Mark Rinehart is vice president of Sales and Marketing for Cemen Tech, the worldwide leader in the volumetric concrete industry with customers in over 70 countries. Mark has more than two decades of experience supporting construction customers in navigating new innovations and technology, helping them to improve and build their business. Below is an exchange with Mark about the advantages of Cemen Tech’s volumetric technology and how concrete control is a game-changer for the construction industry.
MCS: What are the advantages of using a volumetric concrete mixer compared to ready-mix concrete or other on-site mixing solutions?
RINEHART: Volumetric technology is a game-changer for contractors, giving them complete control over producing concrete whenever, wherever, and in whatever quantity they need.
Cemen Tech’s C60 volumetric concrete mixer measures, mixes, and dispenses a precise amount of concrete from a single unit. Sand, stone, cement powder, water, and additives are each kept in their own bin on the mixer, ready to be mixed at the jobsite—unlike traditional mixing methods which blend all materials before leaving the plant.
Volumetric concrete mixers allow you to change mix designs on the spot, meaning concrete can be produced for multiple projects and jobsites in a single day, all using the same unit. With the Cemen Tech C60, you can store hundreds of calibrations and mix designs, so the operator can quickly and easily move from one project to the next using the state-of-the-art electronic control panel.
The Cemen Tech C60 also comes equipped with ACCU-POUR™—a suite of productivity tools that leverage smart technology to connect the jobsite and office. Contractors can schedule jobs, assign projects, and send orders wirelessly to the operator’s tablet in the truck.
Together these tools help contractors expand their business and improve profits by increasing efficiency and lowering costs. By producing concrete on-demand, contractors avoid added costs and loss in productivity caused by short loads, overages, hot loads, delays, and downtime—common pitfalls of barrel trucks.
MCS: Can you explain the process of how the volumetric concrete mixer measures and dispenses the materials accurately?
RINEHART: With a volumetric concrete mixer all materials (sand and stone to cement powder and water) continually blend on demand. The mixer starts and stops as needed while the aggregates stay separate in their respective compartments.
Volumetric concrete technology focuses on batching based on volume rather than weight. All material is calibrated by weight and delivered to the mix auger by volume. This method produces a proportional accuracy of plus or minus 2%.
The Cemen Tech C60 volumetric mixer has a one-touch control system that lets you select the mix design you need, and the system adjusts to the correct mix. Automated high and low flow admix tanks with digital flow meters ensure the exact amount of admixture every time. A hydraulic cement bin lets the operator easily switch between concrete mixes and flowable fill applications.
MCS: What are the specific features or technologies in Cemen Tech’s mixers that ensure consistent quality and uniformity of the concrete mix?
RINEHART: All Cemen Tech C60s come equipped with an AP Touch computer that controls the proportioning and dispensing of all ingredients without the unit needing to be adjusted by an operator. This includes auto-adjusting aggregate bin gates, a dual auger cement bin system, and flow meters for water and admixtures. The system measures and reacts in real time so each ingredient is dispensed in correct proportions according to the saved calibrations and mix designs in the computer. This ensures the mixer meets the accuracy tolerances set by both ASTM and the Volumetric Mixer Manufacturers Bureau. The ability to add moisture sensors to the C60 as an option allows the unit to read the live moisture content of the aggregate and adjust the feed water to the system, further adding to the accuracy for the most accurate water-to-cement ratio available.
MCS: What is the capacity range of Cemen Tech’s volumetric concrete mixers, and how does it vary between different models?
RINEHART: Cemen Tech produces volumetric concrete mixers ranging in size and application, from as small as 2-yard capacities up to 12-yard capacity units. These mixers can complete many applications outside of standard concrete, including gunite or shotcrete, flowable fill, colored concrete, and fast-setting concrete, to name a few. While volumetric trucks are typically mounted to a truck chassis, we also produce stationary units for precast operations and trailer-mounted mixers for added portability.
MCS: Are there any advancements or upcoming developments in Cemen Tech’s volumetric concrete mixing technology that customers can look forward to?
RINEHART: Yes, as the global manufacturing leader for volumetric mixers, it is important for Cemen Tech to monitor industry trends to be aware of the present state of the market and forecast future directions. We listen closely to our customers and what they need to be successful. Innovation is a key differentiator for Cemen Tech that sets us apart and allows us to build groundbreaking products, service, and solutions.
Seth Bittick, VP of Operations
G-Crete LLC
San Antonio, Texas
“With volumetrics, we can pour products that the typical concrete barrel truck is not capable of pouring, like fast-setting mixes and rapid-setting flow fill,” says Seth Bittick, vice president of operations at G-Crete in San Antonio, Texas. “Our Cemen Tech C60 volumetric concrete mixers can let us do big jobs more efficiently because we can do continuous pours. We never have to stop if we can load materials on-site. And because we are able to produce only enough to finish the job, there’s a lot less material waste—the equivalent of a wheelbarrow of material compared to the yards you get with a barrel truck.”
Carter Holzer, Owner
Holzer Sitemix
Indianapolis, Indiana
“The flexibility volumetric technology delivers is invaluable—to us and our customers. We can switch mix designs on a job with the touch of a button, including changing between wet and dry on the fly to manage concrete slump,” says Carter Holzer, owner of Holzer Sitemix in Indianapolis, Indiana. “Using ACCU-POUR™ and smart technology, we can quickly and easily move one of our Cemen Tech C60 volumetric concrete mixers from one job to the next while keeping everyone in the communication loop.”
Jon Hargett, Owner
Pavement Restoration, Inc. (PRI)
Milan, Tennessee
“I love to be able to tell folks that we can do anything a concrete plant can do—just tell us what you need, and we can bring it in any quantity. Our Cemen Tech C60 volumetric concrete mixers let us do that,” says Jon Hargett, owner of Pavement Restoration, Inc. in Milan, Tennessee. “We can do multiple pours at one location with one truck with consistent, accurate, and high-quality results every time.”
CLOSING THOUGHT
The best information comes from the owners of companies using the Cemen Tech volumetric concrete mixers. Turn the page for three contractor testimonials sharing how the Cemen Tech technological advances have added to their bottom lines and what they like best about the features of the volumetric mixer.
For More Information:
For more about Cemen Tech volumetric concrete mixers, visit www.cementech.com.
Modern Contractor Solutions, July 2023
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