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drymix.info Newsletter 223/2019; ISSN Number 1613-0111; 18. June 2019

1. Post-event Report: Kick-Off-Meeting to Form a South African Drymix Mortar Manufacturers Association, Johannesburg, 10. June 2019
2. scalingUp3D, Wopfing and Vienna, Austria, 27. - 28. 6. 2019: Last Chance to Register
3. SEADMA's Second Vietnam Drymix Mortar Meeting, 23. July 2019 at Ha Noi Daewoo Hotel: Program
4. MEDMA Oman Drymix Mortar Showcase, 7. October 2019, Muscat
5. Sixth Latin American Drymix Mortar Conference, São Paulo, Brasil, 7.11.19: Call for Paper expired
6. The Fourth MEDMA Workshop on 24. November 2019, Sharjah, Topic: Jobsite Automation
7. Somani EcoBuild Starts up Automated Drymix Mortar Plant near to Jaipur, India
8. Austrotherm Opens New Plant in Wittenberge
9. Sika Completes Takeover of Parex Group

1. Post-event Report: Kick-Off-Meeting to Form a South African Drymix Mortar Manufacturers Association, Johannesburg, 10. June 2019

Response from the industry was great for the Kick-Off Meeting to Form an Association of Drymix Mortar Producers of Southern Africa. The meeting took place at Sandton Sun Hotel on 10. June 2019, and Cemcrete Group, Ceramic Industries Limited, EZEE Tile, Haver & Boecker, Henkel, iTe Products, Kwikbuild/Kwiktile, Mapei, Prestige Adhesives, Orchem/REDA, Sika, Specialized Coating Systems, Stanton Construction Chemicals, TAL, Terraco and Wacker Chemie attended. It was decided that the new association would encompass the Southern African Area, thus including Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Swasiland and Lesotho. The discussion showed that a neutral, competent association is urgently necessary, the focus of the new association was prioritized as follows (citing from the meeting's protocol):
1. ESTABLISH STANDARDS (for all applications, performance specifications), CERTIFY PRODUCTS ACCORDING TO STANDARDS (mandatory labelling)
2. FIND/ESTABLISH NEUTRAL THIRD PARTY LABORATORY
3. TRAINING CONTRACTORS, EDUCATE CONSULTANTS, ARCHITECTS AND DEVELOPERS (promote the technology)
4. EVALUATE THE SPECIFYING PROCESS (train the specifiers)
5. NEW APPLICATIONS (other than tile adhesives)

The Founding Committee consists of Obert Rukato, TAL, Norman Singleton, Permoseal/Alcolin ( for Cape Region), Cecil Goncalves, EZEE Tile and Brian Dillon, Stanton Construction Chemicals. The Founding Committee will meet in July 2019 and review the documents Code of Conduct, Charter and Industry Commitment and invite to the first regular meeting of the new association in September 2019.

2. scalingUp3D, Wopfing and Vienna, Austria, 27. - 28. 6. 2019: Last Chance to Register

Already next week, experts on 3D printing using drymix mortars meet in Austria: scalingUp3D - The Interdisciplinary Conference on Printable Mortars, takes place on  27. (Wopfing) and 28. June 2019.

On Thursday, 27 June, a comfortable bus will take us to Wopfing, where we have prepared hands-on demonstrations at the research center of Schmid Holding. We will have three practical sessions there, live 3D printing of mortars included (by Baumit, Testing Bluhm & Feuerherdt and Ultratest)! Baumit will host us entirely, food and drink is on them – thanks a lot!

In the evening, if it is nice (= not raining), all delegates can join us for a casual snacks, fresh air and wine at Weinbau Zawodsky above Grinzing. This activity is being called „Heurigen“ in Vienna, we will try to find out what that really means (word by word: „this years wine“ can't be true). Zawodsky offers cosy seating in their vineyard with a spectacular view back on/to Vienna, and maybe they even heat up the grill? Bring a jacket in case it gets chilly. Laticrete International and drymix.info are sponsoring this evening.

Our plenary session with 13 lectures takes place on Friday, 28. June 2019, check-in starts at 9:00. We meet right in the heart of Vienna at stylisch „Labstelle Wien“ (Lugeck 6, U-Bahn Stephansdom, don't even think of trying to park there, take the subway!). Please refer to the updated program (.pdf) on our website.

