The growth in the construction market worldwide is giving rise to a surge in demand for concrete products, concrete pipes and shafts as well as precast components. This demand is in turn boosting developments among the manufacturers of the machinery and plant that is used to produce these components. At bauma in Munich, between April 15 and 21, 2013, a whole range of new products made of concrete and other materials will be on show at the booths of systems suppliers and components specialists, across the spectrum from newcomers to market leaders.
Sales expected to rise by 5%
The German Engineering Federation (VDMA – Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau) is expecting concrete-block-making machines and systems for the manufacture of precast concrete components to be a growth segment in the construction and building materials machinery sector this year. For 2012, the federation is predicting 5% growth in sales in both building materials machinery and construction machinery.
Backlog of demand in the emerging markets
On the international front, too, there is movement in the market. A recent survey of selected German building materials machinery manufacturers, carried out by the Weimar-based Institute for Applied Research in Building (IAB – Institut für Angewandte Bauforschung), revealed that sales growth is expected to come in particular in the markets abroad. Demand was especially strong, it noted, in the emerging markets – China, India, certain countries in Eastern Europe and some of the former Soviet Republics. The report identified strong interest in turnkey production systems where manufacturing expertise and services were also included in the package.
Precast concrete components for India and Singapore
Vollert Anlagenbau of Weinsberg reports that it has delivered India’s first modern pallet circuit system. It is in use by the construction firm Precast India Infrastructures in its production plant in Pune, Western India, outputting up to 120 square meters of precast concrete walls per hour, as well as precast concrete floors and hollow-core slabs for the subcontinent’s booming building industry.
Another current example of technology "Made in Germany" installed abroad is Singapore’s first fully automated precast concrete plant, which went into operation in May 2012. The system caters to the high demand from the residential and industrial building sector in the rapidly expanding economy of this island state. Key components in the system have been delivered by Vollert Anlagenbau as well as Weckenmann Anlagentechnik of Dormettingen.
More aerated concrete in the Ukraine
One exemplary project in the region of the former Soviet Republics is the expansion of an aerated concrete factory in the Ukraine, completed in March this year. Systems manufacturer Masa of Porta Westfalica has increased daily output at the factory in Dnepropetrovsk from 1,000 cubic meters previously to 1,400.
Good prospects for wetcast concrete
On the subject of new technology, the IAB survey reveals a general rise in market interest in the wetcast production process. Here wet concrete is poured into flexible special molds which have patterned inner faces. This pattern is retained on the surface of the concrete after curing. The technique enables companies to produce high-quality products with an individual look.