Construction has commenced on the Fletcher Building Concrete Division’s dedicated ‘innovation’ or concrete laboratory. Based on the same site as Firth’s Broughs Road Certified plant in Christchurch, the standalone concrete laboratory is the first of its kind in New Zealand - not just for Fletcher Building, but also for the industry.
“We have broken ground on our exciting new laboratory and the foundations are down,” says Dene Cook, Divisional Technical Manager, Concrete Division. “We should be erecting the precast panels in the next month or so and hope to have the facility up and running in the New Year.”
“Within Firth and the Concrete Division, we have lots of innovative ideas which need to be tested and developed,” says Dene.
“The ability to explore new innovative concrete solutions puts us in a good position to meet the changing demands of our customers.”
“Our customers are increasingly looking for solutions rather than just products. Low carbon concrete, masonry and bagged products are likely to become increasingly important as are the thermal performances of our flooring solutions. Having a dedicated laboratory also allows us to optimise some of our product range.”
“The new lab will assist us to maintain our vision of being the market leader, plus it allows us to optimise our product offering from a material perspective.”