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October 2015
E
xpect more from the ready-
mix industry in the future was
the message from the AGM.
SARMA's hard work and planning has
culminated in professionalising the
industry, as well as the widespread
adoption of certified readymix as
the construction material of choice
by the country’s most influential
construction bodies.
Simultaneously, the country’s
main contracting firms, as well as
government parastatal such as the
South African National Roads Agency
Limited (SANRAL) and other state
owned entities have also specified
that only SARMA certified readymix
concrete may be used on their sites.
SARMA President, Deon Fourie
explains, “This had the knock-on ef-
fect of attracting a growing number
of non-member readymix suppliers,
who have begun working tirelessly
to meet membership requirements
to become part of the association.
As a result membership has grown
in leaps and bounds with growth of
11% in accredited member numbers
during 2015.”
He added, “This is good news for
the local construction industry, as
it ensures our construction projects
have world-class concrete. It also
ensures that acceptable minimum
standards are maintained that will
put an end to building collapses and
ramshackle houses as a result of in-
ferior products being used.”
Speaking at the recent event, he
concluded that these developments
mark a watershed as the construc-
tion industry embraces quality over
price. “SARMA certified members
comply with the regulations and
had often been undercut by non-
compliant readymix suppliers. This
not only jeopardised the integrity of
the structure but also led to unfair
competition,” said Fourie.
He thanked SARMA’s General Man-
ager, Johan van Wyk for increasing
the number of organisations that will
only use accredited readymix and
slowly winning the fight to profes-
sionalise readymix concrete in South
Africa.
“Under his leadership the Asso-
ciation is also throwing its weight
behind adopting new standards
for readymix, as well as pushing for
higher standards from the country’s
laboratories when it comes to dealing
with concrete.”
■
Groundbreaking year for SARMA
Themessage from the South African Readymix Association’s (SARMA)
Annual General Meeting is that 2015 will go down as the most
groundbreaking year since the establishment of the organisation.
a
.b.e. Construction Chemicals’
VIP Polyurea coating was re-
cently specified for the mini
dam water feature at Number on
Brae in TheWillows, Pretoria.The Ger-
man Voelkel Industrie Produkte (VIP)
range is licensed and distributed by
a.b.e Construction Chemicals. Noel
Abendroth from a.b.e. says that the
VIP QuickSeal LP 65 was selected for
the new water feature with a small
windmill and mini-dam which adds
a rural atmosphere of the venue.
The main contractor, C&M Projects,
Pretoria specified “Quickseal LP 65
is a modified polyurea elastomer
especially designed for easy, lowpres-
sure waterproofing applications. The
product contains no solvents or VOCs
and provides an economical lining for
awide range of applications requiring
robust, durable, flexible water-tight
membranes.” VIP Polyureawas speci-
fied bymain contractor Deco Systems
for the Protea Hotel in Sea Point to
seal leaks on the existing parking
deck. Thermoseal was applied to the
1 220m² area and VIP Polyurea Quick-
seal MP 250, amodified Polyurea, was
used for this project with an Aliphatic
polyurethane topcoat. At the Fury
Fordmotor dealership inWoodmead,
Johannesburg, Custom Linings ap-
plied VIP Quickseal PP 350 on sealing
expansion joints on the parking ramp
to ensure that water did not leak into
the shops below. “VIP QuickSeal PP
350 is a spray-applied, instant curing
flexiblemembrane that canbe built to
any thickness in one application. Very
cold, very hot or even very humid en-
vironments do not affect curing time
or physical performance of the prod-
uct which provides flexible, seamless,
hard-wearing substrate protection. Its
rapid spray application and instant
curing characteristics results in short-
er shutdown times than traditional
systems,” says Abendroth.
■
Waterproofing
contracts
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