June 2013
CONSTRUCTION WORLD
62
Over the last decade, the concrete
industry has slowly increased
the complexity of its formulas
in an effor t to improve
in-situ strength, viscosity and
setting time, while reducing
cost of production with
admixtures which optimise
cement to gravel ratios. This
has created a new market for
cement mixers that produce
more precise results.
equipment
AT THE 2013 ADVANCES
in Cement and
Concrete Technology in Africa conference
in Johannesburg, Dirk Heuer, manager
Building Materials at the German company
Maschinenfabrik Gustav Eirich, explained
why the company’s world-renowned inten-
sive mixers are gaining new relevance in the
progressively high-tech concrete industry:
“Using a unique mixing principle, Eirich
mixers have proven to reduce cement
requirements by up to 10%without affecting
final concrete strength by means of superior
homogenisation. Other benefits are higher
early strength of the concrete, which means
precast products can be removed earlier.This
drastically improves precast manufacturers’
productivity,”he says.
“Eirich mixers offer significantly reduced
batch times for high performance concrete.
That means daily throughputs can be main-
tained for much smaller mixers and, in turn,
this reduces energy requirements. In fact,
this helps to improve our customers’
profitability as well as the final qual-
ity of concrete. Proper homogenisa-
tion of concrete mixtures has also
proven to reduce the need for
super plasticisers by between
2% and 10%.”
Eirich has previously
focused on its strengths within
the specialisedmixingmarkets,
but the increased complexity
of concrete manufacturing has
seen Eirich’s applicability to the
industry grow.
“High value cement also
has very small grain sizes, which
increases the mixture’s tendency to agglom-
erate. To destroy these agglomerates, you
need more shearing forces to be applied to
the mixture. This is a point where our inten-
sive mixing principle is a major advantage,”
he says.
Eirich, represented locally by its joint
venture partner Birkenmayer, started manu-
facturing industrial mixers in 1903. The com-
pany later invented theworld’s first planetary
mixer in 1906 and in 1924 introduced the
first rotating pan technology to the market
and created the world’s first counterflow
intensive mixer. The first rotor agitators were
introduced in 1960, followed by inclinedmix-
ing pans in 1972.
“Today, we have a range of application-
specific innovations such as hybrid mixing
sequences, which allow variable speed mix-
ing, various types of wear protection covers
and fully automatic cleaning systems. We
customise everymixer tomatch precisely the
needs of our customers – starting at project
consultation and the supply of mixers and
ancillary equipment to aftersales services
and support. This is why Eirich is very com-
petitive in price and lead times compared
to mass-produced mixers which need to be
re-designed and customised to suite more
specialised mixing applications,”says Heuer.
Eirich is extending its product range by
introducing a new one-litre lab machine EL1
which is ideal for research and development
in universities for fine grain mixtures. Other
product additions include the R16 industrial
mixer which features a capacity of 600 to
900 litres. The R28 industrial mixer features
a maximum capacity of 4 000 to 5 000 litres
and the new R33 features a colossal capacity
of 6 000 to 7 000 litres.
●
Driving scientific concrete production
are each specialists in their specific product
lines," he continues. "By having all divisions
centralised in one location, we can ensure
that we provide a comprehensive customer
service offering onsite, where clients and
their employees will be trained in various
fields, ranging from the application and
usage of products, to operator safety and
machine maintenance."
The concept of the showroom was
first dreamt up by PMSA management in
mid-2010, with construction beginning
approximately one year later.
"A lot of thought and effort was put
into the concept of the showroom before
constructionbegan. Using a limitedbudget,
we have created a magnificent structure
that has beenwell and truly worth all of the
effort that everybody has put in.
"Having finally achieved our goal, I am
confident that we will inspire various con-
tractors, engineers and architects to make
more efficient use of coloured, decorative
and polished concrete in the future," Booy-
sen concludes.
●
thereby further reducing energy costs and
unnecessary energy wastage."
Booysen adds that the showroom will
also play a major role in highlighting the
capabilities of PMSA's full range of quality
concrete equipment and associated tech-
nology, as well as the technical support and
after sales service capabilities of the company
as a whole.
"Customers will also be provided with a
value added service offering as they have
the opportunity to touch and feel what is
on offer, in addition to being able to directly
interact with our various sales engineers, who
The PMSA management teamwith Gerrie Bouwer, the architect, from E.A.D. (second from left).
