Technal, a leading provider of sustainable aluminium windows, doors and façades solutions, part of Hydro Extruded Solutions has established a regional headquarters (RHQ) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The announcement was made following an event that was recently hosted at the Norwegian embassy in Riyadh. His Excellency (H.E.) Thomas Lid Ball, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Saudi Arabia, attended the event. He commented: “We are proud to have Technal in Saudi Arabia contributing to low carbon technologies for the construction sector. I am confident that Technal will contribute to implementing sustainable solutions that support the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.” Technal is part of Hydro, a global aluminium and energy company that has 32,000 employees in more than 140 locations and 40 countries. Technal has been operating in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for more than 44 years offering low carbon footprint aluminium, energy efficient and high-performance solutions for windows, doors, and facades. The new RHQ in Riyadh will enable Technal to provide world-class aluminium windows, doors, and facades for its Saudi based customers, architects, consultants, contractors, and developers. Commenting on the RHQ in Riyadh, Sam Robinson – Managing Director – Hydro Building Systems – Asia commented: “This is an exciting milestone as we outline our long-term interest to supporting decarbonization through our solutions in Saudi Arabia. By investing in recycled and recyclable products Building developers can lower the embodied carbon by a minimum of 75% and create more end-of-life value for their buildings as well as contributing to a circular economy. Our aim is to contribute significantly to the Kingdom´s developments as it progresses towards a more sustainable future in line with Saudi Vision 2030. “Buildings contribute to 40% of all energy consumption globally. Our solutions focus on reducing the carbon footprint of buildings by offering leading sustainable aluminium windows, doors and facades worldwide. The Saudi Arabian market has significant potential with many major construction developments including Gigaprojects like NEOM and the Red Sea Development. We are looking forward to growing our business in Saudi and the wider region and to continue supporting major projects that we are already involved in,” added Robinson. Saudi Arabia, the Arab world"s largest economy, is building a number of new projects as it focuses on diversifying its economy away from oil. The projects span sectors including real estate, tourism, entertainment, infrastructure and others. Saudi Arabia’s construction sector remained strong in the first quarter of 2023 and posted a record reading on the back of higher workloads, a new survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has shown. The headline Rics Construction Activity Index for Saudi Arabia in the three months to the end of March recorded a positive 69 net balance reading, up from the +65 recorded in the previous quarter. Saudi Arabia is also on track to meet its net-zero pledge by 2060. The Kingdom has committed to having 50% of its power generated from renewable sources by 2030. The Kingdom targets to reduce carbon emissions by 278 metric tons per annum by 2030. Technal wants to support the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in driving sustainable development of buildings through its low carbon footprint and energy efficient aluminium windows doors and facades. In addition, due to stringent emission regulations and the fact that the reserves of natural resources slowly being exhausted, the world’s interest in urban mining is increasing. Technal is investing in urban mining in line with their circularity approach. The company has implemented initiatives to collect and recycle end-of-life aluminium, fostering circularity globally. At the event Technal presented Hydro´s latest low carbon alloy “Hydro CIRCAL 100R”, in KSA, the world’s first near-zero Carbon aluminium made with 100 % post-consumer aluminium scrap for doors windows and facades. Globally and including in the Middle East, Technal has delivered more than 300 projects with low carbon alloys. With its Hydro CIRCAL 75R, TECHNAL helped developers and investors save over 250,000 MT of carbon emissions. The Technal windows, doors and facades using Hydro CIRCAL 100R can significantly reduce the carbon footprint for the giga projects and the high-rise modern buildings in the kingdom. Technal has provided a range of sustainable aluminium projects for key landmarks in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia including the 1960’s Bridgestone HQ as well as work for the Red Sea coastal village and Diryah Gate. Technal has also provided solutions for Riyadh metro, Hilton Garden Inn, Al Zamil Etlal tower, Fairmont Ramla and Qiddiya projects in KSA.