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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
JUNE
2017
20
COVER STORY
Today, many contractors are faced with
the decision as to whether to use in-situ
concrete, precast concrete products or a
combination of both. There are a number of
deciding factors, chief amongst these are
the project time frame, the quality, the safety
and the cost.
Shortening of time frames
National sales manager at AfriSam, Amit
Dawneerangen, says that the rapid pace
of urban development has necessitated a
shortening of construction time frames, and
this has led to contractors looking more
favourably upon precast concrete products.
“Concrete has proven for more than
2 000 years to be durable and the use of
precast concrete products is not new,” he
says. “As far back as ancient Rome the
material was poured into moulds enabling
this civilisation to build its complex network
of aqueducts, culverts and tunnels.
“What is new is the combination of
this traditional material – concrete – with
constant industrial innovation by the local
manufacturers to produce precast concrete
systems and products that meet the needs
of the infrastructure and built environment
contractors,” Dawneerangen says.
This has made the concrete precast
manufacturers (CPMs) sector highly
competitive, and operating in an
economically constrained environment has
added to the challenges faced by these
operations. Significantly, South Africa is
home to a broad spectrum of CPMs from
small to medium enterprises to large
scale manufacturers; yet all face similar
challenges in terms of optimising concrete
mid designs while reducing the total cost
of manufacture.
“The watchword for CPMs has become
operational efficiency, and AfriSam has
found that many turn to an independent
third party to advise them on best practice
in terms of concrete technologies,” he says.
AfriSam’s offering
Not only has this been a catalyst for
AfriSam’s new offering which was
implemented at the beginning of this
year, it is also directly in line with the
company’s philosophy of creating
concrete possibilities.
AfriSam offers CPMs an Efficiency Audit
which is used to assess and evaluate the
operating processes at an individual CPM,
and based on this the company is able to
make informed recommendations, especially
on the most appropriation selection of
materials for their production process.
“What is most important about our
approach to support the CPMs is that we
are not applying a one-size-fits-all approach,”
Dawneerangen explains. AfriSam has built
its reputation on the sharing of its expertise
to assist customers in building sustainable
businesses and is aware that majority of the
CPMs do not have access to an in-house
concrete technology specialist.
AfriSam’s Centre of Product Excellence
has the necessary depth of experience
and skilled technologists who understand
concrete product manufacturing processes.
This means that solid technical support is
readily accessible to this sector of
the market.
Importantly, the AfriSam Centre of
Product Excellence has also helped many
new players establish a presence in the
market by imparting essential knowledge on
the cement, aggregates and sand required
to manufacture a quality product, and
particularly early on in the conceptualisation
stages of these factories.
“In the CPM market we focus on
assisting our customers to operate as
efficiently as possible and this involves
evaluating the existing mix designs and
assisting to reduce unnecessarily costly
components without compromising the
quality of the end product,” he says.
“By drawing on all the alternatives, it is
possible to provide the most cost effective
solution for each customer. It is about
building relationships that give our CPMs
a competitive edge and reflects the quality,
consistency and high performance of
our products.”
He cautions that the incorrect
selection of materials will not only have a
significant impact on the quality of the end
concrete product, but also on the cost of
manufacturing. For example, a poor quality
aggregate could increase both cement and
water usage, he says.
A large number of products
Based on its close interaction and
collaboration with this market, AfriSam has
developed a number of cement products
that meet the specific needs of the CPMs.
Dawneerangen refers to AfriSam’s Rapid
Hard Cement in the 52.5R strength class
and AfriSam’s High Strength Cement in the
42.5R strength class and 52.5N product.
AfriSam’s Rapid Hard Cement meets the
high early and late strength requirements of
the industry.
“The “R” early strength factor in AfriSam’s
52.5R CEM I Rapid Hard Cement and 42.5R
CEM II High Strength Cement is proving to
AfriSam
EXPERTISE
at the core
of
CPM SECTOR GROWTH
Much of our modern world is constructed using concrete; in fact, con-
crete is the second most consumed substance on earth after water.
AfriSam’s Rapid Hard Cement
has been developed for
specialised concrete product
manufacturers.