PILOSIO, RECORD ORDER IN MECCA

TAVAGNACCO (Udine) April, 2013 - The new year has begun in the best way possible for Pilosio, a major player in the market for equipment for building and construction with headquarters in the province of Udine. After ending 2012 in significant growth (up 30% on 2011), the formalities have just been completed for the supply of temporary structures for a massive construction site in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Pilosio’s partner in this operation has been Arabian Roots Scaffolding & Formwork, a branch of the Arab giant in the building products distribution sector, with which the Italian company sealed another important contract some months ago for the new Jeddah airport.

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In Mecca, Pilosio will supply a huge quantity of Magnum Plus model vertical formwork, Simplex Table and Linear flooring systems and MP multidirectional structures for the construction of three imposing buildings intended for services in the northern area of the Al-Haram mosque. Once the construction site has been finished, the first building will have a total of 17 floors for an overall area of 106,000 square metres, and a height of 111 metres, of which 80 will be above ground. The second will be made up of 20 floors for a total area of 154,000 square metres, with a height of 120 metres, 97 of which will be above ground. The third building will have 15 floors for a total area of 72,000 square metres and will rise tot 101 metres, 87 metres above ground.The leading figures in this operation, the most important in Pilosio’s history, are Dario Roustayan and Mohamed Kassem, respectively the CEO and MEA&North Africa Export Manager of the Italian company, with their Saudi counterparts represented by Tarek Alnassar, managing director of Arabian Roots Scaffolding & Formwork.

“This order is the outcome of a coherent strategy that has led to Pilosio carving out a significant position in some of the most "attractive” markets with the highest growth rates in the world, thanks above all to the development of the internal engineering service,” remarked Dario Roustayan, Pilosio’s CEO.“This project is a great challenge for our design and production capacity. It can be a great opportunity for development in the Middle East region for the company. We still have some way to go, but I believe the route chosen was the right one, and the proof of that is the fact that we are beginning to compete with our German rivals, real multinationals, and sometimes we’re even beating them, as in the case of the Mecca order.”

The investment underway to extend and upgrade the entire area of the mosque is impressive: indeed, it’s estimated that the overall amount set aside by the Saudi kingdom at the end of 2011 for this Pharaonic project was 8 billion riyals (more than 20 billion dollars). The overall work schedule consists of three phases: the construction of a majestic central building, the development of new courtyards and access routes around the mosque, which include pedestrian passages, tunnels and toilets, and then the implementation of services and infrastructure in the area to guarantee air conditioning, constant electrical power and drinking water for all the pilgrims, as well as high safety standards.

The current area of the Great Mosque covers a total of 365,000 square metres and can accommodate 770,000 pilgrims.  Thanks to this expansion project, the area will exceed 465,000 square metres and will be able to accommodate up to 1.2 million visitors.  This extension plan was launched by the Saudi king, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, to cope with the exponential increase in the influx of pilgrims to the holy city, with the requirement to raise the services and safety in order to avoid the risk of an escalation in accidents arising from overcrowding.

PRODUCTS FOCUS:

Magnum Plus

A modular system of formwork for large areas, Magnum is the ideal solution for construction sites of large sizes and in order to obtain a high level of productivity even under the most difficult conditions.  The system is made up of a 240x300 cm base or reinforced panel, equal to 7.2 square metres with only 4 through-puts for opposing tie-rods and only two connecting blocks.  A few connection accessories enable large reinforced areas to be constructed and transported as a whole, as well as single-side castings up to 7.5 metres high, upward castings at height, wall, pillar castings up to 9 – 10 metres high, and any other structures cast on site. Magnum formwork comes under class 7 in accordance with prEN 15113-1. The maximum resistance to concrete casting pressures is 60 kN/square metre in the basic version and 100 kN/square metre for the reinforced version.  The Magnum formwork system is designed and made at the Pilosio factories in accordance with the prEN 15113-1/206 “Vertical formwork – Part 1 performance requirements, general design and assessment”.

