Growing demand for investments into healthcare facilities and services is expected to transform the Middle East’s healthcare sector into a USD 60 billion industry by 2025. No other region in the world faces such a rapid growth in healthcare spending, and this growth is being considered by other industries such as construction and related supplies as an opportunity for expansion.
MAPEI, a leading global manufacturer of adhesives, sealants and chemical products for buildings, aims to capitalize on the trend by highlighting its development of construction materials and products that have set industry benchmarks for safety and eco-friendliness. Its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) flooring installation solutions have become popular for their compliance with stringent international health and safety standards. For example, MAPEI’s Ultrabond Eco VS90 is a multi-purpose, acrylic adhesive in water dispersion with a very low emission level of volatile organic compounds (VOC), for bonding vinyl, rubber floor coverings and is used for bonding PVC or vinyl sheets or tiles on to all kinds of internal, absorbent and moisture stable substrates, making it ideally suited for hospitals, schools, research laboratories. Another essential, yet often overlooked component in the successful application and long term durability of PVC and other resilient flooring is of course self leveling underlayment compounds. MAPEI local produces the world renown Ultraplan range which can be applied in some cases up to 30mm in thickness where required. The Ultraplan range is available in different compressive and flexural grades in accordance with EN13813 along with low VOC primers of course such as the versatile Primer G.
Recently ranked 25th among the 50 most influential construction suppliers in the GCC, MAPEI has committed to focusing on quality and safety as it aims to continue its expansion into the region compounded by a marked increase in manufacturing capacity.
“We adhere to the latest and highest international manufacturing standards as part of our emphasis on human health and safety. Many of our products have become the region’s top choices as they help ensure the physical welfare of building occupants and the creation of a healthy and safe indoor environment. We are looking more closely at how we can engineer our products to meet the specific needs of healthcare facilities, especially as the region is preparing to engage in more health-related investments,” said Laith Haboubi, Business Development Director, IBS-MAPEI.
MAPEI distributes its products through its UAE subsidiary, Innovative Building Solutions LLC, which manages a 40,000 sqm plot in addition to a commercial and technical training centre in Dubai. MAPEI follows stringent international standards such as ISO 13007 for tile adhesives and grouts, EN13813 for screeds and self levelling compounds, and EN1504 for concrete repair materials. Several of its local products also bear GEV EMICODE certification for low or very low Volatile Organic Compound emissions.
Founded in Milan, Italy in 1937, MAPEI started as a manufacturer of paints, plasters, and interior and exterior covering materials. It eventually focused on floor installation products and now comprises 63 subsidiaries with 56 production facilities. MAPEI has been involved in several major Gulf projects, such as the Armani hotel in Burj Khalifa, Qasr El Sarab resort, Atlantis Hotel on Palm Jumeirah, the Emirates Palace Hotel, Burj Al Arab, and Dubai International Airport’s Terminals 1, 2 and 3.
