A boom too far?

There’s an array of concrete placement solutions on offer for high-rise projects. New solutions and applications are always emerging, but what stands out in all these is the boom concrete pump. Irrespective of height, the boom placers are well engineered to pump the appropriate volumes of concrete at right pressure. Surprisingly, in a country so vast where high-rises are the norm, there are only two main (and prominent) companies that make boom concrete pumps. Of course, this is not to say there are no local and smaller players. But, one must understand, that technology does play a critical role here. And most of these are better provided by (mainly) German companies.
Since concrete placing is an art and one that defies human reach, boom concrete placers can do the job where human reach is difficult. VG Sakthikumar, MD, SCHWING Stetter Sales and Services Private Limited, and Chairman of Mechanisation Committee, Builders Association of India, who makes four models of placing boom pumps (S17, S20, S36X and S43 SX), says, “The challenge in India is that the quality of raw materials varies from place to place which has a direct influence on the wear and tear of the concrete pump parts and also the total operating costs. The concrete quality also has an influence on the overall performance of the pump. We have developed special wear resistant parts for special areas where the wear and tear is very high. Similarly, our twin circuit system has an option which helps the customer in case of pumping stiff concrete due to the design of the concrete itself. We also offer super wear resistant pipes which to give a longer lifetime and to minimise the replacement time, thereby increasing the productivity of the pump.”
The second company that is a pioneer of research and development in concrete pumping technology is Putzmeister. Besides offering the latest and most comprehensive range of concreting solutions, the company has achieved landmarks in both vertical and horizontal pumping technologies. Wilfried Theissen, Managing Director, Putzmeister Concrete Machines Pvt. Ltd, says that not only does Putzmeister produce the most technologically advanced machines, but it also manufactures one of the world’s largest working concrete machines, the M 70. “There is overwhelming evidence of the reach of the German concrete placing boom manufacturer, as witness the classic case of the employment of its equipment at the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.” Constructing the world’s tallest building would well-nigh have been impossible without concrete being pumped vertically to a record height of 601m by Putzmeister’s super high pressure concrete pump. Putzmeister machines have also set other records in terms of long-distance concrete conveying (over 2015m) at the Le Refrain construction project in France, and for the longest continuous pour in America.