Anyone working in the construction industry will be familiar with the pitfalls associated with multi-tiered subcontracting, which all too often result in inefficiency, delays and
ultimately higher costs to the customer. In the past, this type of contracting was common in Hong Kong, but by identifying a clear gap in the market, Grant Craft, Managing Director of Craft Projects International (CPi) founded The Craft Group in 1995, with the aim of
providing an efficient and high-quality design, supply and installation service utilising an in-house team of staff and workers.

CPi certainly thrives on new challenges regardless of size and have worked on projects from a few hundred thousand dollars to over US$15 million.

“We understand that many of our large clients also have smaller projects that need
executing and we give these jobs the same amount of attention as a large job, making use of our technological superiority and expertise to deliver an outstanding job”, says Craft.

Over the last decade CPi has developed a team of highly skilled professionals who have worked on almost every major cladding project in Hong Kong and Macau.

Twelve years since its inception, the company now employs over 200 people and prides itself on providing the most comprehensive, efficient and cost-competitive steel, cladding and building services available in the Asia Pacific Region today.

The company has become known within the industry as a truly multi-disciplined contractor capable of designing, supplying and installing the complete structural frame and cladding envelope for any building without the need to sub-contract. The recently completed Tuen Mun Hospital is a good example of a project where CPi supplied and installed everything from structural steel and canopy cladding, right through to the external facade, glazing and roof cladding.

CPi has an impressive portfolio of projects which includes the Asia World Expo at Hong Kong International Airport, the extension to the top of the 372-metre tall Central Plaza on the
Wanchai waterfront, and the state of the art Tuen Mun Hospital in the New Territories. CPi has earned its reputation as a provider of leading technology and true end-to-end solutions.

The company has also recently completed works for the Venetian,
Sands and Wynn casinos in Macau and has successfully
completed a total of fifteen projects at Hong Kong
International Airport.

CPi’s successes have resulted in them being invited to tender on all of the major roofing projects in Hong Kong and Macau in recent times and last month was awarded the much sought after contracts for the new North Satellite Concourse (NSC) and the China Aviation Services Limited Hangar, both at Hong Kong International Airport.

“During the tender process for the NSC, we carried out a full redesign of the roof cladding system, and provided each Main Contractor involved in the tender process with a complete tender package including drawings, specification commentary and program for a Unitised Roofing System. In order to help the Main Contractor to properly explain the system and its benefits over traditional erection systems to the Client, we also created a 3D model along with an animated sequence as part of our presentation. This was a perfect example of how we can partner with the Main Contractor to help them win the job”, states Craft.

“As leaders in both structural steel and cladding works, we are able to offer our clients complete value engineered solutions by combining the design and installation of both
the structural and the cladding components. By providing the full package, the interfaces between Structural Steel, Roof Cladding, Wall Cladding, Curtain Walling, Louvers, Doors, Windows and the like are all quite literally, kept under one roof”, he adds.

Whether the client requires a small cladding project or the development and building of a large turnkey industrial building, CPi applies the same rigorous methodology, developing and coordinating each project from the design stage to completion of works, on time and within budget.

Every project has its own unique challenges in its construction and on several recent projects CPi has successfully used its ‘Unitised Roofing System’ to overcome these. The
system allows the roof to be fabricated on the ground in large sections known as ‘Roof Units’, which are then lifted onto the roof. The system incorporates the Internal Liner, Acoustic and Thermal Insulation, Vapour Barrier, Purlins and Subframe into one unit, which is fabricated at ground level and installed as a complete section, resulting in a weather tight roof being erected in a very short period of time. The technology is equally
applicable to large and small jobs and installation is a clean, simple, safe & fast operation, holding significant advantages compared to an in-situ/safety net system which can often obstruct other works in the area.

“Working on the ground is clearly much safer and faster than working at height. When teams of workers are concentrating on building one unit at a time it is easy to monitor their performance as the workers are carrying out the same tasks repetitively. In addition,
working under cover on the ground means that workers are shaded from the sun and we no longer have to stop work when it rains, particularly relevant in a region where wet weather is a major source of downtime”, says Craft.

CPi is also one of the few contractors to own their own rollforming equipment, ideal for producing long lengths or large quantities of roofing which would normally have to be trucked onto site, and therefore be subject to a 12m truck length limit. On the Asia World Expo project for example, CPi was able to produce 100m lengths of cladding.

Along with their rollformers, CPi have developed a mobile fabrication facility that includes a number of specially adapted shipping containers that have been fitted out with slitting, bending, welding and drilling machines that enables them to site measure and fabricate flashings to suit site conditions. On the public pier at Penny’s Bay at Hong Kong Disneyland,
CPi fabricated the entire roofing system on site using both their rollformer and their mobile fabrication facility. This stand alone facility is particularly suited to green field
developments and remote locations.

But it is not just equipment and unitised roofing that sets CPi apart. Ongoing research and development of new products has also become a cornerstone of their approach to
construction. They work closely with Factory Mutual Global (FM), the major insurance
underwriter and industry bodies who ensure that construction materials are thoroughly tested by them before insuring any project. CPi’s relationship with FM started back in 1999, when the company designed a roofing profile for use on the IBM computer chip factory in China. IBM were keen to protect their investment with a cladding system that would
withstand the most extreme weather conditions and CPi stepped in to design a system to meet these needs. The same profile was subsequently used on a number of FM regulated projects in Singapore, including the Wyeth Pharmaceutical building.

More recently, FM’s requirement for the Venetian project in Macau was set at FM180,
at a time when Kalzip products were only approved to FM60. CPi developed and patented a cladding system for Kalzip which was tested and approved to FM195, representing a wind speed of over 400km/hour and tripling the previous capacity of the system. CPi’s system currently holds the highest FM rating of any standing-seam roofing system available, once more cementing the company’s reputation as a technical innovator and industry leader.

CPi’s major clients include KCRC, MTRC, Disney and Ocean Park, with repeat business
including Phases 1 and 2 of the DHL Superhub, and Hangar 1 and 2 of the Hong Kong
Business Aviation Centre, both at Hong Kong International Airport.

Over the years, CPi has built up a recognised brand and word has begun to spread further afield, with CPi now being invited to tender for projects in the Middle East, a market they are keen to explore.

“The past few years have seen a logical progression in terms of the projects we have taken on. Born out of the construction of the Hong Kong Airport in the mid-nineties, CPi has moved on to a series of major railway projects with the expansion of the KCRC and the MTRC lines”, points out Craft.

“More recently projects have expanded to include Macau, where we have worked with
several of the largest names in the casino industry. Our focus for expansion has now turned to the Middle East where we see great potential for partnering with a local firm”, he adds.

“We know from past experience that the key to success in such markets lies in a combination
of local knowledge, specialized skills and reliable supply chains”.

Based on the interest CPi have received to date from within the region, Craft strongly believes
that combining their strengths in innovative construction solutions with the local knowledge
and expertise of a local partner in the Middle East, any partnership would be sure to create a winning team. And it seems that this is a view shared by many of CPi’s established suppliers
in China who are keen to follow CPi into the region.

“Markets such as the Middle East are perfectly suited to our innovative approach to
construction. The fast track nature of these projects, along with the architectural and
engineering challenges posed by some of the more challenging designs, lend themselves
to be constructed using the same techniques we have developed for our local market”,
says Craft.

The future certainly looks bright for CPi as they continue to work to develop new technology
and help their
clients to produce outstanding buildings in Asia and beyond.