MUSCAT – The sultanate’s first-ever aluminium composite panel (ACP) manufacturing unit was inaugurated in Misfah Industrial Area on Saturday. The manufacturing unit is the latest diversification of the Mohammed Riaz and Partners group, a leading building materials company in the sultanate. The chief guest for the event was H H Sayyid Muhana bin Asaad al Said. The opening ceremony was also attended by H H Sayyid Fahad bin Diyab al Said and H H Sayyid Azaan bin Kais al Said. Also present were H E Ali Javed, Pakistani Ambassador, H E Musthofa Taufik Abdul Latif, Indonesian Ambassador, H E Shahril Effendi Abd Ghany, Malaysian Ambassador and H E Manabile Shogole, South African Ambassador to Oman. Faiz Mohammed Riaz, managing director, Mohammed Riaz and Partners, said, “We are extremely happy to have the first-ever aluminium panel factory in the sultanate. Our panels called Al-Panel are not only light weight and strong but also very effective in several adverse situations. They are cost effective, easy to install and durable. Aluminium panels are used like claddings in buildings and have proven very effective in buildings around the world. They require very little investment and maintenance. They are heat, sound and fire resistant.”Nicholas Campbell, Al-Panel’s General Manager said, “These panels are also called sandwich panels because it is two aluminium sheets on either side bonded together in a non-aluminium core.”