The Group's concrete products respond to customers' expectations for robustness, resistance, durability, esthetics and control of setting and hardening. Lafarge offers more than 500 different concrete formulations - from conventional to made-to-measure - so every construction site has the right concrete to meet its needs!
Spotlight on the latest innovations.
Agilia®, the first self-placing, self-leveling concrete |
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Created in 2000, Agilia® spreads effortlessly - a revolution on the worksite. Its fluid texture eliminates the tiresome and noisy chore of vibrating concrete to make it spread regularly. The result: time savings, less noise pollution and less physical labor on the building site. This easy-to-use concrete flows into the smallest nooks and perfectly matches any shape. It is robust and esthetically pleasing. |
ConcreteConcrete is a building material made by mixing water, aggregates and sand with a binding agent (usually cement) and, if necessary, with additives. This mixture is made on building sites and factories. The characteristics of a concrete can vary greatly depending on the choice of cement and cement-aggregate ratio, the type of aggregate used, the inclusion of additives, etc. The way concretes are used and surface treated can also have an impact on their performance and appearance. So concrete is reconstituted stone and is sometimes referred to as "liquid stone". |
Ductal®, the ultra-high performance fiber-reinforced concrete |
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DuctilityDuctility refers to a material's capacity to be stretched or bent without breaking. A material which does not have this quality is fragile. |
Created in 2000, Ductal® concrete offers exceptional performance:
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Artevia®, a range of esthetic concretes |
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Launched in 2004, Artevia® is a range of decorative concretes for outdoor applications. The product line has experienced strong sales growth and the volumes sold increased by 35% in 2006. Artevia® concretes offer many advantages:
Artevia® makes it possible to obtain esthetically-pleasing surface effects. For example:
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Extensia™, concrete without cracks |
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InsightDavid Beaupré, Product Development Manager for the Extensia™ project in the Concrete Business. "Joints are the weak points in concrete floors. Cracks may appear over time and must be reinforced. By reducing the number of joints, Extensia™ increases productivity on the worksite and reduces maintenance costs." David Beaupré, Product Development Manager for the Extensia™ project in the Concrete Business. |
Extensia™ concrete was developed for slabs and industrial floors which are subject to heavy traffic and storage loads. It helps limit cracking in floors and reduces the number of expansion joints, which are both expensive and unsightly. The Extensia™ formulation also facilitates preparation, pouring and the removal of formwork. This results in considerable time savings (-40%) and less physical labor. Extensia™ also offers a number of advantages in terms of sustainable development:
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Chronolia™, boosting construction sites |
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Chronolia™ represents a major technological advance for the building sector. The result of extremely advanced research in nanotechnologies, it offers the same flexibility of use as a conventional ready-mix concrete but develops extremely high mechanical resistance soon after pouring. Its formwork can be removed 4 hours after pouring compared to 12 to 20 hours for traditional concrete. Consequently, the number of daily cycles of form setting and stripping can be doubled, resulting in considerable time savings and productivity gains on the worksite!
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The potential of nanotechnologiesResearch into the microstructure of materials at the nanoscale, that is, at an infinitely small scale*, makes it possible to identify the mechanisms of a material's resistance, solidity and durability. This allows researchers to better understand the physical and chemical mechanisms at work and develop products with high added value. * 1 nanometer = 0.000001 millimeter |
Last update on 06/05/2008
