Precast Solutions

Dr.L.R.Manjunatha Chairman, Indian Concrete Institute, Bangalore, & GM, JSW Cement
Dr.L.R.Manjunatha Chairman, Indian Concrete Institute, Bangalore, & GM, JSW Cement

It is very important for us to have a greener, faster and sustainable approach towards the construction of buildings and infrastructure in order to meet the ever-increasing demands of the construction industry. One such method is the precast/prefab technology. Though this construction practice has been in use for over eight decades, it is the least understood in developing countries, and only a few countries in North America, Europe, Australia, Japan and some parts of South East Asia have explored precast construction to the fullest.

In precast concrete construction, the structural elements are casted and cured in a factory environment and post the curing period, they are transported and assembled at the place of construction. This technique helps the user save energy and time, reduce pollution, and make the construction process more efficient. However, it is also one of the most complicated construction techniques. It involves a huge amount of investment initially and availability of skilled labor for erecting the casted structures is also difficult. If there is repeated shuttering it may lead to a lot of honeycombing and undulations on the structural element casted.

Use of secondary cementitious material (SCM’s) like GGBS, fly ash, ultra-fine GGBS in the production of the concrete reduce carbon-dioxide emissions, reduce water demand, and increase the durability and serviceability of the concrete. It is also observed that by using SCM’s one can also achieve cost reduction in precast concrete production for the project. According to research, millions of trees can be saved in a year by using SCM’s in concrete production with an estimate of about 100 kgs CO2 reduction per cum of concrete if ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) is used in concrete making.

Due to the increased fineness of the SCM when compared to OPC, it helps in providing an improved surface finish and also enhances the aesthetic look of the structure, apart from bringing increased resistance to permeability, sulphate attack and chloride attack, and improved compressive strength, flexural strength and tensile strength.

Benefits of precast/prefab technology:
  • Reduction in the construction time.
  • Reduction in the construction cost.
  • Improved balance between environment and construction activities.
  • Enhanced buildability of structure with increased repetitions of the same plan.
  • Can reduce problems at site with minimal staging, increasing safety etc.
  • Solution for quality, surface finish and durability of structure.
  • Constructions are sustainable with reduced use of natural resources.
LEED, GRIHA and GREEN PRO certifications for buildings and structures are encouraging builders to adopt greener, faster and sustainable techniques; they are also bringing some construction rules and laws. Off late, the government too has been bringing strict enforcements in the construction sector.
Brimax AAC: An Indian Lighthouse Project from HESS AAC SYSTEMS, Netherlands
Brimax AAC Products LLP contracted Hess AAC Systems to supply a new AAC plant in Vadodara, India, with a capacity of 680 cbm/day (expandable up to 900 cbm/day with reinforcement for panel production). This order strengthens Hess´ position as

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Vollert India Expands Production Capacity to Cater to Infra Development Sector
Vollert India, based in Sikandrabad, near Greater Noida (UP) since 2017, is strengthening its commitment to India; it is now expanding its production capacity of precast machinery and components to meet the greater demand from India’s fast

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Elematic Precast Technology Solutions for Building, Industrial and Infra segments
Elematic offers a comprehensive range of precast technology solutions for the Building, Industrial and Infra segments. Elematic precast technology enables clients to automate the production of walls, slabs, columns, beams, and stairs, providing an efficient

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Advanced Concrete Curing Systems from Kraft Curing
Kraft Curing Systems GmbH is offering advanced concrete curing systems that optimize the hardening process of concrete. Kraft Curing’s Advanced Concrete Curing System provides numerous solutions, from vapor-based (steam) systems mainly for the precast

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Why Automating Production is the Solution
Automating the production processes will lead to reduced wastage, fewer errors, more precision, greater safety, and higher quality of the end-products, and in a shorter period of time. First, we need to understand where we stand today as regards industrialisation

