ELEMATIC’S CUSTOMER MAGAZINE 2023 www.elematic.

com

CONCRETE
ISSUES
At Pauli Beton,
clients are
more than
numbers 34

Full steam
ahead
in China 42

Patrik Lindh is still Digital quality

fascinated by precast after control saves time
30 years in the industry 14 and money 29
 REUSE
TO REDUCE
Elematic FaMe is the shuttering system you
can use over and over again. With the right
care, your FaMe system will be your daily
partner in fast shuttering for over 10 years.

BOOK A TIME
to chat with one of our
Shuttering experts by scanning
this QR code.

DID YOU KNOW?

You can cut your
monthly LVL usage
by 50% with FaMe
system.

Paul Görner, Sales Engineer

Badei Makhmour, Sales Engineer

Download
FAME SHUTTERING GUIDE

Please visit elematic.com for more information and follow us

Elematic looks for growth –
Wall lines and China in focus
In last Concrete Issues a year ago, the Bauma
exhibition was just around the corner. We were coming out
from the covid-19 pandemic, but also the war in Ukraine had
just started.
2023 has not been much easier than the few previous
years, not for people nor business. The pandemic years and
the tragic ongoing war in Ukraine have affected Elematic’s
business as well, and Elematic has stopped all sales to
Russia.
New opportunities are also emerging. In 2022, we
started the renewal of our wall technology – equipment,
automation, and software, and starting new partnerships.
Our aim is to clearly strengthen our market position in wall
technology – and we delivered more than 100 circulation
lines over the years.
Elematic opens up a new company in China
A big event for us has been the opening of the China
operations. The company Elematic Teeyer is located in
Changzhou close to Shanghai. It has two focus areas: to
become the leading provider of precast technology on
the Chinese market and supply molds and special steel
structures to the global market. The company was officially
established at the end of 2022 and now the operations are
up and running, including the manufacturing operations.
To safeguard a fast ramp-up, there are four expats from
Elematic Finland leading the new company and help to build
up a high-quality company.
Elematic is ISO 14001 certified
In the previous issue, I emphasized the opportunity
Mats Jungar, Elematic CEO
Publisher: Elematic Oyj | Airolantie 2 | P.O. Box 33 | 37801 AKAA | Finland. Tel. +358 3 549 511
E-mail and feedback: elematic@elematic.com
Editor-in-Chief: Mats Jungar • Managing Editor: Nina Lehtonen
Editorial office & layout: Tulus Oy • English editing: Tulus Oy • Printed by: PunaMusta | Tampere, Finland • ISSN: 084-0315-US-3000
Web edition: www.elematic.com/learn/media/magazine/
that precast is offering compared to cast-in-situ in
construction. The trend is even stronger today and will
offer new opportunities for precasters.
We want to be forerunners in sustainability and
support precast factories and their partners and
customers to take steps forward in sustainability as
well, for example by calculating the precast factory CO2
emissions and manufacturing products with lower carbon
footprint than products manufactured with traditional
methods. Hollow core slabs can cut carbon emissions by
45% from cast-in-situ by using less steel and cement, and
automation and production optimization can decrease
material usage in precast significantly.
In 2022, we took two major steps forward in
sustainability: we began to map our greenhouse gas
emissions in Elematic Oyj and received the ISO 14001
environmental management system certification. We also
analyzed Elematic’s and our stakeholders’ sustainability
interests and prioritized the most material sustainability
topics and themes for the company. We released Elematic’s
actions and efforts in the first ESG report this spring. You
can read more about the process from this magazine.
The pressure towards sustainability from regulation
and financing is increasing. More and more investors
demand emission evaluations and declarations from
building projects. It is better to start ESG work well
in advance, as precast has a lot to give in cutting the
construction industry CO2 emissions. Alternative raw
materials for cement are already in the market, and
fossil-free steel is already available. The production is still
marginal, and demand exceeds availability, but costs are
reasonable. What is needed are regulations to support
more sustainable building and courage to invest in new
technologies.
Although inflation accompanied with high interest
rates will affect all of our business in short-term, there are
big opportunities following, e.g., rebuild of Ukraine. We can
hope for the best and keep looking forward.
 Our first ESG
(environmental, social, and governance)
report published
Elematic’s first ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) report is published.
The report showcases how we approach sustainability issues, providing
transparency to all our stakeholders, including customers and financiers.
E
lematic’s first ESG (Environmental, Social,
and Governance) report is published.
The report showcases how we approach
sustainability issues, providing transpar-
ency to all our stakeholders, including
customers and financiers.
The first ESG report is a result of rigorous work.
In 2022, a materiality assessment was conducted,
systematically analyzing the interests of stakehold-
ers and the company.
CFO Ari Suokas, who took the lead of ESG
matters and the project after Matti Tirkkonen,
emphasizes the importance of bringing Elematic’s
sustainability reporting up to speed.
“ESG reporting helps us to better understand
which sustainability investments have the greatest
impact on the big picture. It is a great opportunity to
learn fresh approaches and get new insights on our
operation. Currently, for example, we have a more
detailed study on reducing transport emissions is
underway, and we are also investigating the use of
fossil-free steel in the manufacture of equipment to
reduce our carbon footprint.”
In terms of social sustainability, employee
safety, well-being, and professional development
are the priority.
4 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023
“Employee satisfaction is being developed based on
feedback received from the employee satisfaction survey.
With regard of governance, Elematic is also assessing
leadership training options to ensure high-quality leader-
ship for all employees.”
Suokas points out that in addition to issues highlighted
in the ESG report, Elematic has sustainability embedded in
the company’s DNA.
“Our operation hinges on facilitating safer and more
eco-friendly building construction through our solutions.
This how we significantly reduce emissions and resource
consumption of our customers.”
Committed to United Nation’s SDG’s
Our sustainability approach and targets are aligned with
the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
prioritized as the most relevant for our operations:
Decent work and economic growth (8)
Industry, innovation and infrastructure (9)
Responsible consumption and production (12)
Climate action (13)
Elematic will further align the company’s sustainability
targets and performance reporting with SDGs.
You can read more
about the ESG principles
on Elematic.com

DOWNLOAD
THE FULL REPORT

https://bit.ly/43PaoPp

CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 5

MEGA
PROJECT
showcases
the potential of
precast in India
Story by story, Asia’s tallest precast towers with
a total planned Built up Area of 3.7 million square
meters are stretching toward the sky in Hyderabad,
Telangana State, India. My Home Construction
chose Elematic as its structural design partner and
equipment supplier for this monumental project.

6 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023

H
yderabad’s two 43-story, 180-meter land-
mark towers will be followed by six more.
Each tower takes up a Built up Area (BUA)
of 241,000 square meters, and the total
eight-tower development is a mind-bog-
gling 1.9 million square meters, meaning that these
skyscrapers are part of the world’s largest commercial
precast development.
The tower and non-tower areas together stretch
over 3.7 million square meters.
The first two towers should be ready by next year.
In 2050, when the whole project – named My Home
– GRAVA – is finished, about 250,000 people will be
working in the IT buildings.
Pioneering precast in India
Unlike most traditional Indian buildings, every
element of this development will be made in a factory
and assembled on-site using precast construction
technology.
Pioneering by nature, this mega project is chal-
lenging and exciting for everyone involved, says Ravi
Sai, Senior president for projects at the firm behind the
development, My Home Construction.
India is among the fastest-growing economies
in the world, and the Hyderabad-based prominent
developer and construction company My Home
Construction has seen phenomenal growth lately.
To keep up the pace and scale up, My Home needed a
building technology that would save time, material,
and manpower and offer sustainability.
“We needed support to find the right technology
to take our development to the next level,” as Sai puts
it. And that is where precast technology and Elematic
come into the picture.
Quality and speed with less labor
Before deciding to use precast technology for the
project, however, My Home investigated other con-
struction methods.
“We looked into steel, but the availability and price
cannot compete with precast concrete buildings.
Precast offers quality and speed with far fewer people,
and as the volume of construction increases, costs
come down. When capacity utilization goes up, the
price goes down. In the end, it was clear that this type
of project has to be done with precast,” says Sai. “After
a lot of homework, I feel that we are on the right path.”
CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 7
 Sai estimates that a project
MEGA PROJECT this size would require up to
7000 workers with traditional
showcases cast-in-situ concrete construc-
tion. Today, about 200 people
the potential of take care of manufacturing all
the needed elements in what has
precast in India become India’s largest precast
plant, and the quality of the
Mr. Sai,
slabs, panels, beams, columns, Senior President
and staircases they produce is
easily controlled. Another 150 people manage the project at
the site.

Elematic – a one-stop shop for design,

FACT BOX equipment, and installation
When it was clear that precast was the answer, My Home
started looking for a large supplier of precast technology
that could design, deliver, install, and service a precast plant
The My Home GRAVA project, bigger than anything ever seen in India.
Hyderabad, India “I have known Elematic since 1993, and I know the
equipment is very advanced and by far in the world’s top 3.
We can trust that they can deliver spare parts and service in
TIMELINE
the future too, so I did not have second thoughts about the
l Plant installed and the project started in 2021
choice,” Sai says.
l First two towers (phase 1 of 4) planned to be
My Home involved Elematic already during the project’s
completed by 2024
planning phase about three years ago.
l The entire project should be completed and “It is one of the biggest achievements in Elematic history
ready for use in 2050 to be part of such a large project from the very beginning,”
says Chander Dutta, managing director of Elematic India.
BUILDINGS “I am proud and happy!”
l A planned total BUA of 3.7 million square meters A precast plant with a 460.000 square meters BUA
(40 million square feet) capacity a year was custom-built to deliver all the precast
l Commercial buildings for IT offices elements needed for this project, and all the molds and
machines were installed by Elematic’s expert project team.
l Eight 43-story, 180-meter towers
“Before we sell a plant or machinery, we always inves-
l Structural design by Elematic in cooperation
tigate the user’s needs and project requirements,” explains
with Sweco Finland - Precast plant
Dutta.
l Tailor-made and delivered by Elematic for
“We did the concept design study, and once we knew the
the project sizes and number of elements required per day, we could
l Annual BUA capacity: 460.000 square meters completely tailor the plant for this project. The plant can
(5 million square feet) provide all the needed precast products with automation
l Manufactures all types of elements needed for
Photo: Shutterstock

the project
- Prestressed hollow core slabs
- Prestressed precast beams
- Precast columns
- Precast shear walls
- Precast stairs
- Can be used for other projects afterward
- Aftersales service and maintenance (AMC)
by Elematic.

