Wide Presence.

(From Gulf Construction)

In a span of over two decades, Unitech for Building and Construction Materials has grown from a 10-member team to a full-fledged manufacturing unit that is ably assisted by a 500-strong team of professionals, engineers, and technicians. Operating from around 18 locations in Saudi Arabia, the company has over the years built up an enviable network of showrooms that spans across major cities such as Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Makkah, Madinah, Yanbu, Khamis Mushayt, Gizan, Qassim, Jizan, Tabuk, Hofuf and Jubail, within the kingdom and has extended its reach outside by setting up six branches in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE, Doha (Qatar), Beirut (Lebanon), Cairo and Alexandria in Egypt and Damascus (Syria)

"Unitech has been in the Saudi market since 1979, and will continue to serve the construction industry in the kingdom and the surrounding countries," says Saqib Altaf, national manager for the kingdom

"Such a wide presence, both within and outside the kingdom, has helped the company to offer better services to its customers," he adds. "There have been several factors which have enhanced the company's image and added value to Unitech's operations. These include: the range of products, the close relationship it shares with its customers, the company's line of services and its commitment to develop and enhance the potentials of its staff through multiple programmes," he adds

In line with its effort to enhance its portfolio of products, the company has set up a Specialised Factory for Steel Products (SFSP). With supporting plants based in Jeddah, Dubai, and Cairo, SFSP offers a wide range of steel building products including cable trays, ladders, trunkings, and support system, mechanical cladding fixation, expanded metals and plasterers' beads and others, he adds

Cable trays Speaking on the design of cable trays, he says: "When design cable tray runs and support systems, the following factors need to be considered: distributed loads - for example, cables and pipes; point loads; thermal expansion and contraction; wind and external forces; spacing of supports; safety factor; and deflection

"In practice, it is often difficult to pre-determine where the couplers will be located within a straight run of cable tray. However, it is well worth making some effort to roughly plan their position during the early stages of installation. The worst positions of the couplers are either at mid-span or immediately over a point of support; at these locations they will suffer the greatest stress