250.896.6229
info@szolyd.com

Servicing international clients

Szolyd Development is the only Ductal UHPC precaster serving British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. For quality control reasons, Lafarge limits the amount of sub licences given out to pre casters, our closest competition is California. We can service Washington, Oregon and anywhere in the United States cost effectively, while easily covering the costs of shipping by taking advantage of the low Canadian dollar. Ten years of precasting ductal and building sophisticated molds gives us an advantage, and save our clients money, as we do not need to build research and development into our costs.

Shipping conventional concrete across the globe does not make sense. Ductal can be modular, flat packed, thin shelled and therefore easier to package and ship. When it is not possible, or inefficient to ship products, Szolyd works with designers, architects and engineers to consult on products and projects. We can bring our experience, molds and technology to local UHPC pre casters, therefore keeping the materials and bulk of the manufacturing local. This methodology applies to projects anywhere in the world. 

GROWTH AREAS FOR DUCTAL PRODUCTS

There are many areas with hostile conditions could benefit from Ductal’s tremendous durability and weather resistant properties. We can partner with existing concrete pre casters and service these areas by developing mold and new casting systems.

Cold Climates

Extremely cold, freeze thaw prone areas such as the Yukon, Alaska, The Northwest Territories and all ski hills around the world are prime locations for UHPC products. These hostile conditions can benefit from ductal site furnishings. UHPC benches can include embedded heating cables powered by the grid or solar panels. Heated concrete benches can warm public spaces and create intimate gathering places. Salts and chemicals utilized for de icing pose major problems to wood, powder coated steel and conventional concrete. The low porosity of Ductal concrete allows for extreme durability and protection against salts and chlorides used in de icing and snow removal. 

see our article on site furnishings for Edmonton AB

Hot humid environments

Hot humid environments such as central and South America are prone to flooding, high humidity and infestations of bugs such as termites. Wood and conventional concrete are general utilized but have a short lifespan. Ductal concrete can be utilized for structural beams, cladding systems, docks, site furnishings, and building panels. UHCP discourages the growth of mold and fungus, and has self healing properties which uses the humidity in the surrounding air to further hydrate the matrix. Embedded fasteners in the concrete can allow less durable materials such as local woods to be replaced, sanded and repaired, thus merging materials for reasons of aesthetics and function.

Dessert conditions

Dry an hot environments such as Arizona, and the middle east are imposing climates for site furnishings and building materials. The extreme temperature fluctuations of desert conditions are hard on materials that are porous or rely on coatings to protect them. Wind and sand can cause metals and other powder coated surfaces to be etched and easily destroyed. Ductal’s integral colour, high abrasion resistance and low porosity mean that products manufactured with UHPC, will last much longer than other conventional materials. 

click here for info on ductal bus shelter

Coastal cities

With global temperatures rising, many of our coastal cities will be subjected to high water conditions on a regular basis. An example of this is Hurricane Sandy in New York. Ductal site furnishings were installed along the water and submerged for days on end. The UHPC site furnishings showed no sign of wear, proving that it is the material of choice for environments that are prone to flooding, hurricanes and harsh weather.

Conventional concrete is reinforced with steel to create flexural strength. This re-forcing steel is the weak link because salt eventual gets into the concrete,  corrodes the steel,  and causes concrete failure. Ductal needs no structural steel or rebar for flexural strength, therefore even if water could penetrate it extremely dense, low porosity surface, there isn’t any steel to corrode and break down. Independent study – Freeze thaw cycles of Ductal