“Through the years, we’ve always responded to marketplace needs. Now that our customers are looking to find environmentally friendly options for their concrete, we are able to offer several solutions,” said Jeff Krupcale, President of Superior Materials Holdings, LLC. “The sustainable concrete solutions we are providing help our construction partners meet carbon-neutral goals.”
Concrete is already considered a sustainable material in terms of its long-life cycle, lower life-cycle costs, and resilience following natural and man-made disasters. However, a major component of concrete is cement, which is one of the main producers of carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas. Innovative ready-mixed concrete producers, like Superior Materials, realize that to improve the environment, it is necessary to offer alternatives that can reduce the carbon footprint of the concrete. There are many proven alternatives now available that are successfully implemented in markets throughout the United States.
Superior Materials is the first ready-mixed concrete producer in Southeast Michigan to meet this challenge and offer an array of options to reduce the cement content in the content they produce, while still maintaining the same strength and durability. Whether choosing CarbonCure technology, portland-limestone cement, concrete additives, supplementary cementitious materials, or cement reduction opportunities, Superior Materials works with each customer to determine the best method to reduce the carbon footprint while continuing to meet all project specifications.
“We are committed to work closely with our customers on each project to find the best environmentally friendly solution,” said John Werner, Director of Sales. “With our vast array of alternatives, our team can easily find one or multiple environmentally friendly solutions for a project.”
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Following are the sustainable alternatives now available through Superior Materials:
- CarbonCure Technology: Superior Materials is partnering with CarbonCure Technologies to reduce the carbon footprint of its concrete. This technology recycles waste CO2 to improve compressive strength and reduce the cement content of Superior Materials' mixes without impacting strength or performance.
- Portland-Limestone Cement: As an alternative to ordinary portland cement with the same durability and resilience, portland-limestone cement typically provides 10 percent reduction in the carbon footprint. It performs just like ordinary portland cement, follows the same specifications, the same mix design, only with a lower carbon profile.
- Concrete Additives: Superior Materials offers a full line of concrete additives that can increase the sustainability of a project while making concrete stronger, more crack resistant, more cost-efficient, and easier to place and finish. Five types of chemical admixtures are available: air entraining agents, water-reducing chemicals, retarders, accelerators, and superplasticizers or high-range water reducers.
- Supplementary Cementitious Materials: Use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) enhances the performance of concrete while reducing its carbon footprint. Typical SCMs include fly ash, slag, silica fume, and other natural pozzolans.
- 56-Day Strength: Another sustainability option is to reduce the cement content in the concrete by specifying 56-day strength for the concrete instead of the standard 28-day strength. The concrete will obtain the same ultimate strength needed and since less cement is used, the carbon footprint of the concrete is reduced.
“By expanding the use of sustainable concrete mixes throughout southeast Michigan, we are helping our surrounding communities meet their carbon neutral goals,” Krupcale said. “While we’ve been delivering some high performance, low carbon mixes for more than a decade, the selection has greatly increased.”
Currently, Superior Materials is supplying sustainable mixes on multiple projects. The newest option to reduce the carbon footprint, CarbonCure, is now available.
Since 1999, Superior Materials has been a supplier of ready-mixed concrete. To meet the demands of today’s marketplace, Superior Materials offers an array of specialty concrete mixes. To meet the concrete demands throughout the state of Michigan, Superior Materials has 15 ready-mix production facilities within the Detroit Metro, Flint, and Greater Lansing areas. The company's plants are certified to deliver to Michigan state and county jobs for roads, bridges, and buildings.