8 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023

and flexible production without wastage.”
Mr. Sai, Senior President in charge of this mega project,
is satisfied with the factory and aftersales services that
Elematic provides. The process from shop drawings to
production of precast elements has been streamlined, he
says.
“We’ve had some visitors over from the UK, who were
surprised by the high-quality precast concrete we make in
India,” Sai notes with a smile.
Designing for repeatability
The Elematic Structural Design team in India has been
responsible for the structural design of the entire devel-
opment.
Both Dutta and Sai say that the cooperation between
their teams has been excellent. The design process has,
however, not been free of hiccups.
At the beginning of the GRAVA project, every floor
was designed differently, which meant challenges for the
structural designers, as heights, widths, and loads had to
be calculated and drawn separately for every floor, and
every element had to be specifically designed.
Later with a new team of architects, all floors above
the lobby floor are essentially designed the same way.
This way, My Home reaps the full benefit of the facto-
ry-based building technology, and the process is now back
on track – even ahead of schedule!
Under pressure to show
the potential of precast
Big and bold does not equal easy, and being a forerunner
can be nerve-racking, reveals Sai.
“There is pressure on us to show that precast is a good
solution. I must admit that with a project this size, I’m
scared every day!”
To ensure that nothing goes wrong, My Home uses only
the best consultants, and all equipment, in the precast
factory as well as on-site, is the best of the best, he says.
“This is a showpiece and a grand example of what we
can do with precast in India,” states Sai.
“When successfully finished, no one will be in doubt
that precast is the future!” l
Precast in India
India’s economy is among the fastest growing in the
world, expected by the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) to grow into the next decade at a pace of over 6%
every year.
The 1.4 billion-inhabitant country is experiencing
a boom in the construction sector. Especially South
India, with its IT and tech hubs, is seeing an accelera-
tion in construction.
Cast-in-situ is still the most widely used construc-
tion method, but it is challenged by tight schedules
and a lack of skilled manpower. This has given rise to a
demand for faster and less labor-intense, mechanized
technologies.
The Indian Government has pointed precast out as
an innovative construction technology worth pro-
moting, and many Indian developers understand the
benefits of precast.
“We see a growing
demand for precast tech-
nology and faster and faster
deliveries,” says Managing
Director of Elematic India
Chander Dutta.
Demand for end-to-end
solutions
Despite the interest, the ins
Chander Dutta and outs of the technology
are still relatively unknown
in India, and end-to-end solutions are therefore in high
demand.
Elematic has a strong position in India with a
market share of around 70 percent. The team of
about 150 employees provides a one-stop shop for
precast technology, structural design services, project
installation and commissioning, as well as after-sales
and spare parts services.
As many parts of India have high seismic activity,
the structural engineers at Elematic India are special-
ized in designing earthquake-resistant buildings.
In its next mega project, for the India-based global
pharmaceuticals giant Sun Pharma, Elematic will
provide the technology and project installation for
1000 28-story towers. l
CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 9
 TOP-NOTCH PRE
Lowest operational costs | Best

Wall lines Floor lines Molds & Table

Plant control Services Special molds

10 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023

CAST TECHNOLOGY
end products | Lifetime commitment Check our offering
in detail at

es Shuttering

s DESIGN PRODUCTION CONSTRUCTION

CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 11

“The best
molding system
in the market”
Elematic FaMe shuttering system boosts FTO-Fertigteilwerk
Obermain's operations by 30 per cent.

F
ounded in 2001, FTO-Fertigteilwerk Obermain “FTO-Fertigteilwerk Obermain GmbH has been
GmbH specializes in precast prestressed using Elematic equipment since the foundation of
concrete, precast reinforced concrete, assembly the company, with the partnership dating back to the
services, crane operation, and reinforcement predecessor of FTO, to 1993.”
bending. Located in Northern Bavaria, FTO has found In 2016, FTO took into use Elematic FaMe shuttering
a niche between large-scale production and customi- system, a modular solution designed for preparing
zation of concrete elements. FTO works as an integral precast concrete molds for walls, beams and columns.
partner to construction companies without their own Mr. Steinfelder describes work process with the
precast plant, but which cater to purchase orders system straightforward and efficient. Especially the
requiring the use of precast elements. jaw-type grasping magnets afford FTO reliable and
“In Germany, there is some difficulty in finding prop- effortless operation.
erly educated workers for demanding projects. Prefab-
ricated concrete elements are an easier way to build
and therefore there is a lot of potential in the precast
solutions,” Günter Steinfelder, Company Manager of
FTO says. Having been in the precast concrete business
for decades, he expects the prefabrication of concrete
to further gain ground in Germany.
Already, there is a precast market in the country
that is both booming and largely consolidated.
“The biggest players in German market have fully
automated production lines and can produce large
amounts of concrete building materials. This is not
our niche. When it's about special elements, or wall
elements with special dimensions, or structures with
complicated forms, customers turn to us. This is what
FTO does.”

Reliable and durable

According to Steinfelder, specialization requires
specific technological know-how as well as reliable
partnerships.

12 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023

 “The magnets are thoroughly isolated and
protected, so there is very little staining and
contamination. They are easy to keep clean,”
Steinfelder says.
Elematic FaMe shuttering system combines
lightness to robustness.
“Our processes put a lot of pressure both on
the molds and equipment. Competitor's solutions
are not as durable as Elematic's. The machine
is also very light and stabile, and the handling
is smooth and perfectly fits our needs. The new
system is about 30 per cent more efficient.”
“I am convinced that this is the best molding
system in the market. We are in the process of
acquiring more Elematic magnets.”
In addition to the cost-effective operation
enabled by Elematic systems, Mr. Steinfelder
also highlights Elematic's service attitude and
quick responsiveness.
“Our contact at Elematic, Mr Paul Görner, is
always very quick to put our suggestions and
ideas into practice, and we are quite pleased for
that as well.”
“FTO is expecting the cooperation with
Elematic to be further expanded”, and by the Way
since 2020 FTO-Fertigteilwerk Obermain GmbH
becomes part of the PEKABEX-Group one of
Polands leading Precast-Concrete-Producer with
5 Precast-Factories in Poland, Mr. Steinfelder
concludes. l

CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 13

PEOPLE IN PRECAST
Ice hockey
taught
Patrik Lindh
to be a leader
Patrik Lindh is after more than 30 years in the precast industry
still fascinated by utilizing industrial manufacturing in construction.
The teamwork and leadership skills he learned as an ice hockey player
serve him daily in his position as industrial director at Consolis.
Who are you and what do you do?
I'm the Industrial Director of Consolis. Consolis is
present in 17 countries and has around 50 factories
operating mainly in Northern Europe, but also in Asia,
Africa, and the Middle East. I have three grown-up kids
and a wife. I live in Stockholm, but I’m travelling maybe
80% of my work time.
Please tell us about your career in precast.
I started in Skanska in the construction business in
1989, and in 1990 I started in the precast division on
their assembly site. After 15 years in Skanska, I moved
shortly back to the construction business and then I
went back to the precast business as executive general
manager for Alrashid-Abetong, one of the big players
in the precast industry in Saudi Arabia. I came back to a
local construction company as their Managing Director
in Sweden in 2012, and then I joined Consolis in 2016.
During my career, I have had almost all the positions
you can have in precast. From supervisor to general
14 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023
manager, and since 2016 I’ve had a functional role as
industrial director where I really get to spend my time
in manufacturing, where my passion lies.
Which are the most memorable building
projects you have worked with?
I’m involved in a lot of residential, office and industrial
buildings every year. If I should pinpoint one project
that stands out, it would be the 10,000-villa project
that we made in the Middle East. A project like this –
with its huge repetition – is suitable for our industry.
I’ve also enjoyed the big shopping malls and industrial
buildings in the Nordic countries where you have very
long spans, so you get the full benefit of the precast
and prestress technology that is also key for precast to
reduce the reinforcement.
My favorite projects are those, where we get the
most benefit out of what precast has to offer to meet
customer demand.
What are the most remarkable developments
that you have seen in the precast business during
your long career?
I started when precast was still a product with very high
repetition and that is one of the benefits of going the
industrial way. Now, however, we often make one house
and go on to the next project.
Lately, we have moved more and more towards
automation. That is something I’d like to thank the
machine suppliers, like Elematic, for. I think in general;
the construction business and the precast business are
quite underdeveloped when it comes to automation.
The machine suppliers are a little bit ahead of us,
which is probably good.
How does your ice hockey background
show in your work?
I used to be a semi-professional ice hockey player for
Huddinge Hockey in Sweden’s second-best league. I still
sometimes play with an old boys’ team. My ice hockey
career has made me the leader I am today. I can thank
ice hockey for making me a team builder. It is hard work.
You need to practice, you need a clear goal, and you
play to win. l

How do you see the future of precast?

In recent years, there has been a lot of discussion
about 3D printing. In my eyes, a hollow core slab
is a 3D printed product, so we have been 3D
printing since the 1960s!
The extruder that we buy from
Elematic is for me really a 3D printer,
where you put concrete in, and a ready
product comes out.
I’m a strong believer in precast.
It’s the future. With slim and pre-
stressed products, our environ-
mental footprint is much smaller
compared to cast-in-situ.
The main challenge for the
construction business, and the
precast industry also, is that
our most important material
is concrete. We are working a
lot with different solutions to
reach CO2 neutral products.

What do you like the most

about your work?
I'm a guy that – through all the
different positions that I have
been in – has always burned for
the manufacturing side. That is
what I really like to work on and
improve. It’s like a never-ending
story: In production, there is always
potential to develop your processes,
and the impact is very visible.
Another interesting part of my job is all
the people from different cultures that I get
to meet. I enjoy working with the skilled people
that we have inside the group and in different
teams.

CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 15

ASK ELEMATIC
How to choose the best
wall connection
A Concrete Issues reader requested
to learn more about wall
connections in precast buildings.
We asked Assistant Vice President
for Design Nishant Sharma to
introduce us to the topic.
T
he first thing that Sharma and his structural
engineer colleagues in the Elematic Design
Services team consider when designing connec-
tions for precast buildings, is how different load
types will affect the structure.
Whether we are talking about horizontal or vertical
connections, they will be affected by the axial load,
moment, and shear force. Crack limitation and changing
temperatures are also part of the equation.
“We look at how these loads are expected to impact
the structure and that dictates the requirements of the
connections,” Sharma explains.
Dry or wet joint
When talking about how to connect elements, we distin-
guish between dry and wet joints.
Wet jointing means connecting elements with wet
concrete or grout. This method is usually used for precast
projects in seismic areas, Sharma says.
“An example of a wet joint is a wall-to-wall horizontal
connection where the rebars are going from the lower
precast element into a coupler in the upper precast
element. When the wall is lowered down by the crane, the
rebar automatically inserts inside the coupler, and then
the grouting process is done at the site.”
A dry joint means that two wall panels are fastened
to each other, typically with steel plates bolted or welded
at the site. As the name suggests, it doesn’t require any
concreting at the site. Concrete has good fire resistance,
but steel tends to melt quickly, so dry connections will
require suitable fireproofing treatments.
“Whatever type of joint we decide to use for a project,
each joint will be experiencing all the categories of forces,
and the engineer has to ensure that the joint can with-
stand them.”
16 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023
Crucial horizontal connections
Wall panels are connected in two directions: Horizontally con-
necting precast panels placed on top of each other, typically
different stories in a building. They are designed to carry the
load traveling from the top down the wall elements resting on
top of each other.
Vertical connections on the other hand connect the
elements on the side edges.
They are both important, but structural engineers pay
particular attention to the horizontal joints.
“If a horizontal joint fails, the element above will naturally
collapse, which will lead to the collapse of the element above,
and so on. Progressively, the entire structure will collapse,”
Sharma says.
He compares the importance of horizontal joints to any
vertical element in a structure, such as columns and walls.
Horizontal elements, such as beams and floors are naturally
important too, but they can typically be remedied locally in
case of failure.
High-rise horizontal wet connection
High-rise structures in mid to high-seismic zone call for
strong connections. Due to high compression induced at the
ends of the wall, double layers of dowels (projected bars) are
required to continue from the bottom wall to the top wall.
The wet on-site concreting is not only done inside the
wall-to-wall joint but also continues across mesh reinforce-
ment across the entire floor, forming the diaphragm. All the
different precast elements – walls, columns, beams, and
slabs – have projections of rebar bent into the diaphragm
before the topping is cast.
The diaphragm acts as a tying element, ensuring that all
the precast elements of that floor will act as a single unit
when exposed to lateral forces generated by for example an
earthquake or wind. Structural engineers call this emulative
behavior, as it emulates the behavior of an equivalent cast-
in-situ structure.
Low-rise horizontal wet connection
As the gravity load is less, the load transfer does not
require two layers of dowel bars projected from the below
wall to the one above. With one layer of middle dowels,
hollow core slabs can rest on the top surface of the wall
and hence, it does not need any ledge.
Seismic T junction wet connection
The same philosophy is utilized for T junctions.
An additional stirrup goes around all the vertical columns,
achieving emulative behavior as well.

