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F. Leopolder
Drym.ix Mortar Technology plays a vitaL role in the development of today's global construction materials market. Not onLy are these mortars essential for the aesthetic finishing of a building, in more and more cases they provide for thermal insulation and are essential in increasing construction efficiency. All around the world, with the Largest growth rates currentLy in China and Brasil, new applications are being developed to address specific targets of the building industry, as well as those of the general public (e.g. environmentaL issues). Since 2005 the new markets grow at a rate of over 20% per year; this growth is hardly hampered by the economic crisis, when mostly "old economy" and "boomioums", such as Dubai, were hit. This report gives an overview of the main drivers of drymix mortars, a market outlook as well as an assessment of chances and risks for the future.
Exclusions
Mortars come in various compositions and physical appearances. In this report, mortar products and applications, shown in Table 1, have been excluded, since they are not classified as classic dry mix mortars.
Standards
With individual regional construction traditions and the fact that the construction industry works more and more on a global level, particularly for largescale constructions, a certain trend towards standardization is detectable all around the globe. In this paper the welldeveloped EN standards are referenced, if not otherwise noted (See Table 2). The ANSI (American National Standards Institute) and ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) standards have also developed relevant sections for drymix mortars, especially for tile adhesives. Harmonizing of those tests and procedures with EN standards is current! y under way and has been published as ISO standaul13007 (developed by ISO/TC 189). EIFS is regulated as a system in a technical approval called ETAG 004, which has rapidly developed into an internationally accepted norm for the industry. In May 2011, the European Commission decided to enter
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Definitions Drymix Mortar: Dry mixture of aggregates and binder (cement, lime, gypsum), some with performance enhancing additives and polymers. Renders: Cementitious, exterior, large volume mortar application for the finishing of brick and blockwork, cement-bound, thicknesses from 5 mm to 40 mm, and related materials such as spatter-dash, key coat, cementitious primers and skim coats (1-2 mrn). Plasters: Interior, mortar for interior application for the finishing of brick and blockwork, based either upon cement or gypsum, thicknesses from 2 mrn to 25mm. Cementitious Tile Adhesives (CTA): Thin-bed mortar for the installation of ceramic tiles. EIFS:Exterior Insulation and Finishing Systems EIFS, similar to External Thermal Insulation Composite Systems ETICS. Screed: Thick, flowable, cementitious or anhydrite based floor levelling material, thicknesses 20 to 50 mm. Self-Levelling Underlayment (SLU): Thin, virtually liquid (low viscosity) self-flowing rnatetial used in the finishing of floors, thicknesses 2 to 5 mm.
into a standardisation process for EIFS as workgroup of CEN, this process will eventualle replace ETAG 004. For concrete renovation products several regional specifications exist, e.g. ZTV-SIB90 in Germany. There are however several types of drymix mortars for which recognized standards do not exist, for example, SelfLeveling Underlayments (SLU). The fastest generation of standards takes place today in China. Table 3 shows the most important applications of drymix mortars.
Table 2. EN standards
EN -Number EN 998-1 EN 998-2 EN 12004 EN 13813 EN 13888 Content Renders, interior and exterior Masonry mortars (Tile) Adhesive mortars Screeds (Tile) Grouts
Renders, basic Plasters Special Construction Adhesives Renders, decorative Tile Adhesives Tile Grouts Exterior Insulation and Finishing Systems E1FS Concrete Renovation Waterproofing Slurries
Mortars that require the adding of components other than water Ready to use adhesives, plasters, out and utties Mortars that are being delivered mixed with water Pre-packed, dry concrete Dry concrete mixtures for spraying a lications
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global production of drymix mortars in 2007 had been estimated to reach between 100 mio t (Leopolder) to 150 mio t (Plank).l
This report is based on quoted references certain areas as well as own data accumulated over the years.
