Concrete production increasingly on scientific lines

The importance of research and testing

Top-Mix in Ostend recycles construction waste and processes it in its own production of concrete and concrete products. The company is part of the Verhelst Group, a family business with four generations of expertise in construction and construction-related activities. It not only supplies its own companies in the group, but also works for third parties. On the Ostend site it has its own laboratory. Permanent research into existing or new raw materials and thorough quality tests of the final product play an important role here.

Top-Mix's external customers include contracting companies that work a lot with concrete, but also garden contractors and even private individuals. For years, the company has developed a close partnership with BAG-Macben in Sint-Niklaas, which supplies, maintains and calibrates virtually all of its testing equipment.

Meeting the strictest standards

Steven Jonckheere, quality manager at Top-Mix: "Recycling, our main activity, is a hot item. Applying recycled construction rubble in our concrete production was therefore a logical and promising step. In the short and medium term, this should significantly reduce our CO2 emissions. Research into the suitability of construction rubble plays a very important role in this. In our lab, which was transferred earlier this year from Oudenburg to the site here in Ostend, we investigate the quality of the recycled aggregates on a daily basis and we look for the extent to which natural aggregates can be replaced by recycled ones. The general public is still often under the mistaken belief that concrete production is mainly an artisanal activity, but nothing could be further from the truth. For example, we must test all construction debris for possible asbestos or chemical contamination before use. In concrete production itself, we must fully comply with the strict Belgian standards, including those of Benor. Moreover, we are regularly subjected to a COPRO inspection, in which both raw materials and the production process as well as the final product are certified externally. In other words, quite a day's work for our laboratory technician Pascal Augé. Moreover, the demand for the visual added value of concrete leads to additional aesthetic requirements."

A wide variety of testing equipment

Tom Ryckeboer, Sales Manager at Benelux BAG-Macben: "We have had a close cooperation with Top-Mix for many years and almost all of its test equipment was supplied by us. Here we take a particularly customer-oriented approach. If a certain device is not standard in our range, then we provide a specific solution, completely tailored to the needs of the customer. Price, service and responsiveness here lead to a pleasant and professional mutual experience."

A wide variety of testing equipment is used in the Top-Mix lab. This ranges from sieve shakers for determining the correct caliber of granules to climate cabinets for storing test samples. A methylene blue stirrer is used to determine an indication of the clay content. Two drying ovens, including one at high temperature, allow samples and compositions to be dried more quickly for further testing. Further available are a light and a heavy printing press, as well as a compactor, a concrete mixer and a vibrating table. Everything is available to measure and adjust the necessary properties of the compositions in order to meet the required construction-technical requirements. Measuring is knowing" is not an empty phrase at Top-Mix.