Non-seismic vertical
wet connection
In a situation where the only
critical force transfer is the
shear force, we don’t want
moment to be transferred
Strong and practical from one wall to the other.
vertical connections Here, emulative behavior is not
Generally speaking, vertical joints come in two versions: required. No extra on-site activ-
A seismic- and wind-resistant joint that emulates the ity of shuttering and concreting
behavior of a single wall cast on-site and a joint connecting is necessary. Instead, wire loop
two separate walls. connections are used: a system
Sharma and the rest of the Elematic Design Team are utilizing overlapping wire loops,
based in India, a country with high seismic activity. While a single toggle bar, and grout.
keeping the risk of earthquakes in mind, Sharma also
reminds us that constructability is a main concern.
“We have to bear in mind the sequence of construction FACT BOX
to ensure that the vertical joint in such type of joint where
the emulative behavior is trying to be achieved, should not Jointing materials
be challenging by the site team to be addressed.” - Concrete
- Coupler
Seismic vertical wet connection - Grout
This vertical connection aims to make the two walls behave - Reinforcement
as if they were cast as a single wall. Inverted U bars are - Wire loop boxes
coming out of either end of the wall and there are stirrups - Structural steel (for dry connections)
inside.
This is easy to erect: You have the side double bars, and
then you put shuttering on each side and pour concrete
from the top (image is plan view). FACT BOX
Elematic Design Services
The team consists of specialists in structural design of
precast buildings.
They provide developers, construction companies,
and precast manufacturers with technical consultancy
and support from building concept design to detailed
engineering and execution.

CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 17

 From crisis to
recovery
Precast construction brings speed and efficiency to reconstruction
areas where there is a high demand for new housing and infrastructure.
Elematic built the world´s largest precast factory in Bismayah, Iraq.

Petteri Laitinen

W
hen reconstruction begins post-crisis,
there's an immense demand for swift
housing construction.  
“Traditional construction methods
need a lot of labor and using too many resources
can also slow down the construction process. This
is one of the main reasons why precast construction
is highlighted whenever major disruptions occur,"
says Petteri Laitinen, VP of Projects and Services at
Elematic.  
The Bismayah New City Program (BNCP) stands as
a prime example of large-scale precast deployment. Petteri Laitinen

18 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023


BNCP, an Iraqi Reconstruction Commission project
located southeast of Baghdad, boasts 100,000 resi-
dential units, accommodating up to 600,000 people.
Elematic played a crucial role in Bismayah by building
the world's largest precast factory, significantly
reducing the project's building time.  “In the future, the same properly chosen production
“Speedy delivery was crucial due to the project's
scale and tight schedule. Elematic met this demand
using a flexible production model, temporarily
setting up production units in Finland,” Laitinen says.  technology can also be used to produce impressive and
“Nowadays, we can also utilize our production
facilities in India and China in such cases.”  centers, theaters, and so on.” l
Partnership with long experience in the region 
Sweco, an engineering and architecture consultancy, is a
long-time partner with Elematic. Their combined experience
in the region enabled them to find a sustainable, high-qual-
ity, and cost-effective solution for rebuilding Bismayah.  
“We have a decades-long experience from the region of
Iraq, so we knew quite well which solutions work in the area
and which do not,” says Lasse Rajala, Business Area Director
at Sweco Finland Ltd. 
Rajala emphasizes that construction is inherently local,
necessitating a thorough consideration of local conditions
and the derivation of optimal solutions accordingly.  
“In Iraq, for example, one of the key factors affecting
the implementation method and solutions in the Bismayah
project was the extremely hot climate during the summer
season.” 
The thightly run Bismayah project showcased Elematic's
capabilities globally. Looking ahead, Rajala believes Finnish
precast expertise has great potential for more significant
exports. He sees Ukraine as a promising market, especially
after presenting Swecó s experiences at the ReBuild Ukraine
conference.  
"We made a lot of new connections at the conference.
Background work for reconstruction is already underway
and progressing well, although it is still relatively invisible
at this point. Ukraine is a familiar area for both of us, and
we are also happy to help there in finding best practices for
high-quality and sustainable reconstruction", Rajala says. 
Similarly, Laitinen sees the high quality of precast tech-
nology as an asset in the long run, even if the customerś
initial need is just to quickly provide housing.  
plant can be used to produce elements for other buildings.
The production of a precast concrete plant is not limited
to just inexpensive and simple elements, but the same
architecturally demanding buildings such as shopping
CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 19
Gamechangers
in sustainable
construction
The built environment creates approximately 40% of CO2 emissions globally,
of which 27% comes from building operations and 6% from the building
construction industry, according to Architecture 2030. This also means that
the construction industry has big opportunities in cutting down emissions,
and precast can have a huge impact.

T
he need for housing, infrastructure, and coal-fired kilns in cement clinker, or using more sustain-
construction is growing, while carbon emissions able, recyclable aggregates. Lower carbon blends like
need to be cut significantly according to sus- portland-limestone cement (PLC), or ternary blended
tainability targets. To make the change, innova- cements in which by-products from other processes are
tions, new technologies, and sustainable raw materials used, already exist. Yet the transition is slow.    
are needed. Precast is one existing technology that can
contribute to making a difference. The CO2 footprint of a “For steel and cement, the volume is huge, and clean,
precast building can be even 25% smaller than that of a long-lasting replacement material should be available
concrete building created with traditional methods.     all over the world. Since everyone is looking for these
alternatives, demand for those kinds of materials is
“There are big opportunities in the construction higher than availability is. However, based on current
industry to reduce emissions,” states Mats Jungar, CEO standards, I think you can replace cement up to 20%.
at Elematic. “And precast technology can significantly That could be a good start,” Jungar says. l
help. For example, with precast solutions, it could be
possible to reduce the emission based on cement and
steel compared to cast-in-situ. In precast, cement
use is cut by one-third per m3 of concrete because
of the effective compaction process in the factory
and, because steel for precast is prestressed,
about 10-15kg less steel per m2 of the floor slab
is needed.”  The challenge is that cost is still the
main driver. Adopting new technology costs,
and few companies are willing to change
technology without compensation.  

Demand for cement replacements and

lower-carbon steel   In precast manufactur-
ing and building, logistics and raw materials
such as cement and steel have a big effect
on CO2 emission output. Thus, innovations
to replace cement and alternatives for
more CO2-free steel are sought. Some
products and technologies are already
on the market, for example not using

20 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023

 The carbon footprint of the 14-
storey apartment building is
Building –17% largest in model when all floors

methods matter   1200 and walls are Cast-in Situ.

–11% Smallest carbon footprint is
produced when walls are precast
1000
and floor slabs are made with
The carbon footprint of the construction hollow core slabs. All calculations
800
made the assumption of the same
product can be calculated only when the
concrete and rebar:  
footprint of the production process is 600
Concrete is calculated with
known. The process entails emission effects C30/37 (4400/5400 PSI),
of the energy and raw materials used, and 400 10% recycled binders in cement
the footprint of manufactured precast (300 kg/m3/ 18.72 lbs/ft3).  
200 Rebar used in calculation
elements.   
is A615, with a density of
There's a growing international demand 0 7850.0 kg/m3
for LEED certification as a framework Cast-in-Situ Precast-half Precast-
slab Hollow core
to help buildings and spaces meet high
sustainability standards. According to the
US Green Building Council’s annual  list of
–17%
top 10 countries for LEED certification, 5 are 1200
–11%
from developing countries, with China on 1000 Floor slabs, ceilings,
roofing decks, beams
top for the second year, followed by India 800 and roof
(2nd), Brazil (4th), Mexico (7th), and Philip- Internal walls and non-
600
pines making its first appearance in the bearing structures

Top 10 list, representing the growing inter- 400

External walls
ests for sustainable buildings in Southeast 200 and facade
Asia. One factor in meeting the standards is
0
sustainable building methods.  Cast-in-Situ Precast-half slab Precast-Hollow core
In the Elematic carbon footprint calcu-
lation conducted with Sweco, the results When looking at the difference in carbon footprint between the three different
options, the biggest factor making the footprint smaller is the amount of concrete
show the difference between cast-in-situ
in the building frame. Exterior walls, internal walls (both load-bearing and non-
and precast building in 14-storey apartment load-bearing), subfloors, stairs and balcony structures were taken into account in
building in China as an example. l the calculation as prefabricated products.

Research: Construction methodologies and modularity

are the determinants of sustainability onsite 
Recent research by Wong & Loo: Sustainability impli-
cations of using precast concrete in construction: An
in-depth project-level analysis spanning two decades
analyzed 38 construction projects, their construction
methodologies, and sustainability performance in
Hong Kong from 1998 to 2022. The research examined
whether the level of modularity increased in 20 years,
and if modularity has had an impact on social, environ-
mental, and economic sustainability. The research data
was collected from construction companies’ projects.
The information used for comparison covered the basic
project details such as project number and gross floor
area and the number of storeys, and facts such as total
concrete volume, total prefabrication volume, total cast-
in-situ volume, waste volume, total man days, accident
rate, project cost, and carbon emissions were used in
research evaluation.
The research concluded that construction meth-
odologies and modularity are the determinants of
sustainability on site, and that there were positive
correlations between the percentage of prefabrication
applied onsite and the sustainability attributes. In the
research, prefabricated materials, including precast
concrete, have shown a significant reduction in con-
struction waste and operational costs. By replacing
cast-in-situ concrete with precast, CO2 emissions
decrease, and construction wastage is minimized.
Improved safety and better building quality are also
among the list of prefabricated construction benefits.
Less used material and less time on site also mean
savings in costs.
The Composite Sustainability Index (CSI), which
combines environmental, social, and economic sustain-
ability indices, reflects the positive correlation between
construction modularity and sustainability. The higher
the percentage of prefabrication, the better the overall
CSI. There's positive coefficiency between construction
modularity and overall sustainability. l

Source: Wong & Loo, 2022. Sustainability implications of using precast concrete in construction:
An in-depth project-level analysis spanning two decades. Journal of cleaner production.

CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 21

 Wastewater device
is ready
for the market
After thorough testing at Lujabetoni’s plant, Elematic is ready to ship
automatic wastewater recycling devices to precasters around the
world. The two inventors are proud, excited – and a little anxious.
A
new Finnish invention, a small-sized, fully
automatic wastewater recycling device for
precast plants, has for almost two years been
tested at Lujabetaoni’s precast and ready-mix
factory Hämeenlinna, Finland.
Elematic has included the innovation in its offering,
and is now, after the successful testing period, ready to
deliver the device.
Precasters by day,
inventors by night
More than seven years ago, Jussi Alatalo
and Teppo Kasanko set out to solve the
problems they experienced with excess
or poorly filtered wastewater at precast
concrete factories.
They would meet after normal work
hours to develop the innovation. “And
then we’d both get caught up by an eager
Jussi Alatalo enthusiasm and suddenly it would be
three o’clock, and we’d have three hours of
sleep left before the next workday began,”
Kasanko remembers.
The fruit of their side hustle was a
compact, automatic wastewater recycling
device with a very fine filter that separates
solids and water for recycling.
When they started innovating, they
were both working at Lujabetoni. Shortly
after, Alatalo started his own firm, Tekivai.
“The idea was that we got to test our
Teppo Kasanko
prototype at the plant for a while to see if
the process worked as we hoped it would,
but plans changed underway, as Lujabetoni wanted to
keep the device,” Kasanko says.
He and Alatalo took care of the machine for the first
year, until Elematic took over. Today, Kasanko is a project
manager at Lujabetoni, while Alatalo runs his precast
22 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023
production equipment maintenance firm, Tekivai, and
they function as consultants whenever needed.
Cleaner water and less work
Lujabetoni’s factory in Hämeenlinna consists of three
ready-mix batching plants and three production lines
for precast frame elements and ducts. It produces
50–60,000m3 of concrete a year and all wastewater runs
through a large precipitation system.
Placing the compact wastewater recycling device
before the last water basin has resulted in trouble-free
wastewater recycling and freed up a big amount of man
hours and thus costs. No more clogged water lines and
excessive man-hours spent on digging solids out with an
excavator.
Lujabetoni’s Production Manager Joonas Salmela and
Service Manager Jouni Heikkurinen have followed how
the wastewater device has worked in practice for nearly
two years.
“Thanks to the device, we are sure to avoid clogs. We
know that the process water that comes out of it is even
cleaner than before,” Salmela says.
With a width of only 600mm and about two meters in
height and length, the device is very compact. This makes
it easy to integrate into an existing factory.
“We just had to install the electricity. After that it was
basically plug-and-play,” says Heikkurinen.
Well-functioning prototype
The testing phase has gone well without any major
problems, report Salmela and Heikkurinen, who have
been happy with the close cooperation with Elematic.
The goal has been to improve the operational reli-
ability of the final product, so the testing process has
mainly been about observing how well different parts
of the device worked. It turned out, for example, that
stronger pumps were needed, and the filter types were
also changed to optimize the process. This way, Elematic
FACT BOX
New wastewater
recycling device
l Compact: 600mm wide and about
two meters in height and length.
l Can purify 24m3 of water per day depending
on how dirty it is.
l Very fine filter – down to less than 10ppm solid
content, also fibers and EPS.
l The filter is automatically cleaned and
can operate for about a week before it
needs to be changed.
l The water is pumped into the machine where
solids and water are separated before a
scraper conveyer removes the solids settled
at the bottom. The result is purified water
and relatively dry sludge that can be
transported for recycling with a regular truck.
could be sure to choose the right components for the
product before it hit the market.
“Some components have been changed, but we
haven’t observed any fundamental problems with the
technology. It works well,” says Salmela.
Heikkurinen adds that the maintenance requirements
of the device have also been scrutinized. He praises it for
being robust and simple to service.
“We’ve concluded that changing the filter and check-
ing on the device once a week is sufficient. The rest of the
time it takes care of its task reliably and automatically.”
After nearly two years of testing, the people at
Lujabetoni would recommend the device to precast and
ready-mix producers and any type of factory, where
water is used for washing or cleaning, for example.
“Especially if you don’t have a lot of space, this system
is perfect,” Salmela says. “This type of innovation is really
needed as environmental requirements get stricter. As
the water is cleaned better, water recycling is easier.”
Proud and anxious inventors
The inventors have happily followed the testing
process too.
“The biggest surprise for us has been how well a
prototype, only intended for short-time testing, has
worked in real operations at a plant for nearly two years
now,” Alatalo notes.
More than seven years after the first idea was born,
the inventors are proud and excited about the idea that
their “baby” is finally ready to go out into the world and
make life easier at plants around the world.
“I’ve proudly shown Elematic’s product images to my
family and friends,” says Kasanko. Alatalo adds that he is
excited – and a little bit anxious – about how the market
will welcome the device. They both agree that Elematic
has done an excellent product development job.
“Seven years ago, we didn’t imagine anything like this.
We only focused on solving one problem after the other.
We didn’t really look at the big picture,” says Kasanko.
”It has been fantastic to realize that the machine
that we designed and built works exactly as we intended
it to.” l
CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 23
Machine safety
risk assessment
is an iterative process
Enabling sustainable and safe building construction is the core
of our business. Machine safety is an essential part of it.
Let’s look at what improvements have been made recently.
M
achine safety improvement and
development is a continuous
project. Rosa Kritz, Machinery
Safety Specialist & Project Man-
ager, R&D, at Elematic, says that
identifying and communicating about residual
risks has been one of the focus areas recently.
“In risk assessment and risk mitigation the
first thing is to eliminate the risk by inherent safe
design measures. If the risk can’t be minimized
enough with those measures, the next step is
to reduce risks by safeguarding measures, for
instance adding safety equipment such as
safety radar sensors on the moving
machine,” Kritz explains. “Sensors
recognize a human being and
the machine stops. In theory,
despite the safety solutions,
a tiny risk remains caused by
human error, neglect or fail-
ure. These types of risks we
can’t eliminate but we can
warn about them with clear,
improved manuals, safety
instructions, safety trainings
for personnel and adding
warning labels on the machines.”
24 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023
The risk assessment is a long process, and they are
done regularly.
“Risk assessment is done every time anything
changes in the machine. It is an iterative process which
is done in the beginning of a design process and during
the design, and whenever there are updates to the
machine.”
More visible improvements are that the safety
buffers have been changed to safety radars. The latest
technology in radars is contactless sensors which
tolerate well steam and dirt of the precast factory
environment. “We make the risk assessment and,
if risks can’t be eliminated or reduced with
inherently safe design measures, or the
access to the operating area can’t be
prevented with other solutions such
as safety fences, one option is to
add safety radars to monitor the
area.” Rosa Kritz adds that new
safety radars are not as sen-
sitive to damage as mechanic
buffers, and they require less
maintenance than buffers. It
is also possible to update the
old buffers to new radars. LED
warning lights are lit when the
machine is moving.
 Modifier E9
Ultrasonic sensors Doors are linked
Safety radars on Safety edge sensors pause operation to operation:
Warning lights
both ends stop on the container end when there’s an if you open a door to
the machine if stop the movement flash when reach some machine
obstacle and prevent
the machine is parts for instance
they detect human if there’s any contact collision with the
beings. on the edges. moving. for operation stops
machine moving in
before the door
the front.
opens.

“The Modifier also has the possibility to work with the
Extruder and therefore the Modifier has speed control,
a warning sound and safety edge sensors. If the sen-
sors detect something that is about to be compressed,
they stop the movement. This is because the extruder
and modifier run sequentially. They work automatically
in cooperation, and the modifier inserts the excavated
concrete back into the extruder. The Modifier and
Extruder together have an automatic recycling function
and it has a distance control of the machines so that
they do not collide with each other.”
Concrete transportation
“The shuttle transports concrete and moves auto-
matically. It must move high enough that a person
can’t reach to touch it. It is prohibited to stay in the
area under the shuttle and concrete transportation
tracks. Their places of maintenance and washing must
be protected and there needs to be sufficient safety
measures to prevent the shuttle movement during
maintenance.”
Wall lines & shuttering robot
“Both wall and hollow core lines have automatic
machines, but wall lines have more automated
operating areas which can be protected with
fences. This is rarely possible in hollow core
production. Also, in wall lines there may be both
manual and automatic machines and it is import-
ant to consider the process as a whole in safety
matters and risks.
For example, the automatic shuttering robot
is operating on isolated, fenced area and access
to the area is denied when the robot is running.
Casting table is moved through a hole in the fence
and when the operator secures the area as empty,
the safety door is locked and the light curtains in
the fence holes are activated.” l

CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 25

Hollow core calculation
software SAVES MAN-
HOURS AND MATERIAL
After digitalizing its hollow core
slab calculation tasks with Elematic
EliSLAB software, Serbian precast
manufacturer Put Inženjering has
saved on raw material and labor.
Strand optimization saved so much
steel that the software paid itself
back in a couple of months.
The structural engineers at Put Inženjering were fed up
with joggling Excel sheets and different programs for
hollow core reinforcement calculations.
“We used to do different calculations by hand and
Excel and with special software for BIM, so we had a
mixture of software and had to go through them all to
get one result. It was very time-consuming, and the risk
of human error was always present, so everything had to
be double-checked,” explains Structural Engineer Nenad
Golubović from Put Inženjering.
When Golubović and his colleagues at Put came across
Elematic EliSLAB they were blown away, he says.
Elematic EliSLAB 2.0
A smart, dedicated software tool for
reinforcement calculation in hollow core
and solid slab design. You simply feed
in your requirements, and the software
takes care of the entire estimation
work, including load, stress, and strand
calculations.
26 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023
Quick all-round calculations
After digitalizing the hollow core calculations, the time
used for the task has drastically dropped at Put.
When the precaster recently delivered 50,000 square
meters of hollow core slabs to the Belgrade Waterfront,
the entire undertaking – including fire resistance and
topping calculations – was finished in one day.
Done manually, a project this size would have taken
about seven days!
"It was quickly set it up, and after an
hour-long online presentation, we
were ready to start optimizing."
- NENAD GOLUBOVIĆ, STRUCTURAL ENGINEER FROM PUT INŽENJERING
Reliable and user-friendly
User-friendliness has been a top priority during the
development of EliSLAB.
“We have added for example strand details and cross
sections for different manufacturers to the system, so it is
there as a default from day one,” says Juha Kinnunen. He is
the managing director of the precast-specialized software
development firm CADeON which has created the tool in
cooperation with Elematic.
This priority has not gone unnoticed at Put where the
structural engineers are impressed with the interface and
how easy it is to add national annexes to the Eurocode or
cross sections of any precast technology provider.
Precise estimations save steel
Even though Elematic offers a 30-day free trial, it only took
Put Inženjering a day or so to decide that EliSLAB was an
investment worth making.
“It was quickly set it up, and after an hour-long online
presentation, we were ready to start optimizing. You can
Photo: Put inženjering
make a lot of combinations to see what solution is best for
the project in question. For us, it is important to be able to
optimize sizes and materials quickly,” says Golubović.
Branch Director Denis Milenovic highlights the pre-
cision of the software. “It considers many things that we
don’t consider when we calculate manually,” he says.
“Better material savings is the biggest benefit, another
benefit is that the behavior of the hollow core slabs is
better, with less deflection. The slabs are optimized for
each use.”
Scan the code to go
to the free trial!
CADeON Managing director
Juha Kinnunen
Since introducing EliSLAB, Put Inženjering has saved
20 percent on prestressing steel, without compromising
the buildings’ safety or quality. This is good for the
environment as well as the wallet.
“Better strand optimization is a huge benefit. We paid
off the software in a couple of months!” l
Test EliSLAB for free
“Trials are always helpful, so you won’t purchase
software that doesn’t bring you value,” says Jarkko
Salmensivu, product manager for software and
automation at Elematic.
“If you miss a software tool after using it for a few
weeks, then it’s time to purchase.”
CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 27
Automatic Modifier
in your production
3 things to consider in the process
Are you planning to automate part of your precast production, but not sure where
to start? Jarkko Salmensivu shares three basic tips what to think through if you are
planning to take an automatic Modifier into use in your production.

