Sandwich panels — cold-room walls, roofs, construction sheets
Polyurethane sandwich panels used for cold-room erection, pre-fabricated walls, and roofings. Al-Qatami leads the local market at ~5,000 m/day; Al Hasawi is the #2 player with 1M+ m/year automated capacity (exact daily output undisclosed). KPI rounds out the field at 600-700 m/day. But the category has a brand-perception / certification problem: only 1 of the Top 5 cold-room installers (Reliance Technology) currently chooses Al Hasawi panels — the other four import from the UAE.
Where sandwich panel output is consumed
What's included in this segment
Why UAE panels historically won
Kuwaiti-manufactured sandwich panels (Al Hasawi + Al-Qatami + Kuwait Polyurethane) meet local quality metrics but do NOT comply with international standards — critically on fire-resistance certification. Where a project references international fire-rated panels, the UAE-imported product was the default.
War & logistics disruption lifts Al Hasawi demand
Regional conflict has materially disrupted cross-border logistics — UAE imports have become slower, more expensive, and less reliable. Projects that previously defaulted to UAE-certified panels are now turning to local manufacturers by necessity, not preference. Al Hasawi is one of the direct beneficiaries: higher demand on the existing 1 M+ m/yr line, shorter delivery vs imported alternatives. The underlying certification gap has not closed — but the cost of waiting for UAE supply has risen enough to reshuffle project-level sourcing decisions.
Kuwait Polyurethane Industry (KPI)
Al-Firdous Homes Real Estate Company (sandwichpanelkw.com)
Works & Building Co. (Al-Ashghal wal Bina') — Al-Qatami
| Thickness | Al-Qatami | KPI |
|---|---|---|
| 5 cm | 7.500 | — |
| 7.5 cm | 8.000 | 7.500 |
| 10 cm | 9.250 | 9.500 |
Standard width: 1 m · custom lengths 2–12 m. Al Hasawi pricing not disclosed — positioned as competitive local alternative.
Works & Building (Al-Qatami) · market leader · 85+ years in-market. Founded 1940 by the late Yousef Al-Qatami; oldest and largest of the Kuwaiti panel manufacturers. Diversified industrial holding — sandwich panels is one factory inside a group that also distributes Atlas Copco, Hilti, Fronius, Festo. Claims broad ministry approvals and ~5,000 m/day capacity including exports. The benchmark that Al Hasawi and KPI are measured against.
Al Hasawi — #2 player, volume unknown but automated-line capacity is large. 1M+ m/year automated PU line at 40 kg/m³ density. Exact daily output not disclosed, but annualised capacity is in the same tier as Al-Qatami. Al Hasawi's challenge is less about capacity and more about closing the certification gap (international fire rating) and the installer-channel perception gap (where Top 5 cold-room installers default to UAE panels). The 2026 war/logistics disruption is currently doing some of that work for them — 4 of 5 Top installers still import UAE, but the window is narrowing.
Kuwait Polyurethane Industry (KPI) · 27 years old. Founded 1998; sandwich panels added in 2002. Tagged as “pioneer of rigid polyurethane foam systems in the Middle East”. GRACO authorised distributor for foam-systems trading. 600-700 m/day capacity (~1 m per piece), MENA export reach.
Al-Firdous Homes (sandwichpanelkw.com) — reseller only. Not a manufacturer. Warehouses panels sourced from a UAE factory partner and resells locally. Mentioned for completeness but not a significant competitive factor.
The 2026 demand uplift is a window, not a permanent shift. Al Hasawi is currently absorbing volume that would otherwise have gone to UAE importers, using existing capacity without requiring new investment. Two forward reads:
- Near-term: capture the disruption — prioritise on-time delivery and installer-satisfaction metrics, so installers who try Al Hasawi during import stress stay after UAE supply normalises.
- Mid-term: close the fire-certification gap. The disruption window gives Al Hasawi a cash-funded opportunity to upgrade the PU formulation / fire-rating to international specs without the revenue drag of doing it from a weak competitive position.