Atlas Factory Mehsana Gujarat
Atlas Factory - Mehsana, Gujarat

Ashok Kumar Bhaiya
Aludecor Lamination Private Limited, the flagship company of the HMB Group, stepped into the building and design scene over a decade back in 2004 to transform the looks of tomorrow's construction by helping to create contemporary structures that are head turners as well. "Continuous research, unparalleled service and a strict vigil on our products have earned us a pride of place in India's ACP market. The journey is on. We anticipate a brighter future," said Mr. Ashok Kumar Bhaiya, the Company's CMD. On these notes, Syed E. Hasan tries to delve into the company's mission of constant qualitative advancements and its preparation in line with the government's plans for future development. Excerpts:

How does Aludecor take the Government's proposal for 100 smart cities and how is the company correlating itself with the word 'smart'?
Smart Cities are going to affect a huge growth in the building materials industry, especially ACP. ACP has always responded brilliantly to contemporary and evolving design needs. IT and industrial SEZs have seen widespread use of ACP. So have shopping malls, multiplexes, commercial, and residential buildings et al.

We associate ourselves with the word 'smart' by offering the most unique and top quality products to the designer fraternity; by contributing to green building norms; and by rendering immaculate service. So far as, unique products are concerned, Aludecor has patented designs that have wide acceptance, and will seamlessly fit into the novel concepts like smart city. Like, we offer the maximum number of timber shades, one-of-its-kind sand finish, patented stucco-pinhole-stripe finishes, and much more. Smartness to us is keeping pace with time and be ready with products that answer the most recent trends. Also, we complement our high quality of products with top notch sales service.

Sinnar Kalamandir, Nasik
Sinnar Kalamandir, Nasik

What are the contemporary trends and the latest from Aludecor's bouquet when it comes to sustainable exterior/façade solutions?
The importance of green building and fire-resistant facade is growing rapidly, so is the driving trend. And Aludecor is a company that scores a lot on these fronts. Aludecor's fire-rated brand Firewall resists fire for 2 hours, prevent fire propagation, suppress smoke and produce zero flaming droplets or particles, as per the tests (ASTM E119-12 and B-s1, d0 of EN 13501-1) conducted at Exova Warringtonfire, UK.

Further being manufactured by fully recycled substances, Aludecor ACP gives the advantage of earning LEED Credits MR 4.1 and MR 4.2. The building's thermal insulation can be enhanced when cladded with Aludecor ACP owing to the air pocket formation between the structural wall and the panels.

Aludecor's Zinc ACP does not only give a zero-depreciation and zero- maintenance facade, but also blocks out carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, thus helping buildings qualify for LEED certification. At the same time, our Copper ACP is the first Cu+ certified ACP in India. This certification from the International Copper Promotion Council validates the fact that our Copper ACP is antimicrobial.

Moreover, Aludecor's ACP is painted with lead free paints and always comes with cool colours having a Lumiflon-based fluoropolymer paint finish to offer high solar reflectance. This increases the energy efficiency of a building and can contribute to LEED Credits ID 1.1 to 1.4.

What issues/challenges does the company come across while developing exterior/façade solutions for the high-risers?
Although ACP has proven to be one of the best materials to use in high rises - for its lightweight and wind load withstanding capacity – one major challenge facing the industry is the lack of awareness among the applicators. Many ACP claddings get damaged due to the wrong method of fabrication employed, and for no fault of the product. We, at Aludecor, organize many awareness programmes, and publish many awareness literatures to address the issue.

We have done quite a few such projects. And the testimony of the fact is that our customers' unshaken trust on our products and service has earned us the Asia's Most Promising Brand, 2013-14 award from World Consulting and Research Corporation (WCRC), elevating us to the select group of only 150 such brands in Asia.

Mindspace Mumbai
Mindspace, Mumbai

What steps are you taking to promote right practices with respect to selection and application of material?
We have a robust awareness programme in place to promote the right practices among the fabricators' community. This is a round-the-year activity that includes organizing awareness meets, participating in seminars and exhibitions, and publishing as well as updating manuals that are uploaded in our website too. Our 3600 social media marketing activity is meant for both – the end-users as well as the influencers. Our newsletter carrying invaluable inputs from top architects, facade consultants, PMCs and fabricators also add significantly to meet this objective. Further, we are going to undertake some very innovative methods in 2015-16, in order to spread awareness.