Factory processes
1 The modifier can dig, plot and drill water holes on
slabs. When you are planning to take the automatic
machine into use, go through the types of products you
produce and what kind of tasks and processes are cur-
rently done manually. Sometimes the elements can be
full of details so it may take a lot of time for the machine
to accomplish these. In these cases, it may be a better
solution to, for example, drill the water holes manually
and use the machine in full automation for the standard
elements. Automating and standardizing frequent and
repetitive processes is where you get the best benefit.
Once you know what you need from automation, you
need to think about how it will change the workflow in
your plant. At first, it will require thorough planning as
any other new way of working.
IT systems
2 Machines are controlled with IT systems, so the
information management process and data flow are
crucial for fluent automation. It starts with
product design. Whether you use your
own plans, or the plans come from an
external design agency, the designs
should be smoothly transferred to
the factory automation system.
You need to ensure that the agency uses design tools from
which the data can be extracted and thus used in automatic
production, e.g., Tekla Structures.
Production planning
3 The MES (manufacturing execution system) controls
automation and production. The system makes the
planning of how the slabs are placed on the bed. Just as
essential information as the length of the slab and the
location of the openings is where the slab is located on the
bed. Based on the bed plan the Modifier knows how to dig
the right slab and the right holes. It sounds simple, and
it is, once it's in shape, but in the beginning, you must be
thorough. The bed plan needs to have information about
the slab properties and locations on the bed, it has to be
just right.
The machine can meet your requirements or not, it
depends on how well it is controlled. The machine does
not automatically do the right thing, it cannot know what is
right for your factory. That is why you should be thorough in
planning and use time for preparing the backend IT system.
patient in the beginning and thorough in planning. When
you have successfully commissioned the Modifier to do the
right thing, it will do the right thing for the next 10 years.
If you plan to grow and your target is to increase
production efficiency, automation is your solution. l

28 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023

With digitalized quality
control everyone is
on the same page
Santalan Betoni has digitalized their wall
production quality control. This helps
identify problems before the panels are
transported to the construction site, saving
time and money, and reducing stress.
Niklas Jansson is responsible for quality at Finnish
precast manufacturer Santalan Betoni. For two years, he
has used the Quality module of the Elematic Plant Control
software suite daily to make sure that the wall elements
are in order before they leave the stockyard.
“When all data was found on papers here and there,
information easily disappeared or was forgotten. Now, the
system shows whether a product is ready for dispatch.
This way only ready elements of the correct quality make
their way to the construction site,” Jansson says.
Scan and fill in the blank
Quality control is conducted by Jansson or his colleague.
Equipped with a tablet or a smartphone, they scan the
barcode on each panel and fill in the information.
“The software is very user-friendly, and training new
staff members is no big deal. Quality control has become
easier than it used to be,” Jansson says.
Tolerances are included in the system, so Jansson and
his colleagues just have to pick the relevant ones for the
product category in question. They also add measurement
criteria to the system, so it is clear when an element can be
approved and when it must be rejected.
“When the element does not meet the set criteria, the
system immediately alerts me,” explains Jansson.
The building information modelling (BIM) software
Tekla Structures is integrated into Plant Control. So, if
Jansson is still in doubt about anything, the drawing is only
a click away.
When the check is done, he can accept or reject the
panel directly in the system. He can also take photos and
add them to the system. “It is often easier to understand
an image than words,” Jansson notes.
When an element has been repaired, it is ticked off in
the system, and if it has not been repaired, Plant Control
will send a reminder.
“It is easy when all information is in one place. It mini-
mizes stress when you don’t have to remember everything.
It also makes it easier to share the work, as everyone is
always on the same page,” says Jansson.
Noticing errors on time saves money
Santalan Betoni is still phasing in Plant Control. However,
the benefits of going totally digital are already clear to the
team.
“People from anywhere in the organization – from any
plant – can get their hands on the data from anywhere and
see what should be repaired. This is difficult if the data can
only be found in some physical file on a shelf somewhere,”
says Jansson.
He adds that the greatest benefit is that errors are
noticed on time. “I find it extremely important that flawed
panels don’t make it to the construction site. It saves
money and hassle.”
Plant Control enables proactivity
To support fact-based decision-making, the management
at Santalan Betoni gets a monthly report – in the form of
a list in PDF format – revealing the biggest problems and
what can be done to avoid them in the future. This makes it
possible to be proactive in reducing errors.
“We monitor how many mistakes are made and where.
Complaints are also recorded in the system, so we can
track what has been done and keep an eye on the costs of
quality-related issues,” says CEO Mikko Lahti.
Precast concrete pro-
duction is a business with a
lot of variables. Phones are
constantly ringing, orders
are rearranged, updated,
or removed, and people in
different locations should all
be on board with these con-
stant changes. Plant Control
gathers all this information
and keeps it in order and
accessible to everyone.
“It gives us controlled
chaos instead of uncon-
trolled chaos,” as Lahti puts
it.
“Plant Control is an Mikko Lahti, CEO
important tool from produc-
tion planning till the elements leave for the site. Everything
in between is organized in the system. This means that we
know what has been done and what not, and when what
should be ready, instead of checking a piece of paper in
a folder somewhere,” Lahti says, concluding that Plant
Control “saves us time, money, and worries.” l
CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 29
How to produce
a brick wall appearance
on precast concrete?
Looks like brick façade, stands Our Product Director in wall
like precast concrete? Yes, that is technologies, Toni Koitmaa,
possible with special manufacturing reviews the process step-by-
process, combining precast and step.
traditional masonry.

1. Furnish the mold table with plywood 2. Fix the plastic raster on the table
Cover the standard mold tabletop surface with plywood. Fix the plastic strips on the plywood with staples. You can
This is to make the plastic raster fixing easy. measure the places for the strips manually or according to
the laser projection.

30 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023

3. Lay the cloth and the bricks on the table
Place the protection cloth on the table to protect the table
against the concrete. The cloth also prevents the concrete
from leaking onto the brick surface. Then place the bricks
manually on top of the cloth, according to the plastic
raster.
4. Protect the brick seam (optional)
This instruction applies if you want the wall to look like
real masonry, which means it will be seamed later at the
construction state. You can protect the bricks by spreading
the fine sand between the seams, to prevent the concrete
from reaching the bottom.
CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 31
 5. Water the bricks
It is important to water the bricks: prevent them from
absorbing water from the concrete.

6. Add reinforcement
Place the reinforcement on the mold. The reinforcement is
done in the same way as for the traditional wall element.

7. Concrete and finish

Finally pour the concrete into the mold and finish the
surface of the element. Compacting the concrete with
vibrators on the mold table is not recommended, because
the bricks could move, and the concrete would leak more
easily onto the brick surface. It is recommended to use
self-compacting concrete or poke vibrator with regular
concrete.

32 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023

Pay attention to these
• A brick facade is typically used in the area • The material of the brick façade are the real
where new buildings are constructed near fired bricks, although thinner than traditional
to old brick buildings. The new buildings may masonry bricks. Variations in width, length
even be attached to the old ones. To create and thickness may occur.
a coherent appearance, it is important to
make the choice of the bricks carefully and • If the surface area of the slab is large and a
make sure they resemble the old bricks as lot of bricks are used, it may be impossible to
much as possible. Seaming the wall at the get the bricks to stay perfectly straight. This
construction site is another way to increase is okay because the rustic old style is part of
the likeness. the brick facades. Handprint can be visual in
the same way as in the work of masons.
• The production and delivery of the brick
facade must be scheduled carefully. The
finished product must not be stored for more
than a week. Otherwise, it will start to curve,
which makes the installation very difficult.

CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 33

PAULI BETON
is built on trust and respect
Belgian precast manufacturer Pauli Beton is a 100% family-owned company.
Its success in the hollow core business comes down to a high degree of
automation and a deep respect for team members, clients, and partners,
says Manager-Owner Steven Pauli.

34 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023


P
auli Beton,
located in
North Belgium
is truly a family
business. “My sister
is in Sales, my nephew
is head of production, and
another nephew is head of planning and engineering. I do the
general administration,” explains Steven Pauli (in picture).
His father and uncles founded the company more than
60 years ago, and in 2003, the second generation took over.
Today, Griet, Jean-Marie, Bart, and Steven Pauli share the
management responsibilities equally.
The human factor
“Human values are very important to us. We don’t consider
our clients as numbers; we know them by name. The same
goes for the 30 people who work here. We are all humans
who deserve to be treated with respect.”
In addition to respect and human values, Pauli Beton
offers a total range of prestressed hollow core slabs and
quick agile customer service to contractors and developers
Cooperation from idea
to ready slab
P
auli Beton and Elematic’s cooperation started in
2008 when now-retired Lothar Speate from Elem-
atic GmbH and Steven Pauli met in Rotterdam.
This meeting marked the beginning of a respect-
ful partnership between the two companies. Many,
many square meters of hollow core slabs have been
produced in Hoeselt since, and the story continues.
Everything started with the Slipformer, and today
you can see Elematic’s automated extruder, saw,
plotter, and other modern equipment in the factory.
Digitalization has arrived.
“It makes us happy and proud to follow compa-
nies that we have supported in the investment phase
and see how their production develops and becomes
a success,” says Juhani Aittola, Managing Director
of Elematic GmbH.
“When a customer needs support or has new
ideas, we are happy to listen and use our knowledge
to achieve the best results together. Pauli Beton is a
very good example of this way of cooperating.”
in Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. In 2012,
Pauli Beton started hollow core production from
scratch. With help from Elematic, they managed
to build a well-functioning factory that has
served them since.
“We had no experience in hollow core pre-
stressed slab production, but now, a good 10 years
later, it has become a huge success,” says Pauli.
Automation is a must
In recent years, Pauli Beton has invested a lot in auto-
mated production equipment such as Extruder E9, Saw E9,
and Plotter E9, and in the Plant Control Floor software
suite. When labor is scarce, investing in modern, automated
technology is the only way to go, notes Steven Pauli.
“Thanks to innovation and automation, we can still have
a production of many thousands of square meters per year.
Automation is necessary to survive in these difficult times.”
Choosing Elematic as the supplier of automated
equipment was an easy decision.
“We’ve been very, very satisfied with their solutions
during the last 10 years,” Pauli says, highlighting the continu-
ous and good relationship with Elematic’s salespeople. “The
contact with Sales is important because they are the first
contact when you have an inquiry or need a new machine.”
“I want our suppliers to treat us as we treat our custom-
ers. We have a very good relationship with Elematic, and it
is clear that we are not just a number in their database.”
CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 35
New plotter has doubled efficiency
When the Paulis bought the automated Plotter E9 two
years ago, some of the team members were concerned
that it would not work well enough. The operator was also
R
reserved. But the fears turned out to be unfounded.
“The plotter operator cannot work any other way now,”
says Pauli. “Nowadays, he is one with the machine that he
takes care of and cleans nicely. He is fond of it and proud of
the work he can do with the plotter.”
Steven Pauli is satisfied with the plotter too.
The new plotter avoids so many mistakes
that the efficiency has doubled, he says.
Quietly proud
The executive quartet and their employ-
ees have plenty to be positive about.
Despite high interest rates that
might dampen the housing market,
Steven Pauli believes that the Belgian
building industry will remain stable. Espe-
Peter Medaer
cially hollow core slabs are in high demand.
“The hollow core slab is a sustainable product
with a long life cycle, which is a benefit in this world
where everybody needs to produce sustainable products.”
He is also proud of the way he and the three other Pauli
owners work together to continue the family business into
the future. Last, but not least, he is happy with the quality
product that Pauli Beton delivers. Not long ago, he felt this
at the airport in Liège.
“I was waiting for boarding, and I looked up at the
ceiling and saw my slabs there. It filled me with joy that my
slabs had been used in this huge building. Nobody knew,
but I was proud.” l
36 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023
Optimized slab production
with Plant Control Floor
ecent automated hollow core investments at Pauli
Beton include Extruder E9, Saw E9 and Plotter E9.
The automated production is managed with Elematic
Plant Control Floor.
“After we got Plant Control Floor, we have much less paper-
work, and optimizing production has become easy,” says
Peter Medaer, who is responsible for slab produc-
tion and transportation at Pauli Beton.
Utilizing every inch of the bed to produce
a maximum of slabs is his goal, but it can
be challenging at times. With Plant Control
it is, however, straightforward.
“The software is very user-friendly,
and it has been easy to implement digital
production planning. We cannot produce
without it anymore!”
Around five people from Pauli Beton have
been involved in the implementation process.
Medaer is proud of how smoothly the system has been
implemented in the whole factory.
“For the implementation, we’ve received very good
support from Elematic. When there is something going on
or we have a question, I’ll send an email and they’ll immedi-
ately answer me.”
A while ago, there was a problem with a machine, and
Pauli Beton tried to fix it themselves, but it did not work.
“Then I sent an email to Elematic. They told us what to do, and
the problem was solved! Now, I’ve learned to send an email
immediately,” Medaer smiles. l
 HAVE YOU SEEN
THESE NEW BABIES?
Complementing Elematic’s existing offering of modern and
automated equipment, these innovative product news are designed
to optimize your precast production.

