Poole: Company shaping Dubai’s skyline
31 January 2018
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Steel firm SMD has completed a major contract worth more than £1 million to help build twin skyscrapers in Dubai.
The Dorset-based company shipped more than 100,000 sq m of steel decking to the United Arab Emirates for the job.Dubai’s Tiara United Towers is a development of two 46-storey towers with the structure reaching 193m (633ft). The two towers will house 50,500 sq m of office space and a 5-star 370 room hotel once complete.
SMD, which has a satellite office in Dubai and celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2017, has been working on the project since 2016.
The company’s International manager Jane Biddle said: “We celebrated the arrival of the 15th and last shipment of steel decking to Dubai in July 2017. The first shipment arrived in October 2016 and during the ensuing period we shipped a total of 101,270 sq m of our TR80+ 0.9mm floor decking.”
She added: “The value of this project was £1.08m and was a significant step forward for SMD as we look to expand our overseas market.”
SMD were contracted by a leading global organisation involved in a variety of turnkey projects, which constructed the structural steel frame on to which SMD’s TR80+ deck profile was installed.
Communication between SMD’s UK head office and the client was assisted by SMD Middle East’s UAE-based general manager who has many years’ experience working in the region’s construction industry.
The Tiara United Towers is set to feature a coloration technique, by which the building façades appear in multiple colours. The exterior of the building will also feature veins, like those on a leaf, spreading across the surface from the corners and 'embracing' the building.
The development is aiming to be the first building in Dubai to be certified by the US Green Building Council for achieving LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) 'Gold' status.
SMD, which employs more than 100 staff at locations across the UK, including Tower Park in Poole, Leeds, Nottingham and Glasgow, is also shaping Britain’s skyline. The firm’s steel decking has been used in such iconic buildings as the Shard and the Olympic Park in London, Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium, Glasgow Museum, Birmingham’s New Street Station and terminals at Heathrow Airport.
The company is also one of only a handful of British firms to design, manufacture and instal its own steel decking systems.
