Padstow company makes three hour drying concrete

When a A340 Airbus can land on this surface a mere three hours after laying it, you know you have a winning concrete. This is the proud boast of Padstow’s NA Group which has helped pioneer a faster and efficient way to lay concrete.

Matt Kean MP, NA Group executive director Nick Argyropoulos, Bluey Technologies CEO Grant Stewart and Drummoyne state Liberal MP John Sidoti at the demonstration of the fast setting concrete. Picture: Jordan Shields

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When a A340 Airbus can land on this surface a mere three hours after laying it, you know you have a winning concrete.

This is the proud boast of Padstow’s NA Group which has helped pioneer a faster and efficient way to lay concrete.

BluCem FSC (fast setting concrete) — which its inventors say has triple the lifespan of existing rivals — has been introduced into the Sydney market for the first time by infrastructure material supply company Bluey Technologies and road and civil works business NA Group.

NA, named after owner and executive director Nick Argyropoulos, has an annual turnover of more than $27 million which it hopes to increase in the 2019 financial year.

NA Group workers show how the new concrete sets. Picture: Jordan Shields

In June this year, NA moved its headquarters from Revesby to a much larger property in Padstow where it employs nearly 100 staff, many of them living locally. It also has several local sub-contractors.

NA Group said the innovation will help reduce the inconvenience of road closures while tripling its lifespan and improving the environment

According to NA general manager Paul Burville, they have, “ have created a ‘2018 concrete’ which will give early strength gain to reduce road closure times,” making it a ‘win win’ for industry.

“It was both exciting and scary to understand that you can actually land an A380 airbus on this concrete a mere three hours after placement,” Mr Burville said.

“The BluCem Fast Setting Concrete products are another tool in the tool chest for road and infrastructure projects.

NA Group executive director Nick Argyropoulos. Picture: Jordan Shields

“Other fast setting or accelerated concrete mixes being used were developed some 30-40 years ago and do not have the necessary performance characteristics for the current demand from industry.”

Innovation Minister Matt Kean, who was among those who attended a demonstration of the new product at Canada Bay Council on Wednesday, said it will help fast track projects in NSW.

“This innovative product is fast tracking some of the major road and infrastructure projects across the State, and I applaud the contractors and government agencies using this Australian product,” Mr Kean said.

Within three hours of laying the concrete, an Airbus can land on it, the company said. Picture: Jordan Shields

NA said the product has already been used in projects including the Northern Beaches B-Line Upgrade for Fulton Hogan Construction, concrete road rehabilitation on the Hume Hwy at Marulan, Canada Bay Council annual roads program and Interlink on the M5 Western Motorway.

Grant Stewart, the CEO of Bluey Technologies, said road authorities have previously used a

combination of steel reinforcement and chloride-based products that cause corrosion

and rusting that adversely impact asset life.

“Together with NA Group’s technologically advanced mobile batching units and

concrete placement team, BluCem FSC is an innovative solution that can set and be

trafficable in under two hours, achieve a 100-year design life and be tailored to, and made

in, the Australian environment,” Mr Stewart said.

“As an RMS accredited fast setting concrete solution, we expect this to become the industry standard and increasingly adopted for major city road construction and remediation across the country, including Canada Bay.”

The company said BluCem FSC is a highly durable, CSA based, cementitious powder binder that is blended with aggregates to form an early strength gain concrete.

For added durability, the product uses engineered alkalinity to inhibit corrosion and protect reinforcing steel.

CONCRETE ADVANTAGES

■ Instead of working on the road network and obtaining concrete from an off site plant, the concrete is mixed on site

■ The concrete is a faster setting concrete enabling the curing process to happen quicker for a reduced road closure time

■ Reduces the inconvenience of long road closure times

■ The life span is triple of existing concrete