Earth Friendly Concrete® by Wagners is a new generation building material designed to reduce embodied carbon in our built environment. It achieves this by eliminating the need for ordinary Portland cement, which accounts for a whopping 8% of man-made carbon emissions. While other concrete suppliers attempt to reduce the embodied carbon of their mix by reducing the level of cement content, Wagners is leading the way to eliminate cement from its mix entirely. The result is a product with equal or better performance characteristics to ordinary concrete with over 70% reduced embodied carbon.
Over the past decade of research and development, Wagners have proven the capabilities of Earth Friendly Concrete® with the construction of the Pinkenba Shipping Wharf, Wellcamp Airport and the University of Queensland Global Change Institute Building. Earth Friendly Concrete® by Wagners is being used for footings, house slabs, block fill, reinforced concrete walls and columns. Wagners is achieving this in Australia, the UK and Europe. With the world trending towards net zero carbon emissions by 2050, it may only be a matter of time until geopolymer technology hits the mainstream.
On the 19th of February 2021 Wagners achieved a milestone with Hutchinson Builders who used Earth Friendly Concrete® for what is the biggest continuous slab pour for a geopolymer concrete. Together we successfully placed 310 cubic metres. The slab forms the foundation for the Wellcamp Regional Distribution and Trade Centre cold room facility that will be used for storing fresh produce before export.
The pour, commenced at 3:00am with 11 trucks delivering 46 loads of Earth Friendly Concrete® from Wagners Toowoomba batch plant to site. When the trucks arrived on site, they discharged two at a time through a boom pump.. From there, a remote-controlled laser screed worked from left to right, levelling the concrete to the specified height. Lastly, a team of concreters supported by EFC® product specialist Diarmuid Crowley, worked behind the laser screed to stick trowel the finished surface. By approximately 1pm, the pour was complete with the entire day being captured in both time lapse and drone footage to mark the occasion.
Russell Gillam, Hutchinson Builders Site Manager, who led 30 workers on site was very pleased with the level of service provided by Wagners. “The service rate of trucks and communication from the plant was unreal. The EFC® team came up for the prestart meeting and were willing to help us on the day. We couldn’t have done it without them”.
Jeremy Smith, Wagners Toowoomba Batcher said, “Personally, I think the pour went very well for the amount we did. It was four times bigger than any EFC® slab we have done from this plant. At the end of the day Hutchies were very happy with the service”.
When asked about his first experience in working with EFC® Russell said, “It is strong, it is durable, it is good for the environment and it can be used to build structures. The slab is in, it’s structural and it has achieved its purpose. It’s coming up a lot stronger and denser than ordinary concrete”.
When asked for his perspective on the future of this new technology Russell said, “In the next 10-15 years, 50% of concrete in Australia will be EFC®. I can see a future in it, we just need to convince others. I would recommend EFC® for developers, builders and governments looking into the future of construction”.
An estimated 75.6 tonnes of carbon emissions were saved in the slab’s construction.
If you are interested in learning more about EFC® or trying Earth Friendly Concrete® for your next project, please visit www.wagner.com.au or contact sam.kelly@wagner.com.au ph: 0428 611 349.
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