NEWS
Italian steel’s port of
call for SA market
Longstanding Italian steel manufacturer Ondulit has set its sights
on the South African construction market.
Slovenia’s Port of Koper, one of the most important transport hubs of the Mediterranean Sea.
F
ounded in 1953, Ondulit specialises
in metal roofing on a global scale
and has partnered with local
infrastructure specialist Motseni
Engineering Services (MES).
With 65 years of activity under its belt,
Ondulit operates in the international metal
roofing systems market as a manufacturer of
insulating multilayer protected steel panels.
One of its prized projects is the mega
Port of Koper, one of the most important
transport hubs in Slovenia and one of the
main ports of the Mediterranean Sea. The
relationship between Ondulit and the Port
of Koper was born in the early 1980s, says
Valerio Francione, Ondulit export
area manager.
He continues, “The port authorities have
always been looking for structural
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SEPTEMBER 2018
CLADDING // CONCRETE // INSULATION // STEEL // THATCH // TIMBER // TRANSLUCENT // WATERPROOFING // COMPONENTS
engineering solutions that guarantee high
mechanical performance in an extremely
complex environment. In this context, the
need to find extremely performing roofs,
and at the same time guarantee a high
resistance to corrosion, has always been a
top priority for the port authority.”
Forming part of the overarching project,
Ondulit was responsible for the roofing of a
40 000m² silo, of which about 5 000m²
comprises wall covering. “Obviously, given
the silo’s destination for an important
commercial port, the first requirement for
the roofing was the need to resist salt
corrosion. In addition, due to the client’s
specific request and environmental
characteristics, the building had to comply
with another set of very restrictive
requirements,” notes Francione.
“Regarding the fire resistance
requirement, the sheets comply with high
market standards – they are extremely
resistant to fire, with a very little
contribution to the propagation of fumes
and dripping completely absent. They also
present an exceptional behaviour to
external fire, another determining
factor given the human presence,”
adds Francione.
Francione says the installation of the
building was carried out by one of
Ondulit’s Slovenian partners, Adriaing,
which, thanks to the ease of installation
and the possibility to realise the roof with a
single solution without further
stratification in place, has managed to
respect the tight budget imposed by
port authorities.