A MAJOR supplier of specialised construction products, a.b.e. Construction Chemicals has for many decades supplied a wide range of products for the construction and maintenance of essential civil engineering infrastructural facilities throughout South Africa.
The company was established 91 years ago and is part of Saint-Gobain Africa.
Warren Trew, a.b.e.’s regional sales manager – general construction inland, says a.b.e. supplies a wide range of products – as well as professional advice – on many aspects of infrastructural maintenance and construction, covering aspects such as concrete crack injection, fairing, reprofiling, priming, mortar repair, and the rehabilitation of spalled concrete surfaces all of which could save the owners and municipalities millions of rands.
Among the company’s products widely used for civil engineering projects are: epidermix 389 and 395 for concrete crack repairs; durarep ZR for the treatment of steel reinforcement bars; epidermix 344 as an epoxy primer; durabond GP and duralatex for acrylic priming/bonding; and durarep FMC, durarep FR and durarep FC for cementitious repairs.
“Epidermix 389 is a solvent-free, low-viscosity modified epoxy injection compound to fill cracks, while epidermix 395 is the ideal product for fixing starter bars, or bolts, vertically down into concrete or rock. The fast-setting product is also suitable as a flowable grout or bedding for areas with awkward access,” Trew says.
Durarep ZR (zinc rich) is a single-component liquid epoxy resin, enriched with metallic zinc, that offers excellent corrosion protection properties, particularly for the rebar in concrete infrastructure. Epidermix 344 is a solvent-free, polysulphide modified epoxy adhesive, particularly suitable for bonding fresh (plastic) concrete to existing concrete, and cementitious repairs to concrete structures where structural integrity is critical.
Durabond GP (general purpose) is used as a primer/bonding medium for repairs to concrete elements while duralatex is a synthetic resin polymer designed to improve qualities of site-batched cementitious mortars and slurries.
Trew says the a.b.e. durarep high strength mortar range is widely used for structural cementitious repairs. “durarep FMC (fluid micro concrete) is a non-shrink concrete reinstatement grout with a migrating corrosion inhibitor; and durarep FR (fibre reinforced) is used for vertical, overhead and honeycomb repairs. durarep FC (fairing compound) is a thin film coating to aesthetically enhance and smooth concrete and masonry surface imperfections and blowholes which are not trafficked.”
a.b.e. also supplies protective coatings such as duracote WB, a flexible aliphatic acrylic polymer coating with high crack-bridging properties which acts as a contaminant barrier; and durasil SH, a highly effective water repellent with hydrophobic properties to protect concrete against chlorides and carbon dioxide ingress.
“The company’s wide range of duracure products have also nationally been specified for concrete pavings and external concrete handstands.”