Shuttering Robot E9 Automatic transportation wagon, Drillbeam E9

The new shuttering and deshuttering
robot for EDGE wall lines is a fast and
stable helper. With its excellent accu-
racy and long service life, the robot fits
perfectly into highly automated wall
production plants.
Wagon E9
Slab transportation is easily auto-
mated with this strong, battery-driven
wagon pair. Save on labor costs,
improve safety, and simplify mainte-
nance with Wagon E9.
Save time and reduce bottlenecks
by combining lifting and drilling. The
machine is equipped with three drills
that make accurate water holes from
below, anywhere in the slab.

Improved saw family Double Wall lines Module lines

Elematic has a hollow core saw
for any need: From fully automatic
intelligent cutting with Saw E9 over
Saw P7’s semi-automatic cutting
with improved safety to the compact
and multifunctional Sawpreparer S5.
These innovative and compact saws
are built of modules. This way, delivery
times are shortened, prices are kept
at a reasonable level, and flexibility is
increased.
The EDGE Double Wall production
line is specially designed for highly
automated, high-capacity double wall
and filigran element production. It is a
circulation line where the tables move
automatically along their production
steps for continuous and highly
productive line operation.
For a medium level of automation,
choose the Elematic PRO Double Wall
production circulation line, featuring
mechanized production technology
with sophisticated machines.
Elematic SEMI Module and PRO Mod-
ule combine the benefits of precast
and modular building, also known
as the PPVC method, by assembling
3D volumetric precast units from
2D elements. Get the flexibility and
architectural freedom of precast
with safe, clean, and efficient indoor
assembling. l

CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 37

PROJECTS IN SPOTLIGHT

UNIQUE CONCRETE BUILD

The Serlachius Museums’ Art Sauna is
a unique concept as well as a special
concrete building. The concrete elements
not only had to seamlessly support the
structure and aesthetics of the building
but also function reliably in Finland's
demanding climate conditions.

T
he Art Sauna is located in Mänttä-Vilppula, Central
Finland. It is part of the Serlachius Museums,
which offer rich art experiences and tell the
history of the Finnish paper industry. The Art
Sauna combines the joy of art, design, and architecture with
traditional Finnish sauna culture.
Precast concrete was used in the structure as well as
the façade of the sculptural sauna building. The colored
concrete surface is polished for a shiny finish, highlighting
both aggregate and color. Attention is drawn to the contin-
uous vertical grooves and the round steam room.
The sauna and museum buildings are found in a The Art Sauna
culture-historically significant landscape on the lake shore. fits well into the
landscape, partly
The lower part of the slope, where the sauna is located, thanks to its
belongs to the so-called ‘stone world’, distinguished from green roofs.
the ‘wood world’ further up the hill. The structure is built
partially inside the hill, and its round shape and green roof
blend it into the landscape without covering the lake view
from the hilltop.
The sauna was designed by architects Héctor Mendoza,
Mara Partida, and Boris Bežan, while Pekka Pakkanen
from Planetary Architecture took care of the execution
planning in cooperation with Anna Kontuniemi. The same
team also designed the Gösta Pavilion further up the hill.
"We decided to use precast concrete because the goal The element joints are hidden in the grooves.
was a high-quality, finished whole with an uninterrupted
pattern. We’ve used two different depths in the groove
pattern, and the pattern repeats every 19 centimeters, and over,” Pakkanen notes about the level of finishing.
making the joints of the panels invisible,” reveals Pakkanen. A shade slightly darker than medium gray has been
used on the façades. The aggregate is white-grey limestone
Boulder-like appearance hides technical solutions from the Kalanti in Southwest Finland mixed with black and
More than 200 precast concrete elements were used for green pigment.
the building with sizes varying from the meter-long roof The sauna building has no visible eaves, footings, or
slabs to the curved, eight-meter panels in the steam room. joints, although it consists of numerous curved precast
The inventive groove pattern was made by hand at Beto- panels that are connected in parallel, on top of each other,
niluoma Oy using plywood and plastic fillets. The special and to other structures. Finland's climate added to the
solutions were first tested on sample elements. challenges, as weather conditions vary from severe frost to
"To succeed, seamless cooperation between the design snow, rain, and heat waves during summer.
and implementation teams was required. The details of the "Even though the structure looks uniform on the out-
elements as well as the concrete recipe were refined over side, we had to solve challenges with the structural design,

38 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023

ING WITH HIDDEN JOINTS
Facts: Art Sauna
• The molds were made by
hand, using plywood and
plastic fillets
• The pattern is repeated
every 19 cm
• More than 200 precast
elements used
• A shared ventilation gap
system for the roof and
facade structures
• Architectural design:
Mendoza-Partida
Architectural Studio and
BAX Studio
• Execution design:
Planetary Architecture Oy
• Supplier of precast
concrete: Betoniluoma Oy

The Art Sauna was chosen as

Finland’s Concrete Structure of the
Year. Beautifully finished concrete
panels, wood, a round steam room,
and windows reflecting nature give
the Art Sauna its characteristic look.

The precast roof elements function as eaves, and a

ventilation, and how to lead moisture in the right direction.
Discreetly connecting the materials and structures required
a top performance of both designers and builders," Pak-
kanen says while thanking everyone who has been involved
in the process.
common ventilation system was made beneath the panel
grooves. The system takes care of the ventilation of both
the roof and façades. Moisture insulation, sealing, and
sheeting were installed in between the concrete elements
without blocking the ventilation gap.
The lamps are also embedded in the façades, leaving
only the light visible, hiding joints and connections. Quality
was indeed a priority for both the client and the architects.
"I personally find it important that the customer orders
and expects quality. The cooperation between the different
parties was very successful. The level of finishing and the
result look exactly as they should, like one seamless piece,"
notes Pakkanen. l

CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 39

PROJECTS IN SPOTLIGHT
Life-size Noah’s Ark built
on precast slabs and beams
As far as we know, Noah did not use precast concrete when building his ark.
However, for the replica of the biblical vessel in the theme park Ark Encounter,
precast concrete was utilized to stay on budget and schedule.
T
he Ark Encounter is a Christian theme park, located
near Cincinnati in Kentucky, USA, on a plot larger
than Disneyland in California. Its main attraction
is a life-size Noah’s Ark, where visitors can walk
through three decks of exhibitions about Noah and the
flood, before meeting the animals in the park’s zoo.
According to the park, the ark is built as the Bible
describes it. This means that the main structure is made of
wood. It is elevated from the ground, laying on a frame of
precast hollow core slabs and beams.
On schedule and on budget
To save time and costs, the contractor Troyer Group turned
to Mid South Prestress.
Mid South Prestress is a leading producer of hollow
core slabs in the mid-southern United States. Since it was
40 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023
established in 2000, it has successfully operated with the
same Elematic machinery, such as Extruder EL 900E, which
is still running smoothly.
The plant in Pleasant View, Tennessee, USA, has four
precasting lines at 520 feet and delivers hollow core slabs,
beams, and columns from planning to erection.
For this project, Mid South Prestress produced 2,185
square meters of 8-inch-thick and 10-inch-thick (about 200
mm and 250 mm respectively) precast hollow core planks
and 358 linear meters of precast concrete beams."
Mid South Prestress used its experience in custom
fabrication and its attention to detail in installation
services, to deliver the elements for the Ark on time and
within budget.
As a result, Troyer Group met its goals with this phase of
the project. l
 Facts
• Architect: Ahlman
Architects Arkitekter
• Building contractor: VN
Bygg AB - LU Rakennus Oy
• HVAC and structural
designer: Sweco
• Precast concrete supplier:
Santalan Betoni Oy
• (Excavation contractor:
Construction and quarrying
company Toivo Ajalin)
• Developer: Stiftelsen
för kultur och
utbildningsinvesteringar,
Raasepori municipality

Dyed concrete gives the finishing touch

to a community cultural centre
The blend of rust-brown and white concrete components manifests the architect's
vision, establishing a subtle aesthetic for the Fokus community cultural center,
which is further enhanced by glass, steel, and wood surfaces.

F
okus, the community cultural center in Karjaa,
serves as a multifaceted hub, accommodating a
local library, music education facilities, a café, and
two gallery spaces. Further enhancing its cultural
offerings, the Fokus theatre venue hosts both training
and performance areas for theatre ensembles, dancers,
musicians, and various other performing artists. The center,
which was finished in 2022, is situated in a community
home to 28,000 residents in Western Finland, approxi-
mately 80 kilometers away from Helsinki.
The main façade of the building features a rust-brown
relief-textured concrete, with gable ends clad in white
concrete formwork elements and interspersed with glass
surfaces. As the design progressed, it was decided to
construct the exterior wall lines as load-bearing concrete
elements instead of a column-beam solution.
Nearby Santalan Betoni Oy manufactured the afore-
mentioned Focus façade elements as well as the light
gray titanium dioxide-bleached column and partition wall
elements using a circulation mold line supplied by Elematic.
"All the elements were different. Especially the corner
details were demanding because the joint thickness was only
10 millimeters in some places, and the length of the turning
edges was almost a meter at its best. Handling the tall
turning elements required special precision to prevent them
from getting scratched or damaged. The work required a lot
of precise craftsmanship, especially due to the edge details
of the elements," says Mikko Lahti, CEO of Santalan Betoni.
Santalan Betoni delivered the sandwich elements for
the exterior walls to the construction site, where they
underwent an umbra patina coloring treatment.
Forgoing a crawlspace base floor, the design opted for
an earth-supported pile slab upon the structural designer's
recommendation. This strategy avoided large-scale soil
excavation, resulting in cost savings, and reducing the
transportation-related disturbances in the heart of Karjaa.
"We were able to realize the architect's visions, and we
can be very satisfied with the end result. The restrained and
subtle exterior hides versatile spaces, which apparently have
been highly appreciated by the residents," says Lahti. l
“The work required a lot of precise
craftsmanship, especially due to the
edge details of the elements.”
- MIKKO LAHTI

CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 41

 Chinese production
off to a good start
Despite its short existence, Elematic’s production in China has come
a long way. In April, the new precast technology production facility in
Changzhou, Jiangsu, China, was officially inaugurated.
A
joint venture between Elematic Oyj and the
Chinese construction equipment firm Teeyer was
officially signed in the autumn of 2022.
Shortly after, the production of precast
equipment began in a brand-new factory on the Chinese
east coast.
Challenging beginning
The beginning was challenging, to say the least: Business
life in China slowed down under the country’s strict Covid
restrictions.
Chinese precasters have, however, warmly welcomed
Elematic in the market, says Seppo Kauppinen, general
manager of the joint venture.
42 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023
“We are now in the ramp-up period, but we have already
had several deliveries.”
Full steam ahead
The Chinese factory also produces Elematic equipment for
export. So far, products from the facilities in Changzhou
have been shipped to locations around the world, from the
Czech Republic to the Philippines and Mauritius.
All in all, the first half year with production in China has
gone surprisingly well, Kauppinen deems. He is certain that,
despite the current low market demand, the fresh Elematic
China Team of about 50 people has what it takes to success-
fully steer the joint venture in a positive direction – full steam
ahead. l
Festive
factory
opening
A
pril 13th marked the official
opening of the factory in
Jiangsu. Around 20 VIP guests
attended the opening, among them the
Consul General of Finland in Shanghai
Anu Vuori-Kiikeri, Elematic CEO Mats
Jungar, Elematic’s joint-venture part-
ners from Teeyer, and other important
Chinese precast industry players and
customers.
Wang Huajiong, general manager
of China’s renowned precast concrete
manufacturer Shanghai Citi-Raise “We are now
Group was also present. He was in the ramp-up
impressed with the elaborate 4x4-me-
period, but we
ter miniature model of their factory
that was unveiled at the event. have already
“The spirit was high, and we got had several
a lot of positive feedback from the
deliveries.”
guests,” says General Manager of the
joint venture Seppo Kauppinen. l - SEPPO KAUPPINEN

CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 43

TECHNOLOGIES ADVANCE,
careers and work methods change

S
ales Engineer Jussi Pullinen has a long career at
Elematic. He started as a machine designer in 1989
after graduating as a mechanical engineer. The
transition to a digital world was just beginning, so
Jussi started his career with a drawing board at the former
LPE Engineering. Elematic has been known as a product
name since 1966, but it only became the company's name
later in 2003. In the late 1990s, Jussi was the first to draw
using a computer terminal, as he had already familiarized
himself with CAD during his studies.
"Computers and CAD programs became widespread in
just over a year, and soon they were also used for design.
We were strong in hollow core slab technology at that time
too. The role of automation in the machines was still small,
with counters being used to measure working hours or
energy consumption. I saw when the new EL900-E extruder
was launched at Bauma in 1995. It was the absolute number
one in hollow core slab production at the time, and its
design also attracted positive attention," Jussi explains.
“I am happy to contribute my long
experience and expertise in precast
technology to the development of
automation and the mentoring of
younger colleagues."
- JUSSI PULLINEN
"In 2000 I returned as project manager and the
company's name was then PCE Engineering. I acted as a
link between customers and design. Before Teams, work
involved a lot of traveling. I was involved in projects, for
example, bringing carousel lines to the Nordic countries
and Finland, and hollow core slab lines to Denmark, Spain
and Italy," Jussi says.
When his family grew, traveling no longer felt mean-
ingful, so Jussi switched to being a Sales Engineer in 2004.
The company's name had already changed to Elematic the
previous year. His job involved, and still involves, calculat-
ing offers, supporting sales, and planning factory layouts,
both in greenfield sites and as parts of old factories. The
amount of automation has greatly increased in Elematic's
machines and lines during Jussi's career, eliminating many
heavy, human-powered tasks.
"Nowadays, automated machines also collect data and
compile reports, which can be used to optimize production
control. I am happy to contribute my long experience and
expertise in precast technology to the development of
automation and the mentoring of younger colleagues."

Jussi Pullinen
From hollow core slabs to carousel lines Sales Engineer
and batching plants
In 1995, he began a five-year stint designing paper machines.
There were corporate acquisitions in that sector too, and
Jussi decided to return to precast machinery. By the turn of
the 2000s, Elematic's product range had expanded. Growth
was mainly based on carousel lines and batching plants, but
most of the revenue came from hollow core slabs. ACO lines
were also added to the range. 3D modeling was widespread,
which illustrated not only design but also, for example,
maintenance manual instructions.

44 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023

New technologies are best utilized for the benefit of customers when experience and
the latest knowledge meet. Sales Engineer Jussi Pullinen and welder Kyösti Kipponen
started in the analog era in the 1980s. Eero Enoranta, on the other hand, started
directly with programming and robotics five years ago. The aim is still to make the
world's best precast machinery and plants.
Coding the wall
Eero Enoranta, an Automation
Engineer, belongs to the younger
generation in the field of precast
technology. He has been working
in the product development
department for nearly five
years and has programmed,
among other things, the
automation of the side and
dismantling robots.
The side robot enhances
and refines the production
of wall elements. The robot
retrieves the sides from their
storage and positions them
precisely according to the dimensions.
If necessary, it can also dismantle the
sides and move them to washing. The Shutter
Robot E9 can be used in the production of many
wall structures, such as double walls, filigran
slabs, solid walls, and sandwich panels.
"I have also been involved in the testing
and commissioning of the side robot. It's
nice to see the robot do exactly what
it's programmed to do," says Eero.
Exploring and mastering
new technologies is the most
exciting aspect of Eero Enoran-
ta's job.
"Coding and automation
are my specialties. When the
operation of devices or user
interfaces requires insight
into precast production or
customer preferences, the
knowledge of experienced
colleagues is invaluable," Eero
states.
Wall lines belong to Elematic's most
important development targets.
New plans keep work interesting
Veteran welder Kosti Kipponen brings
designers' visions to life by welding
concrete products, such as table
and radiator molds, saws, and
casting machines. He started his
career with Rimer, a company
that manufactures concrete
molds, even earlier than Jussi,
in 1982, and in 2015 the com-
pany moved to Elematic. It goes
without saying that over this
time, the veteran has developed
a huge amount of know-how.
When he gets the drawings in his
hands, he dives right into work.
"I want to do my job well and
provide customers with high-quality,
well-welded products. My goal is to continue
Kosti Kipponen working at the same pace until the age of 68, and
Veteran welder even longer. If the employer allows it, even until
the very end. I'm proud of my long career and my
health – hopefully it will last a long time,"
Kosti states.
Today, components arrive in a
ready-to-use state, for example,
edge-folded, perforated, and cut
by laser or burning. According to
Kosti, it has greatly eased work
when there is more space for
building the finished product.
"Welding has remained
interesting. Credit for this goes
to the designers. They keep
developing the products for-
ward. Over the years, machines
have become increasingly
advanced, incorporating additional
features, and the process of welding
has become more stringent in terms of
precision requirements,” Kosti says. l
Eero Enoranta
Automation
Engineer
CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 45
 SHAPING EST
For Estonian concrete
manufacturer Framm, service
agreement with Elematic
ensures smooth production
and happy customers.

46 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023

TONIAN CITY LINES
O
n-time delivery, quality and flexibity are Framm’s
key promises to their customers. Established in
1990s as Talot, Framm has grown in 30 years to
practice its mission: shaping the Estonian con-
crete market. Now the company is the largest manufacturer
of concrete products in the country.
“We offer concrete walls, blocks, stairs, hollow-core,
ready-mix concrete, anything made of concrete,” says
Ingemar Grigorius, Production Manager at Framm. Cur-
rently the company employs 400 people and makes close
to 40-million-euro turnover. Framm’s customers are mainly
Estonian construction companies and biggest Scandinavian
construction companies.
Grigorius says that a lot of apartment buildings, houses
and quite a few towers are being built in the country. The
construction industry saw a huge growth in the Estonian
market between 2010–2020.
The European Construction Sector Observatory’s
report informs that turnover in the broad construction operating flawlessly. “I’m not even sure how many Elematic
sector reached 10.2 billion euros between 2010–2018. machines we have,” Grigorius laughs, “but there are many.
The covid pandemic and shortage of labor and skills have All of them are running smoothly and help us to keep our
an impact on the industry development, but the outlook quality and delivery promises to our customers.”
is bright and big investments have been made to create The most recent addition to Framm’s machinery was
high-quality living environment in Estonia, according to the Elematic saw P7. Grigorius says the team is really happy
the local government’s 2035 vision, and this is good news with it.
to Framm. One crucial thing for Framm’s team is that there is ser-
vice available for the machines the company buys. Framm
Proactive maintenance saves money has a service agreement with Elematic, which means they
Framm has a large family of Elematic machinery: the first get regular service visits and reports on their production
machines were bought in early 2000s, and they are still and machinery.

“All of them are

running smoothly
and help us to
keep our quality
and delivery
promises.”
- INGEMAR GRIGORIUS

CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 47

 What does
a service
visit include?
“During the visit, we
check the machinery
together with the
mechanic or the person
in charge of maintenance
at the factory. Based on
this, the customer will
receive a report which
indicates the machine
maintenance needs and
a recommendation for
spare and wear parts
to be kept in the factory
storage,” says Janne
Elomäki.
“We plan the visit
together with the
customer, go through
the status and send the
most suitable person
to visit the plant – quite
often it is the same
person year after year.
A service report made
during our service visit is
valuable for the factory
managers and personnel
to hear an external view
of how things are going
in production, is there
a need for machine
maintenance, and how
to ensure that opera-
tions keep running as
intended.“

”During the visits, mechanic checks the machinery and “Elematic people
quality and gives us advice on what spare and wear parts to are professionals.
order and suggests how we can improve our processes and
profitability. Written feedback helps us and our mechanics Service, delivery
a lot because we can avoid machinery stops,” Ingemar times and
Grigorius explains. machinery
Proactive maintenance also saves money, because the
production can run every day and maintenance procedures are good.”
can be planned. - INGEMAR GRIGORIUS
Check the video about
Grigorius adds their product quality is high thanks to service visit at Framm
regular maintenance.
“Elematic people are professionals, there are a lot of
skilled mechanics. Service, delivery times and machinery
are good. If I’d have to rate the Elematic service 1–5, I’d say
it’s a 5.” l

48 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023

 TOP

3
Customer Support
Engineer Janne
Elomäki shares the
points when a service
visit makes your day

1
Training for personnel
“Usually, the company goal is to
produce as much as possible,
without machine breakdowns
three most common and at the same time keep mainte-
nance costs as low as possible. To
points when you be able to do that, you need to have
will save time and knowledge of different machine parts,
how long they will last, and when
money by booking those should be changed to avoid
a service visit. unnecessary work.
Without previous experience it
is hard to decide which parts you
should have on stock to avoid long
production stops in case of machine
breakdown.
When there are changes in staff
there are changes in know-how. A
lot of information leaves the factory
and training is needed for the new
mechanics or people responsible for
maintenance. In many countries, it
is common that contracts are made
for only one or two years, and work
rotation is quick. We train the team
when needed.”

2 3
Repairing old machines
and solving problems
“Sometimes a part is worn or
broken in old machines and
the factory staff doesn’t know how to
fix it because that specific part needs
to be changed rarely or because the
technology is not familiar to them.
That’s when we step in. We have
mechanic spare and wear parts avail-
able for old machines and they can be
repaired. Automation for old machines
is another thing.”
Automation updates
“When the automation com-
ponents become outdated, we
install the new system and
make sure it works. A lot of Elematic
hollow core machinery has been sold
since the 90s and those old machines
are still running. There are no longer
spare parts for older automation
components available, so the control
systems need to be updated.”
There are also individual cases when
the factories have challenges with the
precast product quality. Janne and his
colleagues help to solve the case and find
out whether the cause of the problem is
the machinery, concrete consistence or
mix design, training, or processes. The
maintenance work can be done at the
factory or as a remote service.
“For example, concrete mix design
can be perfect in theory, but in real life
it won’t flow well or get compacted
properly inside of the extruder
because the shape of the rough aggre-
gates is not suitable for the machine.
Our experts can help to adjust the mix
design to right direction.” l

CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 49

Recessed bathroom slabs
Methods for making recesses in hollow core slabs vary hugely from country
to country. Elematic Recessor E9 offers a well-proven method to create
ready recesses at the factory, saving money and time on-site.

