OK so this is my third blog. Someone this week made the comment that as President of a concrete pipe manufacturing company, I hadn’t yet said anything about concrete. The answer was easy. There are a myriad of different aspects to being involved with a major manufacturing company that are worthy of thought, analysis, discussion and comment to name just a few. Going public on these issues such as sustainability, people, motivation, the economy, debt/credit, unemployment, etc., etc., enables us to cross over industries and sectors and can only lead to further enlightenment.

However, always open to comment and suggestions, I thought that I would take heed and mention the most used man-made material in the world … drum roll … guitar strum … Concrete. In fact, more than one cubic meter of concrete is produced each year for every person on earth. Well, not directly for each person but statistically it is a fact. Its affect on our lives is massive and in the U.S. alone it powers a $35 billion industry which employs on average more than two million people.

Using a few different ingredients, it was pretty much invented by the Romans who termed it a “concrete revolution” which enabled them to build bigger, stronger, more lasting structures that even after 2,000 years are still standing today. Some examples are the Roman Baths at Caracalla in Rome, many Roman Aqueducts across the Empire as well as the famous Pantheon which boasts the largest unreinforced concrete dome ever built more than 2,000 years ago. Due to the design architecture and the strength of concrete it still stands perfectly today.

We talk a lot in this 21st century about sustainability but if we think about the Pantheon, the Romans beat us on that subject by two millennia. Outside of the Romans the rest of the world was playing catch up and not doing so very quickly. The industrialized world didn’t really pick up and refine concrete technology until mid 18th century when hydraulic lime was first used.

Concrete’s popularity grew from that point in leaps and bounds; probably for two different reasons. Firstly, its strength, and secondly its beauty. These two attributes can be combined to create a sustainable, durable structure, i.e. the Sydney Opera House. Probably the best example of the strength choice would be the Hoover Dam which was completed in the 1930s and constructed entirely of concrete. In its day, it was acclaimed as the world’s largest concrete structure and due to its thickness it is still curing today. In other words it is still getting stronger. From an aesthetic point of view, we only have to look around us to see the decorative affects that can be achieved with concrete. From colorful, block paved patios and pool decks to the downtown architectural beauty created with concrete patterns and sculptures in the commercial landscape.

Concrete is a lasting, durable, sustainable choice as a construction material. Not a view, not an opinion, but a fact, brought about by the Roman buildings still in existence today. Brought about by the use of concrete in structures like the Hoover Dam. If society requires sustainability in its infrastructure then concrete is the obvious and only choice.

Hanson Building Products manufactures concrete pipe and other precast products for this very reason. Concrete pipe should be the only choice if strength and durability are a requirement, particularly if we as a nation are serious about our sustainability aspirations.

Ask the Romans. Take a trip out to the Hoover Dam. Both serve as living proof.

Concrete is unbeatable.

Incidentally, I’ve just drafted this blog with pen and paper. The pen is plastic. You know, plastic is a great material for making pens.

Tags: Concrete, History, Plastic, Sustainability

This entry was posted on Friday, January 22nd, 2010 at 6:50 pm
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