Malbex 2008 to feature cost-effective building systems

COMPANIES are finding smarter ways to construct buildings and the upcoming Malaysian International Building Exposition (Malbex 2008) will feature them.

Two of these home-grown companies are Innovative Precast Builders Sdn Bhd (IPB) and Soils Dynamics (M) Sdn Bhd.

IPB makes an environment-friendly industrial building system (IBS), a patented wall system that will be showcased to local and foreign industry players at the trade show.

IPB director Loo Lee Kam said the wall system allows any building to be completed faster, thus saving on labour cost.

"The cost-saving is about 10 per cent and the price is about the same or cheaper than the conventional product because we save on the mould. The product is also 30 per cent lighter than the conventional one because it doesn't require mortar and plastering, or even cranes," he told Business Times in an interview in Petaling Jaya recently.

Developed locally, the IPB wall system is an engineered concrete block system for structural and non-structural wall application. The concrete block sizes and weight are designed for manual handling.

Chew said the product is flexible as it can be used in the construction of any building, house extension or retaining wall.

Soils Dynamics will be promoting its Bi-Directional Static Load Test system at Malbex 2008.

Soils Dynamics operations manager Yii Toh Leong said the method could help save up to 30 per cent of costs.

Developed locally, the system, which has been introduced in the market since 1990, is widely adopted in the US, Europe and Asia.

Malbex 2008 will be held from August 26 to 29 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

By New Straits Times (by Hamisah Hamid)