In two years, SGB will be celebrating its 100th anniversary. Established in 1919, SGB has played a major role in the development of the scaffolding industry, mainly because it developed the Cuplok™ system, one of the most frequently used scaffolding systems in the world.
Today there are millions of cubic meter of original Cuplok™ in the market, but also a lot of copy products. One might argue that this is proof that many of the contractors believe in the added value of Cuplok™. However, the risk comes from the design and loading capacities of the copies. Original SGB Cuplok™ is designed and manufactured up to certain specifications to hold specific design loads. For example, the Gr43 Cuplok™ loading capacity is 57KN. Gr50 Cuplok™ has a loading capacity of 74KN. Copy products might bring risks to contractors, as they might inadvertently use lower grade material based on the assumption that it has the same loading capacity and features. As result, failure could happen during pouring and major losses could happen. “For us at SGB, enabling scaffolders to work with zero risk is a top priority”, says Serge Bekhaazi, Regional Managing Director for Middle East, Africa and South East Asia. This safety approach is not only reflected in the standards for product development but also in the corporate-wide procedures for Occupational Health & Safety. This is why for the second year in a row, SGB have had zero LTI (Lost Time Injury) throughout Middle East, Africa, and South East Asia.
Since 2013, SGB became part of the Brand Energy and Infrastructure Services Group and has since developed into a one stop shop for contractors, with proven expertise and worldwide capabilities in:
- Safe solutions for construction and maintenance, driven by safe designs and safety procedures starting from Employee Interventions and ending with the Management Safety Reviews, where management attend site visits to ensure that all employees and subcontractors are following the corporate HSE policies.
- High productivity and cost-effective solutions driven by simplicity, which are more than ever important in today’s highly competitive markets. In addition, being a complete solution provider for walls, columns, slabs and access through forming and shoring, and commercial scaffolding creates a single channel for contractors.
- Value Engineering and applications knowledge, including the BrandNet™ software to create 3D modeling scaffolding systems and three Global Engineering Centers in Italy, Germany, and Canada.
Some of SGB´s advanced products which once put together, will create a complete solution for contractors include:
- TOPEC® – Modular aluminum panel system for slab decking (first class plywood included with an option of plastic form face), which makes the shuttering and stripping of slabs much faster and demonstrably more economical than conventional slab formwork systems. This is because the TOPEC system has just two basic parts – panels and props, with a drop head as an optional extra. TOPEC panels up to 1.8 x 1.8 m can be put up and taken down by two people working on the ground ‘hook it on, push it up and prop it.’ Stripping is carried out with the reverse procedure.
- MANTO® – Modular hot dip galvanized heavy duty steel frame panel system which is the No. 1 choice shuttering large wall and surfaces (first class plywood included with an option of plastic form face). Quality, functionality and flexibility are the decisive factors, making it one of the most popular formwork systems in industrial and house construction projects. Its 14cm frame thickness, interior stiffening ribs and hot-dip galvanizing give MANTO its extra robustness, enabling it to withstand a concrete pressure of 80KN/m² even in its height-extended state. With the MANTO aligning clamp, two panels can be joined together tightly and completely flush in a single action – no additional bolt connectors or bracing required. In just a single crane lift, up to 40 m² of formwork surface can be shifted without further stiffening.
- RASTO® – Modular hot dip galvanized hand set light duty steel frame panel system for walls and column forming which is a crane-independent, highly versatile panel formwork system for smaller and mid-size projects. The low weight of the basic RASTO panels allow ergonomic manual handling. At the same time, the galvanized steel frame profile with 12 cm thickness ensures longer service life.
- ALUMA FRAME TABLE – Heavy duty light weight aluminium shoring frames, which can be used as shoring towers as well as light weight table formswhich is a table formwork solution for slabs. It helps reduce equipment and labor costs up to 50% over steel systems being an aluminum system. Its strength to weight ratio nearly 3x that of steel frames. Being aluminum, it is light enough for one person to carry. Single Frame leg functions as a post shore at twice the capacity of a standard steel post. The wider frames reduce the number of shoring frames needed.
- In addition to the above, there are multiple solutions for climbing formwork, hydraulic self-climbing, MK Enclosed screen, Frame shoring, Aluminum Flying Forming System, and much more. The selection of the most convenient solution depends on site requirements, the application, design of the construction, and most importantly on the combined decision between our design team, customer project managers and safety team.
With the growth the whole region is witnessing, supported by the vision of its leaders, there are still opportunities for further development. As per Mr. Bekhaazi, as it has been throughout its history, SGB will remain committed to investing in R&D and customer centricity to ensure that contractors will stay ahead of the curve and ready for any construction challenges – with solutions which are fast, economic and safe to use at all times.
