Over a similar period of time to National Readymix Concrete, Grace Construction Products has been active in the Middle East construction industry for over 25 years - both companies working together to enhance and improve the quality and performance of concrete, since the early seventies.

Grace Construction Products actively promotes its range of chemical admixtures in the Middle East through its affiliate company Emirates Chemicals of the UAE, which has been a leader in the area for over 25 years itself.

The relationship between Grace Construction Products and National Readymix Concrete has been developed with time, the former demonstrating through its customer support that by the use of value-added products, concrete can be produced to achieve the high specification standards currently demanded.

A recent example of this where both companies have worked successfully together can be seen at the Bukhadra Interchange project in Dubai where Grace Construction Products has demonstrated, with its concrete superplasticiser Daracem 19CF, that the technical demands of the project can be met.

From its base in Dubai, Grace offers a comprehensive range of products that are marketed throughout the region, to customers that constantly demand improved performance, from the admixtures that they use.

To meet these requirements, Grace uses its technical expertise and market knowledge in the development of value-added product solutions. Grace also delivers a level of service and support that is evident throughout the industry covering all phases of a project.

With over 140 plants and offices around the world, it is a truly global company and through its operations offers extensive field and laboratory-based technical service to its customers that will assist them in producing high-quality concrete that is sometimes taken for granted in this environment.

One specific area of expertise where Grace has promoted the development of these value-added admixtures and has taken a leading role, is in the application of self-compacting concrete. Grace offers a range of products specifically developed for self-compacting concrete and the Grace ADVAFlow 300 series is a range of new generation superplasticisers, to enable self-compacting concrete to attain the required flow values whilst maintaining them for the length of the pour.

These materials are used in combination with the Grace V-MAR range, a specialist range of products which act as stabilising agents to increase concrete cohesion and resistance to segregation that the mix may exhibit. All these materials and further information on self-compacting concrete is available from Grace at its Dubai office.

The construction industry is continuously challenged by increased demands for a better and safer work environment, better quality construction, service life, appearance etc, as well as lower construction costs and reduced maintenance.

The use of value-added materials such as self-compacting concrete can have significant benefits to all of these and to those in the construction cycle, from concrete producer, to contractor, to consultant, and even to the owner.

Grace Construction Products is committed to the creation of new technologies and innovative products for the construction industry, and the development of these user-friendly products is just one example of the commitment from Grace. 18