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Base: UCRETE from BASF is known for its hardness, elasticity and resistance to shock, ageing, cracking and scratching.

"A lot of the cheaper products on the market will only last a few years before they need replacing, which is just going to cost more in the long-run.

"The advantages of our system is that it is highly resilient, requires almost no upkeep and provides a variety of finishes in a variety of colours."

The products have been used in a number of high-profile projects, such as the new Hilton Hotel in Al Ain and the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai.

Another change in the industry has been the growth in popularity of wooden floors.

Albert Douglas, CEO, Alomi Wood Floors said his firm had seen sales increase from US $100,000 (AED 367,300) five years ago to $30 million last year.

He says: "This boom has mainly been fashion-driven, because people want a product which is fashionable, durable and affordably priced.

"Dubai led the way with wooden flooring, but we are doing equally as much trade in Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

"It's not only in the UAE that they want this product, it's throughout the GCC.

"And that is a noticeable difference because we did nothing at the beginning in the other GCC countries."

Recent technological advances have meant that wooden floors are not affected by the extreme conditions in the GCC.

Douglas adds: "Before we were never able to have a product that was actually able to cope with the conditions here.

"It took a long time to gain the confidence of architects, specifiers, designers and end users that Alomi has got a product that is suitable for the humidity, high temperatures, warm air flows and termites of GCC conditions.

"We've actually gone back to the UK, where we manufacture all our flooring, and to my knowledge we are the only manufacturer in the world which produces a product which is tailor-made to GCC conditions."

Alomi has supplied to Jumeirah Beach Residence's penthouses, Mall of the Emirates and many five-star hotels in Dubai.

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