Admissions (all prices include 20% Austrian VAT): Both days: 950 €, reduced to 750 € for members of drymix.info, only 550 € drymix mortar manufacturers (attention: limitation on day 1 is 60!). Day Two only (plenary sessions): 550 €, reduced to 420 € for members of drymix.info, only 280 € for drymix mortar manufacturers, 180 € for students and faculty (proof of immatriculation required). Registration with credit card payment (Visa or Mastercard only, 30 Euro rebate on each admission!) is available on www.drymix.info.

3. SEADMA's Second Vietnam Drymix Mortar Meeting, 23. July 2019 at Ha Noi Daewoo Hotel: Program

The South East South East Asia Drymix Mortar Association SEADMA invites to its Second Vietnam Drymix Mortar Meeting. The event takes place at Ha Noi Daewoo Hotel on 23. July 2019, from 10:00 to 14:00 (lunch included). Similar to our first meeting in Ho Chi Minh City last June the meeting will be moderated by Ferdinand Leopolder. Here is a short glimpse on our program (also available in Vietnamese on our website; subject to change without notice):
Vietnam Building Materials Institute VIBM (North Branch), Engr. Trinh Minh Dat: TCVN: The Current National Standards for Drymix Mortars in Vietnam - an Overview
flooring.vn, David Tran Viet Dung: A Novel Approach to Sustainable and Durable Self-Levelling Flooring Screeds using Geopolymer Binders
Haver&Boecker/Antech ltd., Anh Dang Tuan: (working title) Packaging Mortars for the Vietnam Logistics Chain
m-tec, Ian Shaw: Jobsite Automation - Mortar Machinery to Boost Efficiency
SEADMA, Ferdinand Leopolder: What has the Global Evolution of Drymix Mortars to Do with the Particular Situation in Vietnam? A Summary and Outlook into Future Applications and Business Models
Sika Vietnam, (lecturer tbd.): Infrastructure Repair and Concrete Renovation - Important tasks for Vietnam
(tbd.): Challenges for Cementitious Tile Adhesives: Large Format and Vitrified Tiles – Applicable Standards

Registration has already started on www.drymix.info. We encourage all drymix mortar producers in the northern part of Vietnam to join us. The meeting language will be Vietnamese, some presentations will be held in English – we will improvise a translation. Various sponsoring options exist for suppliers and distributors alike.

Pre-registration by e-mail to info@drymix.info is absolutely mandatory. The meeting is free of charge for drymix mortar producers, up to two delegates will be admitted from each company (additional delegates pay 150 Euro or VND 4 mio). Industry Observers are welcome, too, they pay 390 Euro (VND 10 mio), reduced for members of drymix.info to 290 Euro (VND 7,5 mio). When paying online in our shop (Visa or Mastercard), you can get a 30 Euro discount!

4. MEDMA Oman Drymix Mortar Showcase, 7. October 2019, Muscat

Needless to say, Oman is a very dynamic and continually growing market for construction products, technologies and equipment. Infra Oman 2019 in Muscat is an excellent opportunity for the entire construction materials and especially the drymix mortar industry to meet local and international experts that build Oman. The Middle East Drymix Mortar Association encourages its members and Partners to contribute lectures to the first MEDMA Drymix Mortar Showcase at Infra Oman, Muscat on 7. October 2019.

This event is being hosted and promoted by Al Nimr Group, the organizers of Infra Oman. Members of MEDMA are encouraged to propose lectures and sponsoring, too. The Call for Papers was recently extended until 31. July 2019, lecturing ans sponsoring fees apply.

5. Sixth Latin American Drymix Mortar Conference, São Paulo, Brasil, 7.11.19: Call for Paper expired

The Sixth Latin American Drymix Mortar Conference ladmmc six takes place on Thursday, 7. November 2019, at Espaço Transatlântico, São Paulo, Brasil, 7.11. 2019 (Sexta Conferência Latino Americana de Argamassas ladmmc six). Our Call for Papers has recently expired and our Technical Chairman, Mario Kristeller has made his decisions. Here is a short overview of contributing companies (subject to change without notice): Allgaier, Cidades sem fome, Cimental, Dow Construction Chemicals, Formitex, Imerys Aluminates, Kerakoll do Brasil, Parex (now Sika), Saint Gobain Weber Quarzolith, Wacker Chemie. Our complete program will be published in one of our next Newsletters. The Drymix Mortar Yearbook 2019 will be distributed to all delegates.

drymix.info will make a donation from the proceeds of ladmmc six to the social entrepreneurship initiative Cidades sem fome, which promotes urban harvesting for impoverished city dwellers. The founder of this NGO, Hans Dieter Tremp, will address the assembly with a short speech.

