Topic
Concrete
BASF sells Construction Chemicals unit to U.S. private equity firm Lone Star for $4.6B
December 23, 2019 On-Site StaffThe chemical giant had been shopping for a buyer for the business that employs 7,000 people worldwide for more than a year
Concrete Awards showcase diverse building projects across the province
December 10, 2019 by Megan HoeglerThe Concrete Awards celebrate the efforts of suppliers, designers, contractors and owners in Ontario. Held during the Buildings Show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, this year’s winners were diverse, representing building projects from transit stations to modern condo complexes.…
Lehigh studying carbon capture at Alberta cement plant, targeting up to 95 per cent of CO2 emissions
December 5, 2019 by David KennedyA new study into the feasibility of commercial-scale carbon capture technology got underway last week at the Lehigh Cement plant in Edmonton. Lehigh has teamed up with International CCS Knowledge Centre, a group founded by Saskatchewan utility SaskPower and mining…
Cortec MCI 2020 Gel aims to protect embedded rebar from corrosion
November 29, 2019 On-Site StaffCorroding rebar can be a big problem for reinforced concrete. Topical inhibitors can counter the issue when a surface can be properly prepared, but corrosion control specialist Cortec Corp.’s MCI-2020 Gel is designed to work even when concrete can’t…
Power Curbers introduces next generation of 5700 Series curb machine
November 25, 2019 On-Site StaffEarly next year, the Power Curbers 5700-D will replace its predecessor the 5700-C as the “one machine solution” for concrete slipform applications, the North Carolina-based manufacturer has announced. With a number of enhancements and new features, such as the…
EllisDon completes 10-hour concrete pour for new utilities building at Vancouver airport [WATCH]
November 14, 2019 On-Site StaffIt took 10 hours of work and just short 300 loads of concrete, but EllisDon smoothly wrapped up a massive concrete pour at the Vancouver International Airport (YVR) last month. Their booms crisscrossing the job site, four separate concrete pump…
PCL tops off new 32-storey tower built alongside, over existing mixed-use building in downtown Toronto
October 28, 2019 On-Site StaffPCL Constructors Inc. has wrapped up work on the concrete skeleton for a complicated building project in downtown Toronto. The contractor, along with the building’s owner KingSett Capital, held a topping off celebration for the multifaceted job at 700 Bay…
Cemen Tech rolls out Utility Package for volumetric concrete mixers
October 2, 2019 On-Site StaffVolumetric concrete mixer manufacturer Cemen Tech has released a new package designed specifically for utility contractors. Unveiled at the International Construction and Utility Equipment Exposition (ICUEE) in Louisville, Ky. this week, the package adds capabilities such as the ability…
Graham completes big concrete pour as work progresses on new Vancouver tower [WATCH]
September 25, 2019 On-Site StaffVANCOUVER—After about two years of pre-construction, demolition and excavation work, crews at the site of a future 43-storey tower in Vancouver’s west end are inching their way upward. More than 100 workers from Graham Group Ltd. spent 14 hours earlier…
Concrete pump market gaining ground as cities grow upward, contractors see time and safety benefits
August 26, 2019 by David KennedyCities across North America are on an upward trajectory, literally, as more and more mid- and high-rise developments take root to accommodate an increasing number of people moving to urban centres. As skylines in places such as Toronto, Seattle, Montreal,…
Getting on track: Urban transit projects roar to life, creating opportunity for Canada’s construction sector
August 21, 2019 Jillian MorganWorking in tandem along a stretch of highway in Montreal, a pair of launching gantry cranes hoist 50-ton concrete segments into the air off flatbeds below. The gantries slide the prefabricated segments into place, steadily forming a single 30-metre span…
Adding to the mix: Using admixtures to get your concrete to do what you want it to
August 19, 2019 David KennedyLooking up at the coffered dome of the Roman Pantheon, several thousand tonnes of ancient concrete overhead, the majesty of the nearly 2,000-year-old temple is lost on few. The building’s dome, still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world,…
Drilling down: Concrete cutting and coring equipment advances on the job site
August 13, 2019 Jillian MorganScarcely any structure can be built without concrete, leaving no shortage of work for the crews that cut, core and demolish the ubiquitous building material on a diversity of job sites. The labour-intensive process is necessary to deliver most projects,…
Shotcrete firm fined after worker killed falling into hopper on Toronto job site
July 10, 2019 On-Site StaffTORONTO—A British Columbia-based shotcrete service company is facing a $130,000 fine for an incident that left one worker dead on a Toronto condo construction site in January 2017. While there were no eyewitnesses to the incident in the city’s Beaches…
Taking shape: 3D printing revolution on the horizon
April 24, 2019 Jillian MorganAt Sika AG’s research facility in Widen, Switzerland, the nozzle of a 3D printer pumps out billowy concrete at one metre per second. The material cures almost instantly, just in time for the machine’s printing arm to deposit the next…
On the Perimeter: Major Winnipeg project brings concrete solution to longstanding bottleneck
April 23, 2019 David KennedyInfrastructure rarely ages gracefully. When there isn’t much elegance to the original design, 20 or 30 years can be particularly cruel. The junction of a pair of provincial trunk highways northeast of Winnipeg was just such a case. For years,…
Toronto compromises on changes to noise bylaw that threatened construction
April 18, 2019 by David KennedyTORONTO—Continuous concrete pours and heavy crane work will continue to be permitted overnight throughout Toronto, but will be subject to new restrictions following a vote at city hall April 17. The change represents a compromise between councillors pushing for a…
Mississauga, Ont. kicks off road construction season as it paves way for major LRT job
April 18, 2019 by David KennedyMISSISSAUGA, Ont.—More than 30 new and continuing road construction jobs are on the books this year in Ontario’s third largest city as Mississauga construction crews and commuters brace themselves for years of work on the Hurontario Light Rail Transit project.…
Wood construction renaissance may not be quite all it’s built up to be, report says
April 4, 2019 On-Site StaffWINNIPEG—Sustainability has taken on an increasingly important role in Canadian construction in recent years. The energy-intensive processes required to manufacture concrete and steel have, at least in part, propelled another age-old building material back to the fore. In numerous projects…
Sika to buy Ontario-based concrete maker King Packaged Materials
March 7, 2019 by David KennedyOAKVILLE, Ont.—Sika AG is making a major move into the Canadian concrete market. The Switzerland-based chemical company and building materials supplier said March 7 that it has agreed to buy Oakville, Ont.’s King Packaged Materials Co. for an undisclosed price.…