Leading producer of cementitious materials, AfriSam, has cemented its position as Southern Africa’s most eco-friendly construction materials group with the launch of a range of environmentally responsible readymix concrete products to the greater Gauteng market.

These Eco Readymix products are application-branded, fit-for-purpose readymix concrete, which are specific to the needs of various construction requirements, including foundations, surface beds, suspended slabs, columns and retaining walls.

The launch of the product range comes in the midst of a significant growth in green building initiatives in South Africa, which require the use of more environmentally friendly construction materials.

A significant feature of AfriSam’s Eco Readymix is that the product’s carbon footprint is roughly half the world average. The reduction in the carbon dioxide emitted during the manufacturing of AfriSam’s Eco Readymix has been achieved through a significant capital investment into more environmentally-friendly production processes.

“Since 2004, AfriSam has invested in excess of R1-billion in upgrading its operations with initiatives such as minimising the use of non-renewable resources such as coal; reducing dust emissions; improving energy efficiencies; and introducing technology that has increased the company’s ability to produce composite cements,” Mike McDonald, AfriSam cement product manager, says.

AfriSam has also successfully halved its readymix product carbon footprint by substituting clinker with alternative material such as slag and fly ash.

McDonald explains that: “The production of clinker, which is the active ingredient of cement, is a very carbon intensive process, largely due to the C02 emitted during the calcination process of limestone. When clinker is replaced with a suitable alternative material, the amount of C02 per ton of cement produced is reduced, resulting in a reduced carbon footprint. Using suitable cementitious materials like slag and fly ash in our cement not only prevents them from being dumped but also ensures that they have a useful purpose giving our products the performance for which we are renowned and assisting us in reducing our carbon footprint.”

The launch of the Eco Readymix range is a natural progression for AfriSam and is part of a strategic environmental policy that was introduced 1994. The company, which is the industry leader in emission control and energy efficiency, was the first cement producer to develop an environmental policy, which commits it to sustainable development and ensures that it complies with international best practice.

AfriSam’s Eco Readymix range complements its existing concrete product portfolio and offers workability, rheology and strength gain performance options best suited for the nominated concrete applications.

As well as reducing the carbon footprint, AfriSam has retained the high performance characteristics for which it is renowned in its new Eco Readymix range. It is also able to produce ultra-high performance Eco concretes with compressive strengths of 70 MPa.

As well as being environmentally-friendly, the product range is competitively priced. “We have made a conscious effort to ensure that our eco-friendly products are competitively priced. Not only are we operating in a price-sensitive environment, particularly in the construction industry, but we would also consider it irresponsible to extract a premium simply because the products are greener than any other on the market,” Victor Bouguenon, AfriSam’s marketing manager, says.