Strong points of Magnum Plus:

The system ensures great modularity of the panels, which can be used both vertically and horizontally, and provides undersize compensation elements for centring the measurement. The 240x300 cm base panel is the most robust of Pilosio’s formwork (411 kg), with specifications that allow use at up to 60/80 kN/square metre in the basic version, and up to 100 kN/square metre for the reinforced version.  Among the main advantages of the Magnum Plus system are the high productivity of the large size panel with areas of 7.2 square metres, the presence of a tie-rod every 1.8 square metres, a connecting block every 3.6 square metres, and a through-put with taper bushing; it is possible to case with "Self Compacting Concrete” cement and combine Magnum with the Minimag panels, using the adjustable clamp.  Additional strong points lie in the possibility of reinforcing the sloping panels, with a large range of accessories for every requirement (hinged corners, service shelves, sealing panels, support brackets, opposing beams) and three different options to reinforce the corner nodes, depending on the needs of the construction site.

Linear:

Semi-traditional system for the execution of floors cast on site with high capacity props that support a primary and secondary order of wooden beams with protected ends. Perfect for floors cast in single block, reinforced or lightweight concrete and also for traditional floors with beams.  The counter cast surface, generally at the responsibility of the business, can be in “yellow” panels or in the various types of multilayer between 21 or 27 mm thick, depending on the architectural requirement and the degree of finish required.  The Linear formwork system is made up of few elements: props of various diameters and capacities in accordance with the EN 1065 regulations, PL20 wooden beams in lengths of 330, 390, 490, 590 cm protected at the ends, four-way head, intermediate head, drop head, 30 cm square for lowered beams and raised and corner beams of 25 cm for joining floor.

Simplex Table:

Modular table for casting single slab flooring. The Simplex tables are recommended for laying cast slabs of varying sizes and with lowered perimeter and internal beams.  They are made up of two base frames connected diagonally and completed with brackets and screw-adjustable bases. The first and second order is provided with PL20 beams, while the counter case surface is in multilayer wood or construction panel. The manual transport of each table is done with transfer wagons, while to move from one floor to the next, a rocker arm is used with a single crane lift.

MP support structures:

Support structures made with components of the MP multidirectional scaffolding with a series of specific accessories for slabs, beams or any other item cast at height. Vertical elements and horizontal connections are made from elements of MP scaffolding. The availability of numerous sizes of components enables the construction of structures of any dimensions. The tower with square base of 0.83x0.83 metres or 1.15x1.15 metres enables capacities up to 5 kN for individual vertical mounting for a total of 20 kN each tower. The extreme modularity of this type of structure allows any construction site problems of capacity or geometry to be solved. It is possible to increase the capacity by doubling the uprights, to construct structures with a curvilinear or triangular base or any other shape to get around obstacles and even create supports for items with negative or positive inclinations. Using bases or adjustable brackets, the towers can also be used as temporary counterbalance for works to stabilise structures under construction. Service stairs can also be provided for easy access at height.

High capacity MP towers:

High capacity support structures for slabs, beams or any other item cast at height, constructed with components of MP multidirectional scaffolding combined with a series of specific accessories.  Each vertical element is made up of 4 MP uprights, interconnected by upper and lower scaffolding. The elements made up in this way are connected four by four to form the tower. Capacity of the base module: 200 kN for each vertical element, equal to 800 kN for the entire tower. Higher capacities are possible but verification in advance is required with Pilosio’s technical office. For the construction of these high capacity support structures, all the standard MP scaffolding components are used, combined with upper and lower scaffolding and adjustable screws. Vertical elements made up of 4 uprights have a wheelbase of 17x17cm and can be assembled into towers or walls of various dimensions, depending on the specific requirements. The great design flexibility and resistance of the MP multidirectional scaffolding combined with various accessories enable the construction of structures of any type, both for the support of horizontal planes, with shelves for the discharge of material, and formwork support structures for casting at height. In this case, using bases or adjustable brackets, the towers can also be used as temporary counterbalance to stabilise structures under construction. Service stairs can be provided for easy access at height.