A Qatari-Korean joint venture firm has commenced manufacturing in Doha corrugated core panels and composite panels of aluminium and stainless steel.

Qatar National Aluminium Panel Company (Q-Nap) will have an initial production capacity of 500,000 sq m of panels, senior marketing officer Sung Yon Kim said.
As well as manufacturing products for the construction industry, Q-Nap intends making products for specialised applications in the automotive and transportation industry. The company also offers fabrication and installation services.
The new company blends Korean technology with skilled manpower, a company text stated. Chairman of Q-Nap is Shaikh Naief Al Thani, who also owns 70 per cent of the shares with the remainder of the shares held by the Korean entrepreneur Jong Nam Ma, who will serve as vice chairman.
Kim said the corrugated core aluminium panels would come with corrugated aluminium metal sheets as core instead of the conventional polyethylene or mineral material. The aluminium composite panels would be composed of fire-rated low density polyethylene or a mineral core sandwiched between two aluminium alloy sheets. The stainless steel panels would have a stainless steel cover as exterior skin with corrugated metal sheets as core instead of the conventional polyethylene or mineral material.
“Qatar National Aluminium Panel Company is the only plant in Qatar for manufacturing metal composite panels,” said Kim,
“Our products are manufactured by fully automatic state-of-the-art machinery, ensuring high-quality unique products. The machinery is fully controlled by a computerised operating system.”
Kim said some of its products would be marketed as: Alucor Al, the brand standing for composite panels with a corrugated aluminum core and face sheets of aluminium; Alucor SS, representing composite panels with a corrugated aluminium core and face sheets of stainless steel, and Alucor Duo, standing for Alucor panels with two corrugated aluminium cores and a face sheet of either aluminium or stainless steel. The panels have low thermal conductivity and require no insulation material between walls and panels for installation.
The standard aluminium panels will have a width of 1,240 mm, length of 2,500 mm and thickness of 4 mm. Several other sizes are available.
The company has built six laboratories on the factory premises. The company is conducting several inspection tests, some of them being the conductivity test (ASTM C-518); the universal test (ASTM D-638/ASTM D-732); the absorption ratio test and the low and high programmable test (ASTM D-732).
According to Q-Nap, the composite and corrugated core panels enjoy several advantages including being non-combustible, resistant to solar radiation, solar-proof, sound-proof and resistant to heat.
Polyethylene for the composite panels will be purchased locally while poly glue, stainless coils, adhesive film and paint will be imported from Korea. Aluminium coils will be sourced in Norway.
“The company is targeting the Qatar market and once it develops into a leading firm it will penetrate into Saudi Arabia and the UAE among other GCC states,” Kim said.
The official observed that the factory was built at a time when the construction boom was at full blast. He noted that more than 2,000 towers would be erected in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Dubai by 2020
The company says it is negotiating with the new Doha International Airport, Barwa real estate developers and Qatar Energy City for contracts.