Our standard pricing applies for ladmmx six: admission is 390 Euro, reduced to 290 Euro for members of drymix.info, drymix mortar producers pay only 190 Euro.

6. The Fourth MEDMA Workshop on 24. November 2019, Sharjah, Topic: Jobsite Automation

After the success of its three workshops (1. on Tiling, at Wacker Academy, Dubai, 2. on Renders and Plasters at Sharjah Research Academy, 3. on External Insulation and Finishing Systems EIFS at Dubai Municipality, Dubai Central Labs), the Middle East Drymix Mortar Association MEDMA e.V. invites to its Fourth MEDMA Workshop on Jobsite Automation, Industrial Mortar Mixing and Pumping.

The workshop takes place on and during The International Concrete Conference & Exhibition, ICCX Middle East 2019 and is being supported by the organizers of ICCX, ad-media GmbH of Cologne, Germany. Ad-media is also editing and publishing the bi-monthly Concrete Plant International (CPI) magazine and the quarterly AAC worldwide magazine.

MEDMA workshops are designed for contractors, consultants and developers, they are being supported by MEDMA members. Raw material and equipment suppliers to the drymix mortar industry and other drymix mortar producers in the Middle East and beyond. Ferdinand Leopolder, President of MEDMA will moderate the session. For the fourth MEDMA Workshop tentative commitments already exist from CCC Drymix (Dubai), Arkan (Abu Dhabi), Conmix (Sharjah), Dow, Haver&Boecker, Poraver and m-tec. Several supporting options exist, including the possibility to propose a lecture (until 31.7.19), fees apply.

In the evening, MEDMA will hold its Annual General Member's Assembly, a separate invitation will go out to the members in fall of 2019.

7. Somani EcoBuild Starts up Automated Drymix Mortar Plant near to Jaipur, India

Somani EcoBuild Pte. Ltd. (SEB India) has recently commissioned up its fully automated drymix mortar plant near Jaipur, India. The plant is conveniently located near to the raw material sources such as aggregates and binders. Also new on the SEB site is a fully equipped drymix mortar laboratory for the use in product development and production quality control. m-tec GmbH of Neuenburg, Germany, has designed the production facility and also delivered its main components and production softwares. The new SEB plant has a nameplate capacity of 180.000 t/a in two-shift mode. It consists of two completely separated lines, one designated for white products, the other (larger) one for grey products. It also features a sand drying and screening unit as well as two complete packaging lines and a truck loading station. SEB has already developed formulations for a full range of drymix mortars for production in the new plant, which includes Wall Renders, Floor Screeds, Tile Adhesives and Grouts, Wall Putties (white Skim Coats), Self-Levelling Underlayments (SLU) and other specialty drymix mortars.

8. Austrotherm Opens New Plant for XPS Panels in Wittenberge

Austrotherm nimmt neue Produktionsanlage in Wittenberge in Betrieb
Austrotherm Dämmstoffe GmbH, Wittenberge, Germany has started up its new plant for the production of extruded polystyrene panels (XPS) this month. XPS panels are being used for sub-grade and above grade wall and flooring applications. As opposed to expanded polystyrene panels (EPS, predominantly used in External Insulation and Finishing Systems EIFS), XPS panels can resist stronger pressures and impacts. The new plant can also produce multilayer XPS panels of large thickness. Austrotherm will deliver the XPS panels from Wittenberge into the German and European markets. According to the company, investment cost was 2,5 mio Euro, Austrotherm will employ 8 people to run the new plant.

9. Sika Completes Takeover of Parex Group

Sika AG of Baar, Switzerland has recently completed its takeover of Parex Group, Paris, France from CVC Capital Partners, Luxembourg (CVC Capital Fund V). CVC had acquired Parex Group back in 2014 from Materis, Paris, France (we reported earlier). Parex is a globally active drymix mortar producer with sales amounting to 1.070 mio Euro in 2018 and operates 74 plants in 23 Nations. In combination with its own mortar activities, Sika expects to raise about 70 to 90 mio Euro in annual synergies eventually. With this acquisition, Sika's mortar business will more than double in size to over 2.000 mio Euro. A transaction value was not disclosed.

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Editor-in-Chief: Ferdinand Leopolder.

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Sincerely Yours, Ferdinand Leopolder