What Is ACP Cladding? Aluminium Composite Panels Explained

What ACP Cladding Actually Is

ACP — aluminium composite panel, also called ACM (aluminium composite material) — is the flat, crisp, modern panel you see on bank towers, hospitals, malls and corporate façades across Accra. It looks like solid metal, but it is not. It is a sandwich: two thin aluminium skins bonded either side of a core.

That construction is the whole point. The aluminium skins give the panel its finish, its colour and its weather resistance. The core gives the panel its rigidity, its light weight — and, critically, its fire behaviour. Alucobond Ghana has specified and installed aluminium-composite façades across Ghana since 1977, and the first thing we tell every client is this: the panel you can see is the skin, and the part that decides whether the façade is safe is the part you cannot.

The Anatomy of a Panel

The Two Aluminium Skins

Each skin is typically 0.5mm of aluminium alloy, coil-coated at the factory. The visible face carries the finish — usually a PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) coating for long-term colour and weather resistance, sometimes PE or FEVE. This is where the colour, the metallic, the anodised look and the gloss level live. The skins are thin, which is why an ACP panel is so much lighter than solid aluminium plate of the same size.

The Core

Between the skins sits the core, and the core type changes everything:

• PE (polyethylene) — a plastic core. Light, cheap to produce, and combustible — this is the core material involved in the Grenfell Tower fire.
• FR (fire-retardant) — roughly 70% mineral filler mixed into the core, which burns far less.
• A2 (mineral-filled) — over 90% mineral filler, classified A2-s1,d0 under EN 13501-1 (limited combustibility), the highest fire rating an ACP achieves.

Two panels can look completely identical and behave completely differently in a fire, because the skins are the same and only the core changes. That is why we never sell “ACP” without naming the core — and why our Fire-Rated ACP Cladding guide treats the core as a life-safety decision, not a finish choice.

Standard Panel Sizes and Thicknesses

A typical ACP sheet is 1220 × 2440mm (roughly 4ft × 8ft), in 3mm, 4mm or 6mm total thickness. The thickness refers to the whole sandwich; thicker panels are more rigid and flatter over large spans. Coatings, alloys and finishes (anodised, RAL/Pantone colour, brushed metallic) are specified on top of that base.

Where ACP Cladding Is Used

ACP earns its place because it is flat, light, fast to fabricate and available in almost any finish:

• Corporate towers and bank HQs — clean, modern elevations in Ridge, Airport City and the CBD
• Hospitals and healthcare — where A2 non-combustibility is specified for occupancy
• Hotels, malls and high-occupancy buildings
• Canopies, soffits and signage — fabricated from the same panel system
• Re-cladding and façade refurbishment — replacing tired or combustible panels

ACP vs Solid Aluminium vs Other Cladding

ACP is not the only option, and it is not always the right one. Solid aluminium plate is heavier and more expensive but has no plastic core to worry about. Fibre-cement and terracotta are non-combustible by nature but heavier and less flexible in finish. ACP wins on weight, finish range and fabrication speed — provided the core is specified honestly. Where the building’s height and occupancy demand it, the answer is an A2 core, not a cheaper PE one.

What It Costs

ACP splits into a material price and an installed price. As an indicative 2026 material reference, a 3mm ACP sheet is around GH₵315 per sheet (a single Jiji listing), and imported ACP material is around US$2–8 per square metre FOB (material only — no sub-frame, fabrication, fixings or labour). A finished commercial façade is genuinely priced on survey, because panel grade, building height and access decide the figure. The full picture is on the ACP Cladding Cost Guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does ACP stand for?

ACP stands for aluminium composite panel — also called ACM, aluminium composite material. It is two thin aluminium skins bonded either side of a core, and it is the flat modern panel used on most contemporary commercial façades.

Is ACP cladding the same as Alucobond?

Alucobond is one of the original, best-known brands of aluminium composite panel — the brand name has become a generic word for the product, the way people say “Alucobond” to mean ACP. The construction (two skins, one core) is the same; what matters is the core grade and the certification behind whatever panel you actually buy.

Is all ACP cladding safe?

No — it depends entirely on the core. A PE-core panel is combustible (the Grenfell material); an FR or A2 core is far safer. Always ask which core you are getting and for the EN 13501-1 fire classification in writing. See our Fire-Rated ACP guide.

How thick is an ACP panel?

Standard total thicknesses are 3mm, 4mm and 6mm, on a typical 1220 × 2440mm sheet. Thicker panels are more rigid and stay flatter across large façade spans.

Talk to Alucobond Ghana about your façade. We specify the panel, name the core, and hand over the paperwork. Call +233 27 000 0844 for a survey across Greater Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi and Lomé, Togo.