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Elematic India confident of the future of Precast Business
Elematic India sees growing demand for its precast plants in India due to the growth in precast construction across segments. What gives the company an edge is its ability to support the customer through the entire value chain. Says Sridhar Rao, Sales

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F.B.I. Tasbud Partners With Progress Group
Progress Group is helping companies like Tasbud stay ahead in a changing market with automation and software integration. Automated machinery to produce precast elements as well as the reinforcement and the integration of the fitting software are

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Mekuba Petro Products - Catering to Mega Precast Concrete Projects
Mekuba Petro Products has a strong presence in the petrochemicals industry since 47 years and has been growing rapidly in the construction chemicals segment over the past decade. An expert in the formulation and production of mould-releasing agents, its

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Precast & PEB Construction Opportunities for Entrepreneurs
C. A. Prasad, Director, Metey Engineering & Consultancy and President, PSI, Hyderabad, guides entrepreneurs on the various aspects of Precast and PEB construction business. Quality assurance and timely construction using Precast and PEB produced

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Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Blocks
A sunrise segment in India’s building materials industry, the AAC block is finding preference over the red brick and emerging as the future of building construction. Mohit Saboo, Director & CFO BigBloc Construction

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A Stellar Modernization of Construction With Precast in NCR, India
What influenced the Stellar Group’s decision to build with precast and invest in a precast plant. The well-known Indian ‘Stellar Group’, which has been successfully working in the construction business for over 25 years, is convinced that precast is the future

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Sardinian industry leader invests in automated mould from Progress Group to advance production
Recently, a highly automated mould for the production of pillars from Tecnocom, a company of the Progress Group, has been installed to help industry leader Consultecna stay ahead. Francesco Pireddu explains the decision made in favour of automation although

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AHCT’s Smart Solutions for Smart Contractors
Technology companies have developed hardware and software solutions to help manage every aspect of a construction project, no matter how complex or massive the project may be. Harsh Pareek, Regional Sales Director, India and SAARC, Trimble Solutions

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Echo Precast Engineering Helps Modernize Pruksa’s Precast Plants
Thailand’s real estate developer Pruksa, a leader in the building sector, modernizes its building solutions with automated hollow core production plant equipped with machinery from Echo Precast Engineering, a company of the PROGRESS GROUP. Real estate developer Pruksa

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Dongyue Machinery Group gearing up to meet rising demand for AAC Bricks in India
Dongyue Machinery Group is offering Autoclaves Aerated Concrete (AAC) blocks, brick blocks, hollow blocks, curb stones, color blocks etc. AAC Blocks, which are lightweight concrete blocks, use less cement compared to traditional cement bricks, and are therefore eco-friendly

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B.E. Billimoria Changing the Face of India
BE Billimoria & Company is one of India’s leading firms of civil engineering construction contractors. Ranging from commercial, residential spaces to some of the most iconic buildings in the country, like the 316-meter Namaste Tower, are among their project list

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Advanced Concrete Curing Systems from Kraft Curing Systems GmbH
Kraft Curing Systems GmbH is offering advanced concrete curing systems that optimize the hardening process of concrete. Kraft provide numerous solutions, from vapor-based (steam) systems mainly for the precast industry, to heating/air circulation systems

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LARCO partners with ECHO Precast to set up production site for prefab elements
The production site of LARCO PREFAB S.A. in Welkenraedt, Belgium opened in 2018 and has grown consistently over the years. LARCO produces a range of prefabricated concrete elements such as hollow core slabs, columns, wall panels, soccles

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Special prefabricated elements specialist Klaus relies on fully individualised automation solutions
Klaus Hoch- und Tiefbau GmbH is upgrading its machines in the precast concrete plant with several automated systems from progress Maschinen & Automation and Tecnocom - companies of the Progress Group. With the individualised reinforcement machines

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Prefab Housing
Civil Construction in India has not been as much industrialized as it has been in the West. Presently, it shares barely 1-2% of the real estate market, though as per a recent study, it is expected to grow @8.5% in the decade of 2016-2026

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