o Europe
Africa
o Asia
o Australia
Americas
& NZ
Figure 1. Cracking and water damage on the facade of a residential complex in Mumbai
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which would have meant 45% percent of the world's production, which was 2.220 mio t. But ther are definite flaws in the Chin e e statistics for cement production. Serious Industry experts estimate that China produced only 700 mio t of cement in 2005. Another unc rtainty come from the fact, that the amount of cement delivered in bags varie widely from country to country, (e.g. India, where over 40% of the cement is shipped in bags to small jobsites v . Germany, where this percentage is low r than 8%). ombining the data available, it may be said that 15 to 1 % of the produced cement is going into mortars. Assuming a c ment rati of 25% of the dry mixes, this gives u a range of 1 464 mio t to 1 760 mio t of dry m rtar mixtures globally. Using th global production value for drymix mortars as shown under heading' Global production volume ',a rough indication of the global substitution rate of jobsite mixtures vs. drymix mortars can be d termined: drymix mortar range between 5.9% and 7.1% (depending upon the source) of the entire mortar volume worldwide. Thus, there are many areas of growth with extrem ly high potential for the drymix mortar indu try worldwide.
2006
2007
2008
2009
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2006 -
or mothballed during the ongoing crisis, estimating of global volumes under the circumstance become very difficult (by now). Also, estimating the reduced load at which operating plants in Europe and the US are running until today is hard. Considering the still growing market in China and the Middle East, we estimate the market in 2007 to have had zero growth, going down by 10% in 2008 and again in 2009, with the major markets recovering in 2010. Figure of 2006/07 could eventually be reached by the end of 2010. China, the main growth region, foresees even greater volumes for 2009 through 2011, reaching air ad y 50 mio t in 2010. We have decided to red uc these figure using variou sources. Figure 2 shows the development of the production volumes.
Cement in mortars
A second approach to estimating th world demand for drymix mortars can be tried by monitoring statistics of cement. Saarinen and HaJonen detail out thi approach using the Middle East as an example. This report tries to extrapolate thi method using global figur S.4 In principl , the figures for cement delivered in bags ar used to d termin th amount of mortar produced on th jobsites. Table 4 shows a typical distribution of cement us in mature markets. Of cour , the variances and uncertain ties in this method are manifold. For xample, China r ported 1.000 mio t of cement production in 2005, mostly for domestic use,
in
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and growing markets concentrates with production locations close to highly developed areas, where the efficiencyof the technology offers most of its ad vantages and where the end-user is particularly demanding. In many cases, the rural areas remain under-developed for this reason, and it will take decades for this industry to reach all these white spots. In order to judge the capacity development, it is helpful to monitor the installation of highly sophisticated plants for drymix mortars. Some examples are shown in Table 5. In most of the above mentioned examples more projects are in the pipeline to meet the expected demand. The construction growth rate in some of those areas lies well over 25% per year and substitution of conventional building methods plays a major role. An oversupply situation can occur, when too many capacities are coming on-stream at the same time, while in turn the market itself does not grow enough or even shrinks [e.g. Singapore in the late nineties, when new capacities coincided with the SEA (Southeast Asia) crisis, Dubai in 2009].Oversupply causes a rapid deterioration of prices, and subsequently a reduction of overall product quality. Nations with rapidly growing production capacities are China, Brasil and to some extent Russia. However, during the crisis, estimates become difficult for all those markets. Oversupply situations regularly existed in the main markets in Western Europe (e.g. in Germany since 1998; in Spain since 2007;in Ireland since 2008). Major mortar producers An overview of the major manufacturers of drymix mortars requires a differentiated approach. This is best being done by distiguishing between the following Types of company strategies (Table 6) Major drymix mortar manufactures are listed in Table 7. When listing the major players on a global level, the volume approach had to be abondoned and consideration the position these companies have in their particular strongholds. Harder estimates that there were 790 drymix mortar plants in Europe alone in 2006,of which 245were part of five major groups with over 20plants each.4 We estimate,
Products CfA,SLU CfA,SLU, specialty mortars Cf A, adhesives EIFS, decorative renders, paints CfA
2 2 2
renders, masonry mortars, EIFS, CfA CfA renders, plasters CfA,SLU, concrete renovation renders, masonry mortars, screeds, EIFS mortars, renders, EIFS CfA, SLU, EIFS renders, some CfA CfA, SLU, EIFS decorative renders, EIFS , paints
2 1
2
strongholds in Western and Northern Europe I, D, Central and Eastern Europe globally active globally active globally active Europe and USA
1 2 1 2
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that currently over 900 sophisticated plants ar being run globally, and that over 50 mall r, but relevant regional dry mix mortar manufacturers exist. Th drymix mortar industry remarkable tendencies 1. Globalization 2. Consolidation 3. Formation currently shows thre
in metropolitan areas. They r quire state-of-the-art materials even in the remotest areas ( .g. Mongolia, Kazachstan. Vietnam). The booming market in China ha grown enough to support local production rather than imports, ven for high-value-added products. ince the construction recession in Central and Western Europe in the late nineties and at the beginning of thi century, a strong consolidation process has start d in urope. Smaller bulk or specialty producers have been acquired by larger companies or groups, medium siz groups have merged. Table 8 shows some e ample for mergers and acqui itions. Although thi consolidation process is almost over now, the formation of globally active gr up is still under way. By sheer volume, St. Gobain W ber including Maxit is the large t manufacturer of drymix mortar in the world. According to Harder, both companies combined would have had a production capacity oflOA mio t, ba ed upon values from 2006.5 Assuming a capacity utilization of 75%, this would amount to close to 10% of the estimated world production in 2006. Other large-volume drymix mortar manufacturers are C me x, DA W / Alsecco, Knauf, Baumit, Hasit (Fixit) and Quickmix and the various licensees of the Sakret Brand.
