Efficiency is an economic asset


The construction industry has been through a turbulent first half year. The price of steel and cement has soared and no end is yet in sight. It is evident that there is no return and that ongoing changes favor the use of precast, prestressed concrete as a building material.

Efficiency can be measured in many ways, such as the start-up time and reaction to change in production. It is especially important for a newcomer in precast manufacturing to receive the strong support of their equipment supplier in production engineering and training issues, something that is often realized too late.

High steel prices opt for economical hollow-core

Scrap steel is at a shortage and the price of constructional steel has risen by 30 percent since February. To find out more about the causes of this effect, Concrete Issues met with Mr. Seppo Rajamäki, Vice President and Technical Director at Consolis, Europe's largest producer of precast concrete products and a consumer of 75 000 tons of steel yearly.

Definitely a partnership


Molin Concrete Products Co in Lino Lakes, Minnesota, is one of the precast industry’s oldest operators. Having manufactured prestressed Flexicore hollow-core products since the 1950s, the company started looking around for more advanced production technology as the 20th century drew to a close. This is how they found Elematic and the hollow-core extrusion technology, which would make them the first producer of 16-in. hollow-core elements in the U.S. Today, with the increasing demand for economical, prefabricated products spurring on investments in hollow-core production, Elematic supplies Molin with all they need.