2005 - Putzmeister

BackgroundNew machinery means ideallyequipped to compete28AUSTRIAN ARABIAN READY MIXCONCRETE was newly established in2004. Two new concrete mixing plants,50 truck mixers and six Putzmeister truckmountedconcrete pumps imported only afew months ago make the concrete manufacturerand pumping service providerwith its modern machinery ideally equippedto face the rigourous competition in theUnited Arab Emirates.2910PM 3723 GBAUSTRIAN ARABIAN opted for the spaciousarea in Jebel Ali, approximately 25 kmSouth West of Dubai, for its strategicallylocated site. Construction will begin nearhere on a new airport this year and theisland world of Palm Jumeirah off the coastwill not be far away.Two-shift pumpingThe new mixing plants currently produceapproximately 2,000 to 3,000 m 3 of concretea day yet they are still operating belowtheir maximum capacity. Presently, around50 % of the concrete production is placedby their own truck-mounted concretepumps. The fleet of pumps comprises twoBSF 36.16H and four BSF 42.16H. Thetruck-mounted concrete pumps are operatedby two drivers who alternate betweenshifts in a similar way to their counterpartsin most of the other pumpingservices in the UAE.27Khaled Ahmed Abu Shaeerah and Najeeb M. Ashour (right)in front of a map showing the future island world of PalmJumeirahAUSTRIAN ARABIAN is currently highlyinvolved in the construction projects onPalm Jumeirah, e.g. in the concreting of themotorway bridges linking the trunk of thepalm tree to the mainland. Moreover,AUSTRIAN ARABIAN is delivering andpumping greater volumes of concrete onsix other office and apartment towers. Thecompany plans to purchase two stationarypumps and stationary booms for each highrisepumping site in the near future. SinceSeptember 2005 the company belongs tothe ARABTECH group.Demand for customer training on siteNajeeb M. Ashour, Chief Technical Officerand Deputy General Manager for AUSTR-IAN ARABIAN in Dubai, places considerablevalue on the qualifications of hisemployees, especially of the concrete pumpdrivers who may not yet be responsible forvaluable machines but assume a great dealof responsibility on the construction siteswhen operating the pumps and placingbooms. “We are pleased to have ouremployees travel to Germany for training,but we would much prefer it if Putzmeistercould carry out the training here on site,”remarks Najeeb M.Ashour. This is becauseAUSTRIAN ARABIAN cannot cease deliveryoperations on the construction sites.There is never any talk of a “winter break”or an interruption in work due to periods ofpoor weather here in the UAE. At the PMAcademy, Najeeb M. Ashour managed towin support for his proposal of customertraining in the country itself: two-daycourses covering the topics of engineering,controls and safety in concrete pumpingand training on how to operate stationarypumps are expected to be offered in theUAE from mid-November with the cooperationof PM agency, GERMAN GULF.The large construction sites on Palm Jumeirah, whichAUSTRIAN ARABIAN supplies with concrete and on whichthe company uses its concrete pumps, also include the sliproads onto and exits from the feeder road from the mainlandNajeeb M. Ashour in front of one of the new AUSTRIANARABIAN motorway concrete pumps30 31Modern mixing facilities even for challenging concrete mixture breakdowns11PM 3723 GB