi Arabia for the last three decades. It is an exclusive distributor of globally acclaimed brands from the US and Europe.

The company, which is headquartered in Riyadh, has branches throughout the kingdom, supplying a wide range of specialised building materials from stock and undertakes direct import of materials for specific requirements/projects. Established in 1979, the company has branches in Al Khobar and Jubail in the Eastern Province and in Jeddah and Madinah in the Western Province.