News

CMA TO HOLD SEMINAR ON HOLLOW-CORE SLABS FOR ENGINEERS AND ARCHITECTS
(01 September 2008)
The Concrete Manufacturers Association (CMA) will be staging an afternoon seminar on prestressed and reinforced precast concrete hollow-core slabs at the Midrand Conference Centre on October 23.

Aimed principally at civil engineers, architects and property developers, the seminar is being held to launch the CMA’s hollow-core slab information manual and ...... read more

CMA MEMBERS DELIVER ON MASSIVE RETAINING WALL PROJECT
(19 August 2008)
Concrete Manufacturers Association (CMA) members were instrumental in the construction of a huge concrete retaining block (CRB) wall project at the recently completed FNB/Wesbank administrative centre in Fairland, Johannesburg. The main CRB contractor, Kalode Construction and both CRB suppliers, INFRASET Building Products and Concor Technicrete, are CMA members.

The overall ...... read more

PERMEABLE PAVING SOFTWARE SEMINARS SET FOR NOVEMBER
(14 August 2008)
November will see the Concrete Manufacturers Association (CMA) staging four seminars on PERMPAVE, a software package aimed at assisting civil engineers and landscape architects in the design of permeable interlocking concrete paving (PICP) systems.

CMA’S DIEPLSOOT SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY INITIATIVE NEARS COMPLETION
(24 July 2008)
Half a million rand’s worth of precast concrete building materials supplied at no cost by the Concrete Manufacturers Association (CMA) and its members has made a substantial contribution to the building of MaAfrika Tikkun’s early childhood, youth and health care facilities at The Wings of Life Community Centre, situated in ...... read more

SOUTH AFRICA’S LARGEST PERMEABLE PAVING PROJECT TO DATE
(11 July 2008)
Permeable interlocking concrete paving (PICP) paving is taking root in South Africa. Introduced for the first time last year, the eighth and largest PICP project to date is nearing completion.

In this instance, PICP is being used to pave a 13 000m² car park on the West Campus of the ...... read more

CMA TO HOLD FOUR SEMINARS ON CONCRETE RETAINING BLOCK WALLS
(12 June 2008)
The Concrete Manufacturers Association (CMA) is to stage four half-day afternoon seminars on the design, construction and reinforcing of concrete retaining block (CRB) walls this year, the first having been scheduled for July 31 in Polokwane.

CMA PUBLISHES LEAFLET ON CRB WALL CONSTRUCTION
(13 May 2008)
The CMA (Concrete Manufacturers Association) has published a step-by-step instruction leaflet on how to build concrete retaining block (CRB) walls correctly.

The two-sided leaflet is aimed at CRB contractors and DIY people who would like to shore up or create space in gardens and other areas with retaining walls no ...... read more

BUENOS AIRES TO STAGE INTERNATIONAL CONCRETE BLOCK PAVING CONFERENCE
(04 April 2008)
SEPT (Small Element Paving Technologists), the international segmental paving association, will be holding its triennial conference and exhibition in Buenos Aires in October next year. This decision was confirmed in March at an executive workshop held in Sydney, Australia.

John Cairns, CMA (Concrete Manufacturers Association) director, who is ...... read more

CMA INTRODUCES BLOCK MASONS’ SITE MANUAL
(12 March 2008)
The Concrete Manufacturers Association (CMA) has published a ‘Block Masons’ Site Manual’. Over 80 pages of practical information, its chief objective is to improve the understanding of modular masonry construction and to promote its correct implementation through good building practice.

Compiled and co-edited by masonry consultant, Günter Koch, the manual ...... read more

CONCRETE RETAINING BLOCK WALL SPECIFICATION AND BILL OF QUANTITIES EXAMPLES NOW AVAILABLE ON AUTOSPEC

(23 January 2008)
The Concrete Manufacturers Association (CMA) has announced that samples of a detailed standard specification document and a standard bill of quantities layout for concrete retaining block walls (CRB) are now available on AutoSpec, the web-based product specification tool for the construction industry.

