Sector Focus: True to form

GHI Formwork is involved with ongoing projects like the Haram Expansion in Makkah.

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Having already secured a well-established presence in the European construction market as a major formwork and scaffolding supplier, GHI established its Middle East presence in 2003 through regional offices located in Dubai.

“In the eight years since our introduction in the Middle East and Gulf market, we have grown into one of the leading formwork and scaffolding solutions providers in the region, with a highly-competitive and dominant international presence,” comments GHI Formwork GM Ekkehart Misch.

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“Our main product lines are all manufactured in Germany, with some new innovations such as the Mato 8 ringlock scaffolding system produced in other European countries like Switzerland.

Regardless of where in Europe our items are produced, all our products undergo the same exacting certification procedures and testing required in Germany,” says GHI Formwork managing partner Mohamed Soliman.

“One of the important features that sets us apart from competitors is our flexibility in producing tailor-made formwork/scaffolding solutions. Design services are an absolute must when supplying any product nowadays.

Our team of design engineers is among the best, and has a unique ability to focus on both the micro (detail-oriented) and macro (bigger picture) features of our clients’ projects.”

GHI Formwork’s decentralised and flexible nature has allowed the supplier to not only survive but flourish during the global economic downturn, which has had an undeniably negative impact on the region’s construction climate, notes Misch.

“Some of our biggest highlights range from participation in record-breaking mega-projects such as the Burj Khalifa to the incredible Haram Expansion project in Makkah.”

The company’s “varied and diverse” project references range from infrastructure, high-rise and residential projects in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Egypt, and “even seemingly unstable countries like Iraq.”

“A great example of GHI Formwork’s expertise in helping our clients achieve challenging construction goals through our tailormade formwork solutions can be seen in the example of the Regents Emirates Pearl Hotel in Abu Dhabi.

“After the main contractor ACC was unable to find a standardised solution for the creation of the asymmetrical V-shaped columns that would support this unique twisting structure, GHI Formwork took the challenge by proposing to create it from scratch. The result was approximately 30t of completely customised, tailored formwork that enabled our client to surmount this difficult hurdle.