of global groups
Pioneering entrepreneurs, local and international cement manufactur rs (Type 1) a well as pecialized drymix mortar groups (Type 2) have realized the potentials of drymix mortars even in the emerging markets. Th main drivers are th international developers and consultant groups for tourist resorts and office and retail spaces Table 8. Examples for mergers and acquisitions 1998 to 2008
Group Ardex Basf/PCI Caparol Baumit Group Maxit Mapei Hasit (today: Fixit) Parex Lanko Deiterrnann, Beamix, Optiroc (I Tan on) Sopro and others Rtlfix, Fixit, Kreisel Davco, Klaukol, LaHabra, Mercrete, Portokoll Quarzolit, Conmix India, Maxi! ermany, CJ I, A, Italy D, Be, Scandinavia (GB) Acquired company Germany, Australia Region U A, Lugato, WW Henry,
from
orcro
Australia/SEA, Americas
Large economies (e.g. Brasil, China) adapt the technology and initiate the technology change;
Table 9. Definitions
Category Mature Market r wing Market Emerging Market Virgins
High production volume for both basic and advanced drymix mortar, widespread use of jobsite equipment and ilo truck. Clear disti tion between Type 1 and Type 2 producer, focu ing on product refinem nt. Large companies and international groups and medium sized independent. Medium production volume, beginning u e of jobsite equipment. Mo t producer ar Type 3, improving their product portfolio and intr dueing high value-added mortars. International group, large local companies, quite many smaller companies. Low to medium production volumes, almo t no sophi ticated plants, all product in bags or big bags, some imports. Producers work on introducing drymix mortars, first for CT A/ grout, lat r for renders and plasters. Some international groups, many small to very small local companie . Low production, many garag manufacturers, groups, some mall local companies specialty mortar import for individual projects, no international
>50%
>10%
Close to zero
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the combination of local research and imported knowhow causes a "frog-leap" of technology Economical and environmental considerations lead to widespread introduction of drymix mortars
technology is clearly one integral part of a strategy to reach the goals for efficiency, workplace safety, waste reduction, durability and energy saving.
Consistency of Quality
The requirements of the specifiers (architects, consultants, developers) are growing steadily. Also the requirements for the durability of real estate ("low maintenance" or "maintenance free") plays a large role in the decisionmaking process of the final consumers. Bad workmanship is in many cases noticeable, the use of inferior materials can usually not be detected by the layman prior to moving in. It is the task of industry members to develop quality reassurance systems that convince the final buyers of the quality of the work. In some nations such systems do already exist as rating systems for the finishing quality of buildings (e.g. "Conquas Score", "IQuas" Database, Singapore) or for energy efficiency (e.g. "Energy Passport", Germany, "LEED" scores in the USA). Especially in growing markets, misleading product labelling and claims of performance are confusing the specifiers. Standards help to differentiate the products, however stopping this fraudulous practice is not always easy. In some nations, the drymix mortar industry has agreed to a scheme of controlling product samples systematically (e.g. "Qualitatsgemeinschaft Deutsche Bauchemie, QDB e.V. in Germany, Seal of Quality of MEDMA and SEADMA, see Haddadin)." This way, the credibility of the individual market players can be supported, non-conformance can be detected and the overall quality level can be improved.