I
n a ready home, there should not be level
differences between the bathroom and
the rest of the rooms, so it is possible
for anybody to get around the house,
also for example wheelchair users.
At the same time, piping, floor
heating and other fittings are hidden
inside bathroom floors. To make room
for all this, the concrete subfloor under
a bathroom needs to be lower than the
rest of the floors in the apartment or
house. In other words, a recess is needed
in the floor slab.
Jani Eilola
Thick topping slows down construction
How can a bathroom recess be made in a smart, sustain-
able, and cost-efficient way that fits the industrial nature
of precasting? The answer depends on whom you ask and
where they live.
Many designers opt for a thinner hollow
core slab or a half slab. A thick topping
layer is then added on-site to create the
recess. This otherwise well-functioning
method also has disadvantages:
More material is needed in the form
of reinforcement and concrete, and
building cannot be continued until the
topping has dried.
“Recesses made by adding topping
can add work and costs and delay con-
struction,” says Jani Eilola, Product Director,
Floor Technologies at Elematic.
Eilola explains that in Finland it is common to
transform part of a hollow core slab into a thinner solid
slab right after extrusion in the factory. This can be done
with Elematic Recessor E9.

50 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023

ready from the factory
Recesses fit for bathroom modules
The recessor works by crushing part of a hollow core slab
and compacting the crushed concrete, making it into a
solid slab instead. The result is typically a 370mm hollow
core slab with a recessed area consisting of a 200mm
solid slab.
When the bathroom slabs hit the construction site, the
recess is all set, and the concrete is dry and ready for the
installation of a bathroom.
“The 200mm thick solid slab can carry the load of
the bathroom, whether it is cast at the construction site
or built with Leca blocks, Elematic Acotec panels, or any
wall material, and you can also place a bathroom module
directly in the recess,” says Eilola.
He notes that bathroom modules are gaining popu-
larity, and so is Elematic Recessor E9. “There is a general
increase in the readiness level of building components.
It reduces a lot of work which was earlier done at the
site.”
“Builders in Finland have used this method for the past
30 years or so. The needs are quite similar elsewhere in
Europe, so I think it is worth it to consider the pros and
cons to find out if a recessor could be helpful in your
production,” suggests Eilola. l
Elematic Recessor E9
• Recessor E9 runs on the bed straight after
the extruder.
• Rotating cylinders with protruding bars
mechanically crush the top part of the
hollow core slab.
• The crushed concrete in the recessed area is
compacted by vibrating beams.
• The hollow core slab is typically 370mm
thick, and in the recessed area, it then
becomes a 200mm solid slab.
• The process is designed so the amount of
concrete in the 370mm hollow core slab
matches the concrete need of a 200mm solid
slab. The machine is equipped with a hopper
to dose additional concrete if needed.
• Recessor E9 can handle hollow core slabs of
different thicknesses, depending on how the
requirements for the recess.
CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 51
Quality, strength, and water savings
Five years ago, Finnish precast
manufacturer Betset invested in
a new Recessor E9. Since then, it
has produced more than 200,000
square meters of high-quality
bathroom slabs.
R
ecessor E9 is at work every day at
Betset’s precast plant in Nurmijärvi,
Finland.
Out of the 267,000 square meters
of hollow core slabs that the factory
delivered in 2022, 41,000 square
meters – or a good 15 percent – were
recessed bathroom slabs. And there
are no signs of a decline in demand,
says Factory Manager Tuomas
Puoliväli.
“There is a trend towards more and
more ready elements. Bathroom slabs are in
Tuomas Puoliväli
52 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023
high demand, and the designs are complicated with more
recesses and lots of different angles and details,” Puoliväli
notes.
Betset’s factory in Nurmijärvi has offered bathroom
slabs since 1996 when Tuomas Puoliväli’s father was part
of starting up production there. In the beginning, recesses
were made by hand, but they have come a long way since.
Even with challenging slab designs, the plant can
deliver what its customers require, partly due to Recessor
E9.
“The quality of the slabs is much better
compared to our previous recessor: They
look better, they are stronger, and
Recessor E9 uses a dryer concrete mix,
which gives us substantial savings on
water.”
From a user perspective, the Betset
team is also satisfied with the recessor
from Elematic. It was easy to take into
use and is simple to operate.
“I have nothing negative to say
about the machine. I’d buy it again any day,”
concludes Puoliväli. l
Not only for
bathrooms
Recesses in hollow core
slabs are not only made to fit
in bathrooms.
Examples of situations
where a lower or solid part
is required in an area of the
slab include:
• Stepping noise attenua-
tion regulation.
• Carrying heavy loads.
• Crosswise piping and
ventilation ducts in hollow
core floors.
 Precast concrete rocking
ALL OVER THE WORLD
Precast walls, floors, and stairs are popular due to their quick installation, cost-
efficiency, sustainability, design flexibility, safety and high quality. Precast construction
could be increased on every continent, thereby reducing the use of cement and water,
improving construction efficiency, and accelerating project completion.

North America Europe Asia

• Approximately 20-30% of
residential construction in North
America incorporates precast
concrete elements.
• In the commercial and industrial
sectors usage ranges from
30-40%.
• Infrastructure construction
relies on precast concrete. Most
of the bridges, tunnels etc. are
made with precast technology.
• The usage of precast concrete in
infrastructure is high, estimated
at 70-80% of all construction.
• Almost half of all construction
in the industrial and commercial
sectors is made with precast
technology.
• The percentage of precast
can range from 30-40% in the
residential sector.
• In residential construction
precast is used in 10-20% of
all projects.
• The usage of precast concrete
in infrastructure varies widely,
depending on the country and
projects.
• Prevalence can range from
20-30% in the commercial and
industrial sector, with precast
elements being utilized to
varying degrees.

South America Africa Australia and Oceania

• Only 10-20% of residential • The usage of precast concrete • Prevalence ranges from 30-40%
construction is using precast varies widely across different in the industrial and residential
concrete, but the popularity is countries. sector with a strong utiliza-
growing. • Precast concrete has been gain- tion of precast walls, flooring
• Commercial and infrastructural ing popularity in countries with systems, and modular building
precast usage is at about 20- a growing construction industry. elements.
30%, also with increasing • Rapid urbanization and eco- • About half of all commercial
demand for precast technology. nomic development create and infrastructure projects are
• The usage of precast concrete demand for precast technology based on precast.
in infrastructure can vary, with for homes, commercial com- • Stepping noise attenuation
an estimated 30-50% utilization plexes and public buildings. regulation.
in the bridge construction and
tunnel segments.
These estimates are based on data from various statistical websites:
statista.com, globenewswire.com, fortunebusinessinsights.com and maximizemarketresearch.com.
The estimated percentages have been calculated by combining and comparing this information.
All forms of precast construction, including infrastructure, are included as no separate data exists.

CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 53

Frequently asked questions
FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Mika Reunanen, Area Sales Director, South America & Africa and Juhani Aittola,
Managing Director at Elematic GmbH answer some common questions that
customers in their regions often ask.
Can precast construction be of high quality
and look good?
Mika Reunanen: My operating areas are Africa and South
America where there's a housing shortage. I introduce the
precast method to builders who are used to traditional
methods. Customers are surprised by how good different
precast facade surfaces can look, as well as the fact that
quality control of the industrial process is considerably
easier to arrange than at a traditional construction site, and
thus, quality is also significantly easier to improve. Also, in
the sweltering climates of African countries, the superior
insulation provided by precast construction proves to be
a significant advantage, as it considerably reduces the
expenses associated with cooling buildings.
Juhani Aittola: In Central and Eastern Europe, precast
construction has a bad reputation, especially in Eastern
Europe where poor quality precast houses were built
quickly in the past. These houses are still around reminding
everyone of the subpar quality. Customers
are often surprised to learn that precast
technology has evolved significantly
over the decades and stands to fully
compete with traditional methods both
aesthetically and technologically.
What to consider when investing
in a precast concrete
production line?
Reunanen: A precast production line is
a big investment, which prompts
customers to assess the
benefits far into the future.
Consideration is given to
how long-lasting the
equipment is, how
easily maintenance
and spare parts
will be available
in the future,
whether con-
sumable parts
are easily
accessible,
Juhani Aittola
54 CONCRETE ISSUES 2023
and whether the technology provider is continuously
developing improvements.
Aittola: When considering a new production line, it is
important that the customer's business plan is reviewed
and thought is given to what kind of products they will be
producing, what the capacity needs are, what kind of line
layout could work, whether there are any restrictions at
the site itself in this regard, and how transportation and
material flows will be resolved.
How to get started with precast production
and what kind of support is available?
Reunanen: A good way to get started is to visit existing
precast factories. To this end, we can help contacting our
previous customers who have established precast factories
and getting practical advice from them starting a new busi-
ness. In addition, Elematic can recommend consultants who
have extensive experience in establishing precast factories.
In addition to equipment operation and maintenance training,
assistance is provided for production start-up
and optimization. Even after the factory is up
and running, Elematic's Customer Service
department maintains close contact
with the customer and conducts visits to
the factory to ensure proper equipment
utilization and production efficiency.
Aittola: Once the line is in operation,
I visit the customer once or twice a
year. We review the situation,
how production
has been
going, how the
equipment has
functioned, and
if there are any
concerns, we
seek solutions
together. These
meetings also
provide truly
valuable
feedback. l
Mika Reunanen
Concrete Issues 2023 social media news

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ACCOUNTS
OPENED!
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ith the opening of Elematic’s new joint venture company
and new production facilities in China, our WeChat /elematic
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under the new company. To gain access to curated content,
expert interviews, and in-depth articles about precast concrete
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and in Russian!

CONCRETE ISSUES 2023 55

 Samppalinna
residential area
• Consist of five apart-
ment buildings,
two-story townhouse
apartments, and two
preserved old buildings.
• The construction of
the first apartment
building, Samppalinna
Gustav, started in the
autumn of 2022.
• The area is designed by
architect Pekka Mäki,
architectural company
Sigge in Turku, Finland.

Brick facades create a coherent

appearance in historic area
Samppalinna, located in the center of Turku, is an important part of the history of Finland's oldest city.
Today it is a sought-after residential area, the value of which is enhanced by the great river and city
views from Samppalinna Hill.

I
n the design of the new residential area of Samppalinna,
efforts have been made to match the new buildings to the
brick architecture of the old buildings in the area. Brick
facades are therefore a distinctive part of the look of the
new area.
“The brick facade is a durable and maintenance-free
material. The use of brick has become more common in the
last ten years in the construction of apartment buildings,
and in this case the brick facades were chosen particularly
to maintain the coherent appearance in the central city
area,” tells Tapio Pauna from constructor TKU-Rakennus.
A total of 4 500 m2 of concrete precast elements will be
used in the first residential building at the site, Samppalinna
Gustav. Most of them are brick-clad elements, bricked on site.
74 brick railings in the balconies
Bricks can also be seen on the balconies. A total of 74 brick
railings, stretching over an area of approximately 360 m2,
have already been installed in the balconies of Samppa-
linna Gustav.
Both brick railings and elements are supplied by precast
manufacturer VaBe.
“What is special about thin and long brick railings is the
curling, which is typical for a brick-clad element. This can
be minimised by using a so-called expansion joint or by
installing the railings as quickly as possible after manufac-
turing. In this case, we used the latter method,” says Tomi
Mäkimarttunen, Project Manager of VaBe.
“A movement joint means that the element is cut
across the movement joint as planned. In this way, one
long element practically contains two short elements, and
the effects of curling are thus reduced. When the element
is attached to the balcony, it no longer curves, even if the
concrete has not yet reached its ultimate strength.” l