Construction World November 2015

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PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

The concept was developed with the aim of supporting sales efforts and to assist inmeeting the demand to bemore MOBILE DEMONSTRATION TRAILER With the growing need to facilitate onsite training and increase accessibility and technical support to the Saint-Gobain Gyproc product portfolio, the Gyproc technical team has conceptualised and developed a mobile wall and ceiling demonstration trailer. >

are reduced given the training ‘comes to you’. Training can be done in areas much further afield than Gyproc’s formal training facility, and to this point many more contractors will have access to the training being offered. The training further affords the professional team the assurance that installations will be carried out in accordance with Saint-Gobain Gyproc’s exacting standards. The unit was recently unveiled at the University of Pretoria where a class of 2 nd year architecture students attended a two hour demonstration on basic drywalling and ceiling installations.

accessible to their customer base. The mobile unit offers flexibility and can be stationed on construction sites, in rural areas, at consultant’s offices, builder’s merchants, trade events and at tertiary institutions to name few. The customised demonstration station is not only visually impactful; it offers a range of benefits as an onsite training facility. It reduces any down time usually associated with training work force, which ordinarily takes place off site, training session cancellations

Sika is further expanding its supply chain in prosperous markets. In Cordoba, Argentina, a new production facility for mortars and admixtures has opened. The new plant, 700 kilometers northwest of the capital Buenos Aires, is Sika’s second production site in the country. It is located in the centre of a geographical area that accounts for 25% of Argentina’s GDP. ARGENTINIAN PRODUCTION FACILITY in Argentina’s northwestern provinces of Tucuman, Rio Negro, Neuquen, Entre Rios, Mendoza and Cordoba. Local production will lead to significant cost efficiency gains by reducing freight costs and increase Sika’s competitive position in the region. The plant will produce mortars (tile adhesives and grouts) and concrete and mortar admixtures. Favourable growth expectations After years of modest growth, Argentina‘s economy is expected to pick up speed and grow by an average 3,7% over the next five years, thereby stimulating demand in the construction industry. Several projects for transport, energy and utilities infrastructure are scheduled to start in 2016. The Inter-American Development Bank estimates that Argentina’s road network alone requires investments of USD1,5-billion a year for maintenance and upgrade and to eliminate the existing expansion backlog. “With the new plant in Cordoba, Sika is well positioned to unlock further growth potential in the northwestern provinces of Argentina. The latest investment in our supply chain brings us much closer to our customers in the region, increases our service level and allows us to optimise our cost base,” says José Luis Vázquez, Sika regional manager, Latin America. > The new Cordoba plant and its ware- house for finished products will improve Sika’s access to the constructionmarkets

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD NOVEMBER 2015