CMA director, John Cairns, says this should help ...... read more

CONCRETE MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION INVITES ENTRIES TO ITS 12th AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE COMPETITION
(15 January 2008)
The Concrete Manufacturers Association (CMA) will be staging its 12th Awards for Excellence competition during 2008.

CMA director, John Cairns, says that the purpose of the awards is to recognise excellence in the aesthetic, engineering and creative use of concrete manufactured products, and to honour those involved in the application ...... read more

GREEN MASONRY – A MEANINGFUL CONTRIBUTION TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
(14 January 2008)
Genuinely environmentally friendly bricks are hard to come by. However, Concrete Manufacturers Association (CMA) member, Cape Brick, a concrete brick manufacturer based in Cape Town, delivers just that, eco-friendly bricks with the lowest embodied energy content of all the bricks manufactured in this country.

Embodied energy is defined as the ...... read more

CMA PUBLISHES EIGHTH EDITION OF MASONRY MANUAL
(10 January 2008)
The Concrete Manufacturers Association (CMA) has published the eighth edition of its Concrete Masonry Manual, first published in 1987.

The manual incorporates SANS 2001-CMI Masonry Walling, one of the new series of standards that have replaced the former SABS 1 200 series. The new standards, as well as the new ...... read more

PRECAST - SECOND ISSUE
(07 December 2007)
The second issue of the CMA's journal, PRECAST, dedicated to precast concrete products and applications, can be viewed on this site.  Alternatively, a hard copy is available from Pam or John at the CMA.  Call us on 011 805 6742 or email ...... read more

MORELETASPRUIT OUTFALL SEWER EXPANSION AND UPGRADE BEGINS
(29 November 2007)
Work has begun on upgrading the Moreletaspruit outfall sewer system in eastern Tshwane, a major infrastructural project which will take seven years to complete.

Draining a 113 km² catchment area bounded by Rigel Avenue and Moreleta Park on its southern perimeter, Pienaars River catchment area (east), Waterkloof Ridge (west) and ...... read more

PRECAST CONCRETE ELEMENTS DOMINATE IN NEW HOUSING PROJECT
(29 November 2007)
Pennyville, an affordable housing project in Pennyville Ext 1 opposite New Canada Station, south west of Johannesburg, is being constructed almost exclusively with precast concrete components. The project is being developed and funded by the City of Johannesburg, and Pennyville Zamamphile Relocations (Pty) Ltd (PZR) is the turnkey contractor.

Everything, ...... read more

CONCRETE BLOCK PAVING MORE COST-EFFECTIVE THAN PREMIX ASPHALT IN MANY APPLICATIONS
(13 November 2007)
An independent survey conducted on behalf of the Concrete Manufacturers Association (CMA) shows that concrete block paving (CBP) is, in most instances, a more cost-effective surfacing option for driveways, car parks, residential streets and township roads than premix asphalt paving (PAP). The results of the survey have been published by ...... read more

ICCX CONFERENCE AND TRADE FAIR SCHEDULED FOR FEBRUARY 2008
(04 October 2007)
Next year’s ICCX  (International Concrete Conference and Exhibition) , which is scheduled to run from February 19th – 21st at Sun City, follows hard on the heels of this year’s very successful event in Cape Town.

ICCX Sun City promises to eclipse Cape Town’s event, which was the largest construction ...... read more

INFRASET PERFECTS BRATTICE WALL BEAM MANUFACTURING
(03 October 2007)
Concrete Manufacturers Association (CMA) member, Infraset Infrastructural Products, has developed a seven ton precast concrete beam which is being used to build brattice walls in some of Sasol’s new coal mining shafts.

The advantage of the brattice wall concept is the cost savings that accrue from sinking one instead of ...... read more

HOLLOW-CORE SLABS OFFER MUCH MORE THAN PRECAST FLOORING
(17 September 2007)
Originally developed for precast flooring on multi-storeyed buildings, several alternative uses for hollow-core slabs have been developed by Concrete Manufacturers Association (CMA) members. The result is always the same, superior functionality, quicker construction times and maintenance-free properties. Some of the applications are described briefly below.