Construction World April 2018

CEMENT & CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY

Centre of PRODUCT EXCELLENCE The Centre of Product Excellence (CPE) at construction materials leader AfriSam has been reaching out to support the sustainability of smaller players in concrete product manufacturing, thereby enhancing local economies and helping create jobs.

AfriSam High Strength cement (42.5R) being used. This composite cement is used in applications where high early strength is required. It also offers consistent strength, workability and durability. The benefit of the high early strength is that it saves time on site for CPMs, and also contains mineral components which improve durability, especially under aggressive conditions. It produces concrete with excellent workability and strength AfriSam’s CPE works with customers to identify the most suitable product and process to optimise their operations.

T his is an integral part of AfriSam’s partnership philosophy with customers – a long-term strategy of working with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to improve their manufacturing productivity and cost management. In challenging economic times, reducing production costs per unit is critical for SMEs, and is often the only way to survive commercially. However, the SMEs generally lack the expertise, experience and technology to introduce the necessary cost-saving measures into their businesses. This is where AfriSam’s CPE plays such a valuable role; it helps customers to gain a better understanding of the impact of materials on their manufacturing costs. There are many situations in which the ‘obvious’ solution of buying the cheapest material is actually detrimental to the whole operation. Rather, the CPE can work with customers to identify the most suitable product and process, applying its in-depth scientific and technical knowledge of cement and construction materials to identify the customers’ needs and even optimise their operations. With its extensive laboratory facilities, expertise and range of AfriSam products from which to choose, the CPE provides concrete product manufacturers (CPMs) with up-front guidance and advice that can make the difference between sustainability and constant struggle. One of the CPE’s interventions was with new market entrant Opehst BCM, based near Rustenburg and focused on manufacturing stock bricks, maxi bricks, hollow blocks and concrete palisade walling. Their particular advantage was their access to an abundance of chrome slag from a nearby ferrochrome mine, a material which they could use instead of buying stone aggregate. The use of the slag also made an important contribution to the environment. The company was essentially recycling this by-product of mining which is in line with AfriSam’s corporate commitment to preserving the planet. After the extraction of chrome and other metals, the slag is a dense, shiny and black aggregate containing elements of aluminium and silicon. AfriSam became involved in the early

stages of the business start-up, in order to make recommendations on the most suitable cement to be used and the raw materials were sampled and tested. CPE staff made visits to the customer’s site, where it provided guidance on the initial mixes to be used. Important aspects of the process, such as the raw material, measuring, cement, mixing, compaction, curing, site layout, and storage, were all discussed in detail with the customer. This led to the recommendation of

One of the key benefits of AfriSam’s Rapid Hard Cement is that it offers fast strength gaining qualities, allowing for quick turn around and form stripping.

The expert advice from the CPE’s technical consultants has resulted in significantly increased output of CPEs.

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD APRIL 2018