DuBox, a UAE-based specialist in off-site construction and modular, single- or multi-storey building designs, is showcasing the country’s first locally 3D-printed concrete element.

The 3D printed part is on display at the inaugural Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit, GMIS 2017, which opened on Monday in Abu Dhabi, said a statement from the company.

GMIS 2017 was organised by the UAE Ministry of Economy and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido), and co-hosted by the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development. The event, which runs to March 30, marks the UAE’s first global gathering for the manufacturing community.

DuBox realised the 3D-printed concrete element in partnership with the University of Eindhoven and Witteveen+Bos, a Dutch engineering consultancy firm.

3D printing is primed to help the company achieve efficient building processes, as well as its goal of providing "simpler-safer" construction.

DuBox founder Chebel Bsaibes, said: "Since 2009, the company has handed over 150,000 sq m of built-up environment introducing new technologies and techniques besides disrupting conventional processes of the construction industry."

"It has also heldped pave the way for the construction industry to embrace the new smart industrial age, the fourth Industrial Revolution, by rapidly prototyping, testing, and commercialising innovative solutions," he remarked.

The organisers of GMIS 2017 said the event is aimed at determining the manufacturing sector’s role in the reconstruction of the global economy and the restoration of global prosperity.

By bringing together some of the key players in the industry, GMIS ultimately wants to open a productive dialogue about the future of manufacturing, they stated.

3D printing technologies, a trending topic at GMIS, could mark a crucial step forwards for Dubai’s announced goal of having 25 per cent of its buildings 3D printed by 2030, they added.-TradeArabia News Service