The power of aluminum: this is KAAP

At Welmecon B.V., innovation is key. Especially in the use of aluminum in facade and roof systems. The KAAP project, in cooperation with COFAC, is a good example of this. Robin Dekker, work planner at Welmecon and Jonathan Roebersen, sales consultant at COFAC share their experiences and insights.

For KAAP, Welmecon supplies and assembles aluminum composite for two residential towers: one with eight and the other with nine floors. "We produce, supply and assemble the custom-made steel and aluminum flashings and finishing pieces for the various residential towers," says Dekker. Welmecon soon engaged loyal partner COFAC at KAAP: "We are responsible for producing the aluminum composite facade elements," Roebersen says. Working together, the two parties conceived and tested as much as possible in the preliminary phase in order to achieve the optimal result. And that paid off.

Design and execute

"Our strength in this project lies in the ability of both companies to be flexible and creative," says Dekker. "We think along and deliver solutions that work well. Our cooperation with COFAC has been good for years and is proving to be of great value again in KAAP." Roebersen agrees: "Our cooperation, in which we are closely involved in the preliminary process and implementation, ensures a smooth process and a high-quality end result. The fact that we are able to realize complex designs shows the strength of our cooperation."

Working with prefabs

"One of the biggest challenges at KAAP was working on a very limited construction site," Dekker states. "This required us to think in prefabricated elements as much as possible." Roebersen adds: "With precast elements, the connections at the corners always remain difficult to get perfect. That's why the mock-ups were very valuable. We tinkered with it until it was perfect."

"Logistical planning is always important, but even more so with KAAP," says Dekker. "Many elements were delivered prefabricated, which significantly reduced the construction time on site. We work with a weekly cycle that creates a little train, so to speak, in the planning. This ensures that everything runs smoothly and we can work efficiently."

The ideal color

A challenging puzzle was obtaining the ideal color for the aluminum flashing around the windows of one of the residential towers. "The architect wanted a special color that was not available anywhere," says Dekker. "It was up to us to find it anyway." And so Welmecon went looking. "They wanted a unique sandy color with a tiny black speck. We found a partner who didn't have the color in stock but could manufacture it for us. This involved a large minimum print run and therefore a nice price tag. But the will of the client is law and I'm glad we succeeded."

A golden partnership

"We are proud of our innovative solutions," Dekker says. "For KAAP, we developed special profiles that blend into each other without being noticeable: a challenge that we tackled successfully." The collaboration was again excellent, agrees Roebersen. "We showed that by working together and utilizing each other's expertise, we can successfully realize complex projects." Both men look forward to tackling more such challenging projects together in the future. But for now first: KAAP.