Can you please evaluate the current situation of the concrete admixture sector? How do you interpret the progress of the sector by years? What are your short and medium term predictions about the sector?
As the Concrete and Grout Chemical Admixtures Manufacturers Association (KÜB), we experience a period of concrete and construction sector we are operating in its 18th age that is considerably moving, sometimes up-and-down but the growth tendency is ongoing. During the years we have been firstly established the use of chemical admixture was almost exceptional in the concrete manufacturing while today chemical admixtures have become an indispensible component of concrete both in practice and in the relevant standards. The difficulties encountered during the concrete manufacturing of many extraordinary buildings constructed during the last 20 years in our country and the world could be overcome by the characteristics provided by the concrete chemical admixture technology. Concrete admixtures not only provide some properties such as high strength, endurance, impermeability in concrete structures but also enable to pump to greatly long and high distances and to pour concrete in very different mould shapes, considerably cold and hot weather. It also contributes in sustainability of constructions. Concrete chemical admixture technologies shall keep contributing in the concrete and construction sector in technical, economic and environmental sense with the scientific developments and innovations in the upcoming period and it shall also inspire for some new applications and manufacturing.
Can you please evaluate the performance displayed by the sector during 2015? Please share the numeral data you have such as production capacity, annual consumption quantity, turnover, growth ratio, total number of firms, approximate employment?
According to data we receive from KÜB member firms, the volumetric size of the concrete admixture sector has occurred at the stage of 480 thousand tons in 2015. Approximately 80% of this volume is composed of the normal and super plasticizer admixtures orienting to decrease the water content in concrete.
Annual growth trends of the concrete admixture sector are parallel with the data of ready-mixed concrete and construction sector. The number of manufacturer firms in our sector is over 30.
How is 2016 going for the Concrete Admixture sector? Can you please describe this with numeral data? Please share the targets and expectations of the sector in the sense of production and growth with us.
The first quarter of 2016 was positive for the construction and concrete sector. Therefore, the positive situation in our roof and employer sectors have reflected on the concrete admixture sector. We think that our sector has grown in the ratio of 6-7% higher than the country’s gross national product in the first quarter of year. We observed a relative slowdown in the second quarter. However, the growth trend has continued in the 4-5% stages any way. While a serious shrinkage occurred in the third quarter, namely July during which our country suffered from a troubling and grueling times, a relative recovery occurred during August and October. Our expectation and wish is to ensure that our country and national live in peace, tranquility and togetherness. This environment will bring along a positive momentum to the country economy and construction sector.
What are the export and import values of the sector for 2015? Please tell us about the countries/regions the exports are concentrated mostly and the target markets?
The value of more than 2000 projects undertaken by Turkish contracting firms has exceeded 125 billion USD during the last five years. The number of local manufacturers and global producers which entered in the construction chemicals and concrete admixture markets serving for the construction sector in which such high figures are mentioned and which provide employment for approximately 2 million people per year has increased incrementally and much above than the growth rates of the sector especially during the last five years.
Tens of manufacturers and hundreds of manufacturer-distributor actors exist in the concrete admixture sector. Our association KÜB’s mission and its operations in this direction have become highly more important in such an environment.
We can list the fundamental objectives and mission of our association as follows; bringing the concrete and grout chemical admixture materials manufacturers together under the same roof and ensuring coordination among them, contributing in the performance of concrete and grout admixtures production in compliance with the universal quality criteria, national and international standards, guiding the relevant persons and organizations of the sector in technical, economic and social sense and rising awareness of consumers, lastly ensuring that the new technologies are introduced and implemented in the sector.
In direction of this mission, as KÜB, we are still carrying out an active collaboration with İMSAD (Turkish Construction Materials Industrialists Association), YÜF (Construction Products Manufacturers Federation) and EFCA (European Concrete Admixtures Federation) organizations we are a member and other shareholding organizations and associations of the construction and concrete sector. We operate in cooperation with KGS (Quality Assurance System Economic Organization) for performance and reporting of the conformity tests and monitoring of the quality standards by means of the tests on the products of our member firms.
