AfriSam, South Africa’s leading construction materials supplier, says that sub-standard cements are entering the South African market and cautions against their use, which – in a worst-case scenario – could result in structural failure and possible loss of life.
According to Mike McDonald, chemical expert and manager of AfriSam’s Centre of Product Excellence (CPE), despite the lack of official statistics on the scale of the problem, it appears to be on the increase. “What I can say is that we have tested a number of commercially available cements recently and found some of them to be sub-standard,” he says. “In fact, one product we tested only contained 25 % cement, with the rest of the material being fly ash.”
McDonald believes that the danger of sub-standard cements of this type finding their way into multi-storey buildings or large civil engineering structures is limited, given that work at this scale is largely carried out by reputable contractors who, in turn, source their cement and other building materials from reputable compliant producers within the industry.
“What worries me more is that these sub-standard cements will find popularity at the lower (and very price sensitive) end of the market – in other words, with smaller builders, ‘emerging’ contractors and possibly even homeowners upgrading their properties on a DIY basis,” he says.
Whilst sub-standard cement in the residential and non-industrial sector of the market may not show its impact in the short-term, experience shows that the long-term impact with regards to durability of structures could be quite severe.
Given the climate change the world is experiencing, the likelihood of extreme weather conditions and floods, like we’ve unfortunately experienced in our country recently, is no doubt going to increase. The one things that a home owner needs, is the assurance that in though weather conditions, they will feel safe in their homes because of the sound structure.
Over-and-above that, is the increased maintenance costs that comes with sub-standard walls that have been built and plastered with these poor quality cements. If we are going to reduce poverty and create generational wealth, the responsible thing to do as a nation, is to leave homes, buildings and infrastructure that are durable and long-lasting and does not place a financial burden on future generations.
According to McDonald, the producers of sub-standard cements that have been detected are in most cases breaching the law. “Cement production and quality is governed by the compulsory SANS 50197 standard, which is a demanding specification,” he says. “The National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) is responsible for ensuring compliance. So, in theory, it should not really be possible for sub-standard cements which do not meet specification to be sold but, inevitably, it does happen.”
By contrast with the ‘rogue’ suppliers, McDonald says that AfriSam goes to extraordinary lengths to ensure product excellence, with its cement, aggregate and slag products having SABS certification and its readymix business operating to ISO 9001 standards.
“Quality is what AfriSam stands for and all our products outperform the relevant specifications,” he states. “They have been thoroughly tested, are totally safe to use and are fit for purpose. Moreover, and this is where the CPE comes in, we are not only happy but indeed eager to assist customers, large or small, with advice on which of our products they should use in any particular application and how they should be applied to achieve the optimum outcome.”
Established around ten years ago, the CPE is based at AfriSam’s Roodepoort plant in Gauteng. “The CPE team totals 11, which includes a team manning a SANAS-accredited laboratory, and we work countrywide and in neighbouring states where we have operations, specifically Lesotho and Eswatini,” says McDonald. “Essentially, we support our products wherever they are used. There is no charge for our services as long as the customer is either using or thinking of using our products.
“Part of our work is done over the phone but we believe in a ‘hands-on’ approach and frequently visit sites as well. We also provide both internal and external training. One group in particular that we’ve assisted over the years is the small concrete product manufacturers, who typically make products such as concrete blocks. They are often lacking any deep knowledge of cement and concrete. We show them how to achieve good quality while using as little cement as possible.”
Mix design is another area of activity for the CPE. “This is a very important part of what we do,” says McDonald. “We will work collaboratively with customers to ensure that we come up with a mix which is perfectly suited to the application and which can be made from the materials available locally. For example, we might have someone from the Northern Cape who contacts us and says, ‘This is the sand we have and we want to use your cement. Can you help?’ We will get a sample of the sand delivered to us and will then come up with an appropriate mix.”
With sustainability and the quest for Net Zero being of huge importance to AfriSam and many of its customers, the company has made great strides towards ensuring a low carbon footprint for its product range. “The CPE has played a significant role in this,” says McDonald. “We have been able to reduce the carbon footprint of our products quite substantially without sacrificing performance and we believe we are at the forefront of the move towards sustainable cement production processes and ‘green’ construction. We have been able to produce cements with just half the carbon footprint of standard cements.”
Research and development falls within the remit of the CPE and projects researching different properties of cements, supplementary cementitious materials, aggregates and concrete have been carried out in conjunction with customers, universities and other bodies. Current projects include an eight-year assessment of the effects of highly corrosive environments on concretes made with differing proportions and types of raw materials.
McDonald says that the CPE is a key contributor to AfriSam’s high standing in the marketplace, where it is renowned for the quality of its products and the support it gives to customers. “We are a major player in the cement industry, with more than 1 300 proud employees throughout the group. We have been able to become a trusted advisor to our customers because of the strength of the AfriSam brand and the trust that people put in AfriSam’s products.”
Founded in the 1930s as Anglovaal Portland Cement company, AfriSam has changed its name several times over the decades, adopting its present name in 2008 after an historic BEE transaction. The company operates two fully integrated cement plants in South Africa, a milling plant, five blending plants, a slag grinding plant, 17 readymix concrete plants and 10 aggregate quarries. It is one of the largest suppliers of concrete materials in South Africa.
