Azel Rock Wool Insulation Factory (Azel), a Saudi-based manufacturer and supplier of rockwool for heat and sound insulation, says it has received the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) certification for all its fire-resistant rockwool insulation products.

Commenting on the achievement, Fareed Abdul-Sattar Al Maimani, group CEO and an expert in thermal insulation, says: “This is one of the top certifications granted to products for fire-resistant building materials.”

He adds that rockwool helps to reduce electricity consumption by 70 per cent. It is also a material recommended by the Ministry of Electricity in line with the government directives on the mandatory use of thermal insulation in buildings and public and private facilities.

Furthermore, he says Maimani Holding Group is keen to coordinate with leading European companies for the development of economical systems to insulate existing buildings from the outside.

“The group, in collaboration with international companies, provides modern and economical insulative buildings systems that depend on sustainable and environment-friendly green building elements.”

Rockwool insulation is gaining popularity, thanks to its outstanding thermal, sound insulation and fire resistance characteristics, in view of the high costs involved in generating electricity and the anticipated increases in the future.

Rockwool is said to provide sound insulation and is not flammable, which ensures that internal partitions satisfy both sound insulation and fire resistance requirements.

Rockwool is also a natural substance which does not disintegrate or dissipate with the passage of time. It burns or melts only at temperatures above 800 deg C and does not release toxic gases when exposed to heat.

Azel’s rockwool insulation products.

Azel was established in 1993 in line with the group’s keenness to meet with the urgent need for thermal insulation in both the construction sector and oil refining and desalination plants.

Part of the Saudi-based Maimani Holding Group of companies, it manufactures and supplies rockwool thermal and sound insulation and fire-resistant products.

The factory employs advanced technology in its production processes, enabling it to produce insulating rockwool products that are environment-friendly. These products are offered in different shapes and specifications, such as solid and semi-solid panels, rolls, and lining stitched, and pipe sections and bulk.

These rockwool products are considered essential for Saudi Arabia’s energy conservation programme, which is headed by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Minister for Petroleum and Mineral Resources, says Al Maimani.

He adds that Azel’s high-quality and efficient products enjoy high demand and have been specified for some of the most prominent projects in Saudi Arabia. These include the expansion of the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah, multiple projects in the oil and gas and petrochemicals sectors, Haramain High Speed Railway project, and King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and Madinah airports. In addition, its products have been supplied to many hospitals, schools, housing, National Guard and public and private universities projects in the kingdom, as well as developments in Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE.

About the Maimani Holding Group, he says: “The group has been a strong pillar in Madinah’s economic movement and one of the leading commercial entities in Saudi Arabia since its establishment by Sheikh Abdul-Sattar Qassem Yousef Al Maimani in 1945 in Madinah.”

The group comprises a number of companies working in the industrial, trade and investment sectors. Its business activities involve constructing, acquiring and investing in industrial projects and joint-stock companies and various investment companies, in addition to import and export.