Spring Valley Corp., a facades manufacturing and marketing company in Ancaster, Ont., Canada, has joined AltusGroup – a partnership of innovation-focused North American precasters and affiliated companies – to collaboratively market and develop thin precast exteriors using ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC).
Spring Valley currently offers CAAST®, a proprietary, customizable panel using hybrid UHPC technology to deliver unique shapes, patterns and textures from in-house molds. Highly sustainable CAAST® panels have a very long life due to their durable and impermeable matrix. The mechanical properties of UHPC allow for thin slender profiles, reducing mass and embodied energy.
“Architects and owners are increasingly looking for more resilient, more durable materials for rainscreen facades and cladding panels. With UHPC, they can have extensive aesthetic freedom without sacrificing long-term performance,” said John Carson, Executive Director, AltusGroup. “Spring Valley has refined the use of UHPC technology in its CAAST® panels. AltusGroup and our members will look to build on Spring Valley’s production and admix knowledge to explore new markets and applications across North America to provide another precast concrete option for sustainable building enclosures.”
Eric Sommer, president of Spring Valley, said, “HPC and UHPC in architecture offer the design community new design possibilities in both form and function. It is our responsibility to educate architects and engineers about the design possibilities and also to explain the benefits in terms of sustainability and durability. We are tasked with the responsibility to learn as much as we can about this relatively new material. There is always a significant distance to cover between the excitement of a new way of doing things and the acceptance in the architectural world and the incorporation of new manufacturing methodologies into existing marketplace.”
Spring Valley’s membership in AltusGroup complements that of AltusGroup Innovation Partner Lehigh White Cement, which offers AALBORG INWHITE™ SOLUTION Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) products, AALBORG EXTREME™ and AALBORG EXCEL™ for the architectural precast market.
“AltusGroup continues to expand our network of affiliated companies and portfolio of innovative technologies to broaden the opportunities for architects to benefit from precast through differentiated products and collaboration,” said Carson. “We believe the UHPC technology platform has a bright future and we plan to be represented well in the segment with our bright minds. The agreement with Spring Valley covers an array of marketing and technical sharing tenets that both companies feel will be mutually beneficial.”
About AltusGroup
The first-ever national partnership of precast companies dedicated to “innovation powered by collaboration,” AltusGroup challenges the brightest minds in precast to develop, speed and perfect technologies that improve the built environment.
Technology platforms include the award-winning CarbonCast® line of products featuring C-GRID carbon fiber grid reinforcing, ARCIS ultra-thin precast panels for rainscreens and other applications and Graphic Concrete for imparting permanent images, graphics and patters onto precast faces. The 17 AltusGroup North American precasters have an unparalleled network of manufacturing plants, technical staff and sales personnel to ensure architects, engineers and contractors get the help they need—and the quality and performance they expect. For more information, visit altusprecast.com or call 866-GO-ALTUS.
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