In addition to Turkey, we perform concrete admixture and construction chemicals export to the Central Asia, Middle East and Africa markets in which the Turkish contractors are effective, as well as Russia, Caucasus and near Balkan geography.
What is the competition level of the sector in the international markets? What are the countries in which the market share is higher? In this context, please evaluate the position of Turkey in the world and in Europe.
According to EFCA (European Concrete Admixtures Federation) data we are a member as KÜB, the greatest concrete and concrete admixture market of Europe is Turkey in volumetric sense.
The concrete admixture market of Europe is approximately in 1.2 million tons level in volumetric sense by 2015 according to the data of 11 member countries of EFCA including the leading countries of Europe in construction and concrete market like Germany, Britain, Spain, France and Italy. Turkey represents 40% of this market with roughly 480 thousands tons capacity. Essentially, this is a natural and presumptive ratio. Thus, our country comes first in Europe and comes fourth in the world with its ready-mixed concrete production volume equal to 110 million m3 annually.
With the exception of this volumetric leadership, Turkey has a corner and effective position in its sector in Europe with the innovations implemented in the construction and concrete sector, manufacturing techniques under difficult conditions and product technologies.
What are the most important agenda items of the sector currently? Please tell us your significant troubles and problems as well as your recommendations and expectations for resolution of these problems.
The legislations and technical specifications need to be renewed and updated on the subject of concrete practices and chemical admixture technologies used in concrete on the sector. The relevant state units and construction sector associations should collaborate to generate technical resolutions at a common platform at this point. It is necessary to look for solutions and take the sector and stakeholders further in this scope by establishing technical committees. We believe it is necessary to raise awareness of consumers and turn the quality into an obligation even a routine in order to prevent the unfair competition being encountered in the sector occasionally.
Another important issue we included in our agenda as KÜB is the Environment Product Declaration. This declaration informs consumers about the effects of products they will cause in the environment throughout the life cycle they are in use in a transparent, measurable and comparable way. The environmental effects of concrete admixtures according to their raw materials may be disclosed to the public and kept under records. Only KÜB member firms have the possibility of publishing the environmental effect declarations of concrete and grout admixtures they manufacture in the concrete admixture sector in accordance with the model and calculation method approved and accepted by the relevant bodies created by EFCA (European Concrete Admixtures Federation) we are a member.
Anything you wish to add?
Our featured agenda items for 2016-2017 period as KÜB;
1. Ensure and monitor that all our members act and operate in the high ethical standards without sacrificing honesty in compliance with the laws and the corresponding legislation in all their activities in accordance with the Ethics Covenant the firms within KÜB are signing.
2. Effective use of the technical activities and social media in direction of rising the recognition and effectiveness of KÜB in the sector.
We publish a KÜB bulletin in every four months. We focus on technical articles in addition to the news related with our sector and activities and share these articles on our web site. We follow-up the concrete chemical admixtures agenda and sector related practices in Europe. We attend the general assembly meetings and other events organized by EFCA at home and abroad. We aim to share the technological developments with respect to the sector to a much wider platform on our Facebook and Linkedin pages which becme active by June.
3. Introduce the concrete road manufacturing to the public and private sector properly with other stakeholders of the sector and provide the contribution and support in our part in terms of specifications.
The subject of concrete roads is one of the main agenda items of KÜB as in the case of other leading associations and organizations of the concrete sector. It has become capable to compete with flexible superstructures binding agent of which is asphalt both in initial construction costs and in life cycle costs. Concrete roads rise as a more economical manufacturing method in the long run because they may be produced with our own equities without being foreign- dependent, have a longer service life and require relatively lower maintenance costs. Concrete roads have been in operation and the preferred road manufacturing method for long years in Europe, particularly in Germany and the Central Europe as well as the USA. We see that many road manufactures have been performed in the Central Asia during the last decade.