To characterize particular regions, they have been separated the into four categories in Tables 9 and 10.
The main drivers for drymix mortars in emerging and growing markets
Ecology and prolonged lifetime
"Green Building" has very fast developed from just a slogan into a real consideration in many nations of the world. The global warming debate and the need to prolong the lifetime of a building in order to reach sustainable building standards has made it evident to the governments, that the initiative for such an approach to construction technology can only be implemented if accompanied by specific legislation. Drymix mortar Table 10. Classification by nation or region
Type Mature Markets Growing Markets NationfRegion Germany, France, Spain, Scandinavia, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, BeNeLux British Isles, Portugal, Central and Eastern Europe, Turkey, the Americas incl. the USA, Mexico and Brasil. South Africa, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, DAE, East Asia incl. China & Korea, Southern SEA, Australia/NZ India, Rest of Middle East, Vietnam, Philippines, Japan, South America (without Brasil), Central Asian Republics Africa, Northern SEA, some nations of Asia
Ease of appllcatlon
It is a fact that most economies reduce the amount of training required for the construction trades. In many areas of the world, uneducated and unskilled migrant workers are being employed, often only with limited
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staying allowance/Visa. The construction therefore needs more easy-to-apply products. In order to perform in a competitive marketplace, this lack of knowhow has to be compensated with superior product performance. It can be said - and without any snideness - that there is a certain "foolproof" approach needed to make sure the products are being applied faultlessly. A prerequisite of such strategy, however, is the willingness on the part of the consultants to objectively calculate the financial advantages of the combination of ressources, both human and in terms of materials. Up to now, however many specifiers base their decision just on prices per kg or ton, and not per defined performance unit, for example square metres of tile applied, area of wall rendered, and many even disregard the time frame needed to perform such work and the time needed in between applications for the curing of the mortars.
to the local
Legal requirements
Regional adaptability
All drymix mortar formulations, no matter in which part of the world, need the adaptation to locally sourced bulk raw materials, the building traditions of the particular countries, the required specifications or local standards, the aesthetical preferences of the buyers as well as to the predominating climate in the region. This applies particularly to materials used on the outside of the building and to a lesser degree to the technical mortars used inside. Using sophisticated lab analysis, the pool of knowhow existing and automated plants, the formulations for
Green Building (e.g. new construction and refurbishing existing structures with EIFS)
New construction
Apart from the mega-projects (e.g. Olympic games in Beijing, developments in Dubai), which generate their own economic dynamics, there is a continued demand for high-quality development in the existing urban centres, see Table 11. The use of drymix mortars in new construction is currently increasing at a faster pace than the growth of the construction volume itself.
25 12
Retrofitting- EIFS
Residential 55 Very high Full portfolio, plus sub-grade protection slurries
The world has realized to that preventing global warming and namely CO2 emissions is the most important task for the coming decades. Energy is getting scarce and expensive. For example, in the US, tenants complain
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that their electrical bill (mostly used for heating and air conditioning) can reach the level of the rent or monthly mortgage payments. The saving of energy and natural ressources is the key to solve those problems. Energy consumption targets for new and existing construction have been postulated and local and national legislation, requirements of a building's performance are under way in many nations. Drymix mortar, here used in EIFS to improve the insulative properties of a building is stateof-the-art in retrofitting existing buildings.
this debate. Blended cements such as CEM II and CEM III and alternative binder systems such as silicates or pozzolanic materials can also help to reduce the environmental impact of drymix mortars.
Infrastructu re
With the permanent growth of the world's population, logistics problems will dominate the planning in the future. Mass transportation, individual traffic and waste handling infrastructure is mostly old and in bad repair, also in the industrialized nations in the Americas and Western Europe. In the emerging nations Russia, China, India and Brasil (BRIC Nations), this infrastructure is in the process of development but are already showing signs of disrepair. Concrete renovation, tunneling for subways and discharge channels and specialty mortars for road and rail construction will playa major role in drymix mortar development in the near future.
