Back at the start of the month an enquiry was made for 6m of ‘Capillary’ concrete from a company called Border Sports Services – a national sports turf specialist based in Carlisle.  The customer was looking for a permeable concrete with a very specific mix design and voids percentage, for use as a sub-base in a golf bunker. The customer then wanted to add their own Capillary Admixture to help draw moisture from above (when the ground was too wet) as well as from below (when it was too dry).

Matt Doran takes up the story: “After liaising with our colleagues north of the border, who had undertaken a similar project for the same customer, it became apparent that unfortunately our Permaflo product would not be adequate for such strict parameters. However, we were able to come up with a mix design that met the customer’s specification and was feasible to produce from the local Plant (not to mention at a decent margin).

One of the Directors was flying in from Sweden the day prior to the pour so the pressure was most definitely on to produce a top quality product. There were a couple of slight issues on the morning as logistics meant we had to switch supply from Weeford to Aston (meaning a change in aggregate source). However, after some material testing at the Plant we were able to produce 6m of the mix, which the customer was extremely happy with.

After I showcased the mix on social media their Director, Neil Thompson, even tweeted the following: “Thanks for your assistance yesterday. You and Gilbert were very helpful, look forward to working with you again.” 

Whilst there may not be massive volumes involved, their Director advised that this is very much a growing market for them – and with over 2,500m courses in the UK, and margins of over £26/m achieved on this job, this could be a mix that we take a ‘fair way’.

Special thanks should go to Area Technical Manager for West Midlands, Gilbert Morgan; Area Technical Manager for Scotland, Damian McGhee (for his assistance and experience with this mix), and Aston Plant Supervisors, Lee Ingram and Simon Hale.”