SA Affordable Housing May - June 2019 // Issue: 76 | Page 16

ADVERTORIAL - COVER STORY
The Sunlands Primary School where the Intastor product
was installed. Complete low-cost housing solutions have been installed by
Intastor at the Lulu Project in Khayamandi.
Intastor offers customised solutions and boasts the only
continuous panel manufacturing machine of its kind in the
Western Cape, which means quality control is significantly
better that the typical manual process also used in South
Africa. Their automated production line allows the
capability to manufacture any length of panel where the
only limitation is the transport mechanisms, so typically
between two to 15m. The company is also the only
manufacturer of insulated panels in South Africa that has
Agrément certification for buildings systems (single storey)
as well as NHBRC certification for its roof panel system.
No matter what the application, up to a 50m 2 room
requires no steel supports or framework. This is due to the
nature of the panels and the manufacturing process, which
creates high rigidity. With the roofing system as an example
– a 100mm thick panel – you can span eight to nine metres
and there is no need for trusses. The system can be used on
conventional or ABT new buildings or retrofitted to existing
structures. For solutions in housing there are no beams,
additional insulation, ceilings or painting required. result faster, more economically and more efficiently,
especially with the housing backlog we are currently
experiencing,” says Desmond Alie, managing director of
Intastor and sister company Isolite.
All materials used are 100% recyclable and all
manufacturing waste is processed through a hammer mill,
ground up and then put back into the system to be used as
re-grind in the manufacturing process (10%+).
When building with alternative technology, you have
zero dependence on water on site, everything is pre-
manufactured, arrives and is installed on site. “It’s a cleaner
way of building when you compare conventional building
sites – it is a completely different situation,” says Alie.
BENEFITS OF THE SYSTEM
Insulated panel structures have been around for five
decades and have proven to be a sustainable and
efficient system that has been used in multiple industries
over its lifespan. As a modular system as many as 36 houses
a week can be erected, which is unheard of in
conventional building.
The installation process is fast, simple and typically
involves a project manager and couple of skilled employees
on site. With the systems simplicity, training and upskilling
local community members is easily achieved – from
inception to completion. This process also facilitates the
transfer of skills, sustainable employment opportunities
and community pride through participation in the
building process.
“All panels are fire-rated and Intastor is collaborating
with various industry players in the alternate building
sector, taking the best of all technologies and putting them
into something that works because alternative technology
cannot work on its own. It needs to be a combination of
alternative and conventional technologies using each
solutions’ strengths. This enables us to produce an end
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MAY - JUNE 2019
THE MODULAR HOUSING SOLUTION HORIZON
Currently with thousands of installations under the belt as
well as thousands planned, the future of Intastor is set to
exceed expectations.
It is able to build as a trusted, quality roofing and
temporary housing producer and has gone through a lot of
work, research and time to develop its permanent housing
solution, which received Agrément approval late in 2018.
Intastor can take on permanent structure buildings in the
affordable housing market, while empowering local
communities around the country with the skills to work with
and install their products.
“The road so far has been a resistant one because we still
sit with a mental block in the housing market where people
want a brick and mortar house, so although in European and
other countries, alternative buildings are highly acceptable
and desirable because of the energy efficiency, we have to
change our mindset to be more receptive to these types of
solutions because alternative building solutions are better.
– It’s a better technology that can be delivered faster with
more efficiency. Industry and stakeholders need to accept
this. We have to get acceptance of these types of solutions
to get ahead,” Alie stresses.
www.saaffordablehousing.co.za