ASHTECH International has recently opened a new terminal at Al Ghail in the Ras Al Khaimah Free Zone as part of a strategic move to facilitate bulk supplies of fly ash to its customers.
Headquartered in Mumbai, India, Ashtech is today the leading manufacturer and supplier of quality fly ash in the Middle East and India. The company has eight strategically located processing and distribution facilities along the east and west coasts of India and has been supplying fly ash to the region for almost five years now. In 2006, it set up an office and warehouse facility in the UAE to provide direct service and support for its customer base in the region.
“Now with the new terminal in Ras Al Khaimah, we mark the completion of the second phase of our facility and this also makes us the first company in the UAE to supply fly ash in bulk,” says Robin De Beer, manager UAE, Ashtech International.
“We have been selling our product in jumbo bags until now and this is a very important move as customers can avail our product in bulk tankers and then pneumatically handle the fly ash to store it directly in their silos,” he says. “This will eliminate wastage, the need for storage and handling of bags and additional manpower, and our customers can also have the benefit of regular and coordinated deliveries with reliability and quality supply. “
As a group, Ashtech markets approximately 900,000 tonnes of fly ash per annum and has captured 70 per cent of the market share in the Middle East, according to Ebrahim Seedat, manager Middle East.
 “We are the market leaders because of the quality of our product and the technical support we provide to our customers,” he says, adding that “the use of fly ash to improve the technical properties of concrete has become a standard, particularly in hot and aggressive environments like the one in the Middle East. “Consultants and engineers alike have recognised this with the result that our fly ash has been used on some of the most prominent structures in the Middle East, including the Burj Dubai, where we were an approved supplier.”
Other projects include the Palm islands, Dubai Marina, F1 Theme Park, Etisalat head office, Madinat Jumeirah (Phases One and Two), all in the UAE; Sheikh Khalifa Port, the Bahrain Financial Harbour and Shaikh Khalifa Causeway projects in Bahrain; and Khalifa Sports City and the New Doha International Airport in Qatar.
Ashtech has also tied up exclusively with Ras Al Khaimah Cement Company and supplies fly ash for the manufacture of Powercrete Cement.
“One the key benefits of fly ash,” De Beer says, “is that the product is today one of the greatest energy-saving resources and, as a recycled material, it creates significant benefits for the environment as harmful carbon dioxide emissions or greenhouse gases are reduced when fly ash is blended with cement or used as a cement enhancer in concrete applications. For every tonne of cement replaced by fly ash, there is a significant amount of energy saved and a marked improvement in the environmental footprint of the concrete, thus meeting HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s decree requiring all buildings to be green,” he says.
Concrete containing fly ash can be used in almost every application where Portland cement is used. With its unique properties, it is particularly advantageous for use in mass concrete sections, high-performance readymix and precast concretes, self-compacting concretes marine environment concretes, chloride and sulphate-bearing environments, tunnelling and pumped concrete.
“Conventionally, people have been replacing only 30 per cent cement with fly ash but with the new developments in admixture technology we can boost these levels up to 70 per cent while offering the same benefits,” says Seedat.
“We only process fly ash that is highly reactive and has water-reducing characteristics. Our fly ash is among the first classified and processed material to be made available in India. By classifying and processing, we ensure that a large proportion of our fly ash is composed of fine particles, which results in a more controlled and consistent product. Our fly ash complies with the most stringent international specification, which is BS EN 450 Class S,” he says. “With the new bulk facility in place at Ras Al Khaimah, we are now planning to set up similar terminals in other Gulf countries too, in order to strengthen our presence and reputation in the marketplace.”