Interviews / 7/4/2024

Helping concrete producers reduce their carbon footprint and waste stream

An interview with a 25-year expert highlights the evolving landscape of concrete production in the USA, emphasizing the importance of innovative solutions in meeting both environmental goals and industry demands.

Interviewee

Timothy Burke

Technical Sales Representative for Concrete Admixtures at Mapei Corporation (USA)

Timothy Burke, Technical Sales Representative for Concrete Admixtures at Mapei Corporation, talks about current trends and challenges within the US concrete industry. He highlights the industry's shift towards more sustainable practices, the challenges in balancing sustainability with cost-effectiveness, and the impact of products like those from the RE-CON line which can help concrete manufactuters managing waste.

What is your current position at Mapei?

I am Technical Sales Representative for Concrete Admixtures at Mapei Corporation (USA).

How long have you been working in the concrete industry?

I have been working in this industry for 25 years.

According to you, what are the current main trends in the concrete industry?

The current industry trend is towards “green” sustainable practices. The cement manufacturers have moved away from Type I/II cements in an effort to reduce their carbon footprint, and concrete producers are looking for ways to reduce their waste stream in order to reduce costs associated with environmental compliance regulations.

Is sustainability a crucial issue for the concrete manufacturers you usually deal with?

In some instances, yes, concrete as a building material is already a sustainable product. The issues with sustainability are driven more by the raw material production and the handling of the waste stream. Locally the push towards environmentally friendly, or “green” production processes and handling is a larger issue.

What are the main factors that encourage sustainability and which obstacles are there, on the other hand, towards manufacturing more sustainable concrete?

The concrete industry as a whole is striving for more “green” sustainable solutions as a response to outside pressure demanding the industry work to reduce their “carbon footprint”. The main obstacle is the need to find the right balance between cost and efficacy. The use of carbon mitigation efforts increases the cost of the products and/or potentially reduce the effectiveness of the products. For instance, many concrete producers have struggled to maintain product consistency with the change from Type I/II cements to the 1L cements due to increased water demand, lower strengths, etc.

How are the RE-CON LINE products affecting the business of mapei solutions in your market segment? What can you expect from it in the next few years?

The RE-CON line products, particularly RE-CON ZERO EVO, are an excellent opportunity to introduce potential customers to the Mapei brand as they provide an immediate solution to a largely overlooked issue many producers encounter, namely the handling of returned/unused concrete. The ease of testing with the RE-CON ZERO EVO allows us to get in front of potential customers and demonstrate the product’s ability, which leads to further discussion regarding Mapei’s capabilities to provide solutions in other facets of concrete production.

The Re-Con Dry Washing by Mapei is an effective way to manage waste from the concrete production as it cleans concrete trucks, significantly reducing environmental waste and pollution.

What are the winning characteristics of this line according to your experience of the market?

RE-CON ZERO EVO excels in its ease of use, simple dosage determination, effectiveness, minimal time disruption, and flexibility with regards to mixing by allowing customers to choose between mixing in truck or utilizing a “trench” method. Beyond those advantages, all the potential uses for the byproducts from dry washing, to recycling into new mixes provide customers with multiple opportunities to realize an immediate return on investment.

End result of the Re-Con Dry Washing process: recycleable aggregates with increased carbonation potential by absorbtion and hardening of the cementitious waste from concrete truck washing.

What can you expect from it in the next few years?

I believe with continued investment in the development of systems designed to further reduce the time and effort required of the customer to process their excess concrete into RE-CON AGG aggregates, in addition to the existing flexibility in mixing the material, whether at a jobsite or at the plant, combined with the ingenuity of customers, the RE-CON product