Award

J U N E 2 0 2 4 | 9 Precast Concrete P H OTO G R A P H Y CO U RT E S Y L A FA RG E C A N A DA I L LUS T R AT I O N CO U RT E S Y C P C I The impact of rising investments and 3D printing on the world of precast concrete by ROBIN BRUNET P recast specialists are finding them- selves extremely busy in many sectors across Canada in 2024, and a boom in one sector is credited directly to the problems that arose during the COVID lockdowns. Dominic Colpron, engineer- ing manager for Peikko North America says, "The lockdowns and resulting supply shortages taught us not to be so reliant on offshore manufacturing, and as a result governments in the U.S. and Canada are making massive investments in new facilities, which in turn is benefitting precast companies and related equipment firms." Colpron cites multi-billion-dollar investments made by Samsung in the Austin, Texas region for new semiconductor and microchip plants as one of many such projects Peikko is busy supplying. "The work began three years ago, there are dozens of tower cranes operating on these sites, and the work is expected to continue for the next 10 years," he says. Colpron adds, "We're also involved in the sec- ond phase of the Sofidel pulp plant expansion in Columbus, Ohio." This $185-million undertaking will expand the facility by 500,000 square feet and is expected to be completed in 2025. For both projects, Peikko is supplying HPKM Column Shoes used to connect precast columns to Finding The Cure foundations and to connect columns together. The Ohio project is also using Peikko's BECO Beam Shoes and COPR A Anchoring Couplers, a fast and eco- nomical solution for creating a moment connection between precast beams and columns. Peikko is heavily relied upon to supply a large selection of concrete connections and composite beams for both precast and cast-in-situ situations in a wide variety of applications, and Colpron is opti- mistic about the volume of work coming down the turnpike due to what seems to be a concentrated push to revitalize North America's manufacturing capabilities. "Another project soon to commence that we're involved with is a Dow Chemical Plant in Fort Saskatchewan," he says. "So, while opportunities in the residential sector have diminished somewhat due to inflation, industrial work is intense." From the perspective of Brian Hall, manag- ing director at the Canadian Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, a major push in his sector con- tinues to be lowering carbon emissions. "In 2023, CPCI's members made a solid commitment to work with our designers, producers, and suppli- ers to reduce the emissions of the precast concrete industry in Canada," he says. "This requires full transparency from CPCI members during this decarbonization process to declare our emissions and commit to working together to reduce baseline emissions of the precast concrete industry. Industry experts have developed a document for CPCI mem- bers that provides a pathway toward decarbonizing our sector." CPCI is also working with its affiliates to pro- vide tools and the necessary training for members to develop on-demand plant and product-specific Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for various precast concrete products and assemblies. "Quantifying and reporting our emissions will be very important for us in tracking and reporting the progress of our industry in the decarbonization pro- cess," Hall says. Precast concrete cladding panels at the Clayton Reservoir, Surrey, B.C. Net Zero Pathway to 2050. (CPCQA) CANADIAN PRECAST CONCR QUALITY ASSU CERTIFICATION PR

• Cover