KUALA LUMPUR, 7th November 2013 – Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Kimlun Sdn Bhd, one of the largest providers of engineering and construction services in Malaysia will work together in developing areas of infrastructure and building construction, project management, industrial building systems (IBS) and manufacturing of concrete products.
As a premier university in the engineering and technology field, Kimlun has entrusted UTM to be their main research arm in a collaborative Research and Development and Commercialisation (R&D&C) project of IBS products with any of their subsidiaries.
In the collaborative effort, both parties agree to establish an IBS Center in UTM which will produce and manufacture IBS based product such as Sine Slab and Smart IBS. In line with the development of more efficient building technologies, the Malaysian construction industry is moving towards the adoption of IBS to shorten the construction period, efficient construction costs and ensure better construction quality.
IBS is a system of construction which uses industrial production techniques either in the production of components or assembly of buildings, or both. One of these techniques is the utilisation of standardised forms of pre-cast concrete and hybrid structures in construction works. The system also involves offsite, and to a lesser extent, on-site, mass production of building components.
This system of construction allows for a more efficient and cost effective construction cycle because the pre-cast concrete and prefabricated steel structures for each individual project are customised and standardized. In addition, there will be improvements to the quality of these pre-cast concrete and hybrid structures as there will be greater consistency in the fabrication of these structures. Such pre-cast concrete and hybrid structures are particularly useful for high rise buildings or mass housing estates where a similar structure can be replicated numerous times.
Kimlun Group is an engineering and construction services provider specialising in infrastructure and building construction, project management, industrial building systems (IBS) and manufacture of concrete products. Ancillary to our core business, we also involve in property development and trading in construction and building materials.
We have the ability to act as a one-stop engineering services provider, capable of providing a comprehensive and integrated range of concrete products and engineering and construction services to our customers. Kimlun’s business development plan has evolved over the past few years from a construction and engineering services provider to include downstream support activities via a concrete products manufacturing division.
The Group manufacturing arm has also grown significantly over the years and has expanded its product range ranging from traditional precast concrete to automation of precast concrete products to meet the demand of infrastructure and building construction in both the Malaysia and Singapore markets. In line with UTM’s prestigious image, they are committed to be reliable, competitive and innovative.
Led by Prof.Dr. Muhd Zaimi Abd. Majid, this collaborative effort will be done with the UTM ICON (Innovative Construction Research Alliance) Group. ICON’s researcher member’s research area cover areas like housing, structural analysis and building, materials engineering, pavement study, earthquake engineering, construction security, survey, land survey and geology study and so on. Prof. Muhd. Zaimi is also well known for his established Fast Track Wall technology which has been adopted and commercialized by many housing agents in Malaysia.
The UTM Construction Research Alliance works together with UTM- Construction Research Centre (UTM-CRC) aimed to stimulate and facilitate collaboration and information exchange between universities, government research institutes and organizations engaged in the building and construction sector. UTM-CRC conducts technological research and consultancy for organizations with particular construction concerns and specializes in continuing education, courses, workshops and conferences in construction.
The support for the services comes via collaboration with organizations engaged in servicing the construction industry. Based in the Faculty of Civil Engineering, the Centre boasts a number of qualified academic staffs and fellows in multi-disciplinary fields (i.e. science, mechanical and civil engineering) who are capable in teaching and conducting research and consultancy activities in subjects related to steel including metallurgy, production, building structural analysis, and design. Complete back-up facilities for all kinds of construction research activities are also available at UTM-CRC.
The effort for the collaboration was brought about by the UTM Innovation and Commercialisation Centre which is a unit responsible for the all the efforts in accelerating UTM’s R&D products’ commercialization process with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Arham Abdullah, the UTM ICC Deputy Director of Innovation witnessing the event.