Bayferrox pigmentation supplied by Chryso South Africa was used by OnTime Readymix Concrete for the coloured flooring of a new private helicopter workshop at Rand Airport’s Hangar 24.

Shaun Gayaram, Chryso SA Project Manager – Concrete Aesthetics, says Lanxess’ Bayferrox yellow colour pigment was selected by the hangar owners, helicopter maintenance company, Heli-Afrique, following the successful application of the same pigmentation by the same applicators for Heli-Afrique’s first workshop floor at the Ekurhuleni airport two years ago.
Chryso SA is the sole South African distributor of the Lanxess range of Bayferrox pigments, produced in Krefeld-Uerdingen in Germany.

Lanxess is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of inorganic pigments, with production facilities in Germany, China, and Brazil with mixing and milling facilities in Australia, the UK, Spain and the United States.  Bayferrox pigments are distinguished by high quality, compliance with strict European and global standards, and environmentally-friendly processing.

Gayaram says: “Chryso supplied the ‘02’-shade of Bayferrox yellow pigment selected by Heli-Afrique to OnTime Readymix Concrete who then added a 6% dosage to integrally colour the concrete at its Booysens batching plant before transporting it by mixers to the Rand Airport hangar.”

Chryso SA had supplied a wide variety of colour and dosage samples to OnTime and the Heli-Afrique for the flooring of the company’s first hangar workshop in 2015. “Heli-Afrique was so impressed with the appearance of the original hangar that the owner, Tino Conceicao, decided to replicate the colour and pigment brand for his company’s new workshop,” he added.

“Bayferrox pigment powder’s primary particle size is 10 times finer than cement particles and, during mixing, the particles become permanently bound into the concrete matrix. Based on OnTime’s requirements, the selected grades were pre-packaged in special sized disintegrating bags that were added manually to the mixer to achieve a specific colour per metre of concrete.”

Afzal Ebrahim, director of OnTime ReadyMix Concrete, says the challenge in providing coloured concrete is to rigidly adhere to the specific mix design and sequencing of raw materials.

“Consistency of raw materials, and in all phases of manufacturing, are the most important elements in making quality pigmented concrete. OnTime had to ensure that all build-up from the mixer drums were constantly removed and that no concrete from previous loads was present. Batching accuracy had to be 100% to ensure no colour variations. Water control was also absolute crucial for the pours,” Ebrahim stated.

He praised the performance of the Bayferrox pigment powder supplied by Chryso SA and said OnTime exclusively used this pigmentation for all its coloured concrete contracts. “It has, in our opinion, proved the best on the market and we have used it to add colour to the concrete for a Shaik Properties office floor, a Johannesburg butchery, as well as other floors in Gauteng.

Chryso’s Shaun Gayaram was involved with the hangar flooring project right from the outset and he and OnTime’s sales consultant, Dan Govender, played crucial roles in the successful completion of the flooring.  Chryso ensured timeous and consistent delivery of the pigment which is crucial for coloured concrete projects.”

Ebrahim said Heli-Afrique’s top-end clients for helicopter maintenance and repairs call from all over the African continent and the company wanted to create a workshop with a prestigious, upmarket appearance to host their visits to Rand Airport. “Thanks to the collaboration between Chryso SA and our own team of experienced professionals, Heli-Afrique was presented with a floor which befits its status. We have received substantial praise from the owner who has invested in special staff and equipment to clean the showpiece floor daily,” Ebrahim added.

OnTime has operations in Johannesburg, Midrand, and Ekurhuleni as well as Durban. The wholly-owned BEE company has a management production team with accumulative experience of over nine decades.

A professional contractor completed the flooring with the concrete supplied by the OnTime-Bayferrox combination without any blotches or scarring of the floor which was subsequently sealed by Heli-Afrique itself.