Deterioration of quality
This is the most immediate threat to the continuing growth of drymix mortar technology worldwide, it has the following causes: Oversupply situations
All three abovementioned reasons can be addressed by prudently acting drymix mortar manufacturers. Oversupply situations can occur, but can be overcome, if production is being reduced in times of crisis and new applications are being accessed for drymix mortars. The damage to the reputation of dry mix mortar technology itself is very large, when bad products are being offered. Garage manufacturers, offering "me-too products", with lower performance will be kept at bay, if a binding standard, flanked by regional legislation exists. Special attention must be given to the training and continuing education of architects, engineers and consultants. This, combined with application-specific training, will enable them to act fast, competent and in an overall cost-saving manner.
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warranties
Law governing long-rang administrative deci ion, anchored in the legal ystem of the particular ati n Architectural copyrights with all impli d legal enforcement neces ities
volume products (e.g. render, masonry mortars). In the global markets, a combined portfolio of volume products and high value added p cialty drymix mortars will be n cessary to gain all potential. Products have to b continually improved and new application have to be introduced by the indu try in order to satisfy th demands and face the chall nges of the futur . Curr ntly the most dynamic regions f r drymix mortars are (arranged by significance): China, Bra il, Central and East rn Europe and Turkey. Th fastest growing applications on a global Ie el are R riders, EIFS and CT As.," I ep r "with high potential outside of Europ are S re ds and Gypsum Plasters.
Code of Practice, contract r' warranty, QMS auditing, proof of c ntinu u ducation of per onn I, inc!. migrant worker Damage Assessm nt and correction Construction contra t cont nts, neutral expertis s, training of asses ors, legal fram work to correct damages
Acknowledgement
This report cornrni sion d by Bauverlag, first appear d in ZKG International as a two-part article. It has been lightly modified for th publication here. Th author thank Bauverlag for th support and Dr. Thomas W iss pecifically for the coaching. References
1. Winter, Plank, TUM: The European Drymix Mortar Industry; ZKG International, Is ue 6/rYl (Volume 60, June 2(07) ISS 0949-020-, GUter loh 2007 2. Harder, ne Stone onsulring: Market Review of the Premixed Dry Mortar Indu try in Europe; ZKG Internati nal, is u 6/07 (Volume 60, [un 2007) ISS 0949-0205,GUtersloh 2007 Plank: Current Trend in Modern Drymix Mortar, Techn logy and Reason for their onomincal Use; 2nd NC M Pr eedings, Wuhan 2007 4. Saarinen, HaIonen, Lahti Preci ion: Drymi Mortar Emerge in the Middle East; M DMA Technical Bull tin 01, Munich 2006, ISBN3-9811328-Q.7 5. van s: United tat S Geological urvey, cited from the internet a sh wn On 29. 0 2007 under; http://minerals.u gs.gov/min rats/pub / commodity/cement 6. Plank: Teclmolog Trends in th European Drymix Mortar Industry; 1st NC M Proceedings, hanghai 2005 7. s; Ba kground Factsand Is ues oncerning ement and ement Data, U F-2005-1152,cit d frorn th internet as h wnon29.D 20rY7under: http://min rals.u g . ov/rnin ral /pubs/ mrn dity/cem nt Zhao, Ying, W. Zhou, M. Zhou: The Developing ituation and Market Outlook of Drymix Mortar in China, The Drymix Mortar Yearbook 2007, Muni h 2007, ISB 97 -3-9 1132 -1-6 9. Haddadin: TIle" al of Quality" a a Mean to Establish Binding pecificati ns for Drymix Mortar; EADMA Technical Bulletin 02, Munich 2007, lSBN 97 3-9 11328-2-3
(e.g. G 0 in
Apart from product-specific recomm ndations, th guidanc of the local governm nt including I gislation is xtr mely important in the fi ld of investment preservation and -safety. This is only possible by stablishing long-lasting (min 5 year ), binding and nforcable warranties for system performance and workmanship com bin d with specified quality systems. Only by thi measure, contractor, d velop r and consultants will have an incentive to construct modern, durable and maint nance-free buildings. A compl te system combining quality with warranty might in lude the aspects ummariz d in Table 12:
Ferdinand Leopolder has over two decades of experience in the drymix mortar industry. He was responsible for global market development for Wacker Chemie GmbH until 2000. In 2001, he founded drymix.info, the International Community for Drymix Mortars and publishes a monthly newsletter for the industry. Ferdinand Leopolder is also Secretary General of the Middle East Drymix Mortar Association MEDMAand the South East Asia Drymix Mortar Association SEADMA.
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