King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

The continuous supply of hollowcore was an integral factor in plans for construction of the largest university in the Middle East which opened in Saudi Arabia in September 2009.

To meet this need one of the largest construction firms in Saudi Arabia, Saudi Oger Ltd, commissioned Spiroll to establish a turnkey factory for the continuous production of prestressed hollowcore slabs. 157,000m² of Spiroll hollowcore was manufactured specifically for the construction of the new King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) in Jeddah.

KAUST was built as an international, research university dedicated to inspiring a new age of scientific achievement in the Kingdom. The core campus is located on more than 36 square km along the Red Sea at Thuwal, about 80 km north of Saudi Arabia’s second largest city, Jeddah.

Aramco, the largest consultant engineering company in the Middle East, set Saudi Oger a demanding schedule that included the need for a capacity of 8,500 m2 of hollowcore per week. With a well established reputation in the Middle East, Spiroll successfully won the contract to design and build the plant which was operational within 6 months.

Spiroll immediately appointed a project manager and two technicians to oversee the onsite support contract from day one. The team stayed on location for 12 months to provide training and technical advice and handover after the first hollowcore slab came off the production line.

This particular project included factory design, civil and layout drawings, product design, supply of hollowcore production machinery, specification and procurement of local factory equipment, drawings for all ancillary equipment, quality assurance documentation, and operational training and support.