Admixtures have become an essential component of modern readymix concrete designs. And for many enterprising concrete producers access to a supply of these important sophisticated construction chemicals has been a cornerstone of their success.

This has certainly been the case for 3Q Mahuma Concrete which over the past 10 years has positioned itself as a reputable supplier of advanced concrete mixes to the South African construction industry.

From the outset, the company’s management established close ties with essential supply chain partners. It is this strategy that has allowed 3Q Mahuma Concrete to effectively compete against the many readymix producers in the country and, just as importantly, enabled the company to supply the onerous needs of contractors executing complex concrete designs.

A partner that continues to play a significant role in 3Q Concrete Mahuma Concrete’s rapid growth is leading local construction chemicals specialist, CHRYSO Southern Africa.

“Not only has CHRYSO remained our main supplier of quality admixtures over the years, but the company plays a crucial role in transferring essential admixture applications knowledge and this, in turn, allows us to enhance the properties of concrete,” Martin Kruger, sales and marketing manager of 3Q Mahuma Concrete, says.

Kruger says that batching a concrete product is just one leg of a successful readymix concrete business. “It is just as important to be able to supply the output at a competitive price and this is often where access to quality admixtures can make the difference,” he says. As an example he cites the use of water reducing plasticisers. According to Kruger, the first CHRYSO product to be used extensively by 3Q Mahuma Concrete was CHRYSO® Omega 136, a new generation water reducing admixture. The company then changed to CHRYSO® Omega 174, a new generation water reducing plasticiser with further cost benefits.
Both these CHRYSO admixtures enable us to significantly reduce both our water and cement use in the batching operations,” Kruger says.

Ongoing extensive research and development undertaken by the admixture producer has seen it launch even more effective water reducing agents to the market, enabling enterprising readymix producers, such as 3Q Mahuma Concrete, to reduce operating costs even further.

Kruger says that the concrete producer also relies heavily on the well-known CHRYSO® Optima 100 solution that not only provides quick strength abilities, but also the necessary retardation properties to deliver fresh concrete in heavily congested traffic, or over long distances to very remote construction sites.

However, it is the specific approach taken by CHRYSO Southern Africa that has ensured it remains 3Q Mahuma Concrete’s preferred admixture supplier over the years.

“Our strength is based upon being a solutions driven supplier of readymix concrete, and CHRYSO Southern Africa’s in-depth applications understanding and accessibility when it comes to providing technical input and support on admixture and construction chemicals has allowed us to maintain our edge in the South African construction industry,” says Kruger.

By sharing extensive knowledge on extenders, retarders and accelerants, for example, CHRYSO Southern Africa has enabled 3Q Concrete Mahuma to supply complex concrete mix designs for a host of projects that range from large shaftsinking programmes for mines through to complex slide forming silo builds.

3Q Mahuma Concrete has also relied heavily upon construction chemicals from CHRYSO Southern Africa for many of its self-compacting concrete mix designs. Use of self-compacting concrete has become more popular because modern building requirements include heavy reinforcing which prohibits effective pouring and vibration of the concrete.

Just as important is the role that CHRYSO Southern Africa has played in helping the concrete producer diversify its product offering. An example is the supply of mortar to prominent property development programmes.

3Q Mahuma Concrete first entered this market through the supply of about 50 000 m3 of the material for the Mall of Africa development. This was over and above the about 500 000 m3 of readymix concrete supplied by the company to this development. Kruger says extensive use was made of CHRYSO® Stab which enables 3Q Mahuma Concrete to produce a “light and fluffy” mortar. “It also retards setting times by as much as a day. This allows us to deliver mortar to the site in the evening, ready for the wet trades to commence using them in the morning on the following day. This ability helped keep the project on track, and certainly placed us in a very good light with the professional team working on the project,” he says.

A similar quality product and service was supplied to other milestone projects including Times Square in Sandton and Menlyn Maine in Tshwane in Gauteng, while the company is gradually expanding this offering to other strategic growth areas of the country, including Brits, Steelpoort and Middelburg.

It is a given that onerous modern day construction projects rely heavily on admixtures, however, it is more than just securing a ready supply of these strategic materials.

Clearly, CHRYSO Southern Africa’s applications knowledge is just as important as its admixtures 3Q Mahuma Concrete uses to produce quality readymix concrete.