The International Glassfibre Concrete Association (GRCA International) is the only truly international association representing the GRC (glassfibre reinforced concrete) industry. Every two to three years the GRCA holds an international congress where manufacturers, designers, suppliers and researchers of GRC (GFRC to many) meet to discuss GRC, renew old contacts and make new ones.

Nearly a year ago, during May, the last congress, GRC 2001, was held at Dublin in the Republic of Ireland. There were delegates from more than 30 countries, including those from the Middle East and many interesting papers were presented.

Merit awards are a traditional feature of GRC congresses. These are given for significant projects, particularly successful GRC manufacturing companies, and individuals that have made a significant contribution to the GRC industry. The winners are selected through nomination by the members.

At GRC 2001 the project award and company award were presented to GRC companies operating within the Middle East. The individual award was presented to 'Bud' Molloy who had recently retired after spending most of his working life, since the early 1970s, in the American GFRC industry. Molloy has contributed greatly to PCI publications, specifications covering GFRC, stud frame cladding technology, and is a well-respected figure in the industry around the world.

The company award was given to Amiantit Oman, based in Oman. Established in 1976, the company started manufacturing GRC in the early 1980s and has steadily established itself, providing excellent service and specialising in architectural GRC.

Amiantit has applied GRC to reproduce Oman's architectural heritage in the development of the modern state. The company's awareness of visual aesthetics, attention to detail and ability to work to stringent deadlines have led to its products being specified throughout the Middle East. Amiantit's factory was selected as one of Oman's best five in 1993 and was awarded His Majesty's Cup the same year. Jack Hague, who accepted the award on behalf of Amiantit, has been a leading figure at Amiantit, encouraging the imaginative use of GRC for some spectacular projects.

Fibrobeton, based in Istanbul, Turkey, was awarded the project award for the Metrocity millennium project. Dander Yetisiner accepted the award on behalf of Fibrobeton.

Fibrobeton was founded in 1987 to produce GRC. At first, the production was limited to some decorative elements but later the product range has expanded to almost every possible use of GRC.

The Metrocity project used around 200,000 sq m of cladding on six structures in a huge complex. The patented cladding type used on the project, the thermally-insulating, earthquake-resistant 'Fibrofombeton' GRC panel had been developed by Fibrobeton. The outer shell is made from GRC. This shell is produced using steel stud frame panel technology. The Fibrofombeton panel is made by filling the shell with foam concrete to provide the thermal insulation.

The GRCA is sensitive to the views of its members and congress attendees. After the last congress, an attitude survey was carried out. Following this, it was decided to hold the next GRCA congress in Barcelona, Spain, during the autumn of 2003. As more details emerge, they will be publicised and posted on the GRCA website (www.grca.co.uk).

Some of the work that the GRCA does in support of the GRC industry is not very obvious, nor indeed very exciting; but is very worthy and important. For some years, the members' technical committee has been working hard on the preparation of European standards for GRC. Some are already in place. EN 1170: Parts 1-7 'Test methods for glassfibre reinforced cement' was published in 1998 and EN 1196 'Precast concrete products - General rules for factory production control of glassfibre reinforced cement' was published in 1999.

The second edition of the GRCA 'Specification for the manufacture, curing and testing of GRC products' was published in 2000.

Ongoing work includes a standard for AR (alkali-resistant) glassfibre and a set of design examples to form a guide for engineers and manufacturers. These standards and specifications have a value well outside of the confines of Europe and can be a key issue in persuading specifiers of the respectability and credibility of GRC as a material.

In parallel, the GRCA has also worked with publishers of standard architectural specifications. These will shortly be available to subscribers through the Internet. Members will be informed, through Concrete magazine, when they become available. Over the last three years, the members have been kept in touch with GRCA activities through regular articles in Concrete. This has proved to be popular and all members have the opportunity to present articles or news stories for publication in the magazine. In the first instance copy or enquiries should be directed to the advisory service.

Again, on the subject of publicity, the GRCA has also contributed to the funding of the PCI video (US) on stud-frame cladding. Copies of this are available through the Concrete Society. And as we all become more comfortable with e-commerce, the GRCA has upgraded its literature distribution system. GRCA publications can now be ordered through the Internet by logging on to the www.concretebookshop.com site. For those who are less happy with this method of buying, the old systems are still in place!

The GRCA website is being revised to make it easier to keep it up to date. Members who have not created a link from the GRCA site to theirs can email Mike Collins (collins@concrete.org.uk), the Concrete Society's IT manager who is now looking after the site on the GRCA's behalf.

The GRCA industry continues to grow and evolve. It is clear from the GRC 2001 papers that the technology is being further developed and that newer forms of GRC are evolving that will further broaden the scope of glassfibre reinforced concrete composites.

The current officers of the GRCA are chairman Stephan Liozu (Cem-FIL Reinforcements Business Unit, email: sliozu@compuserve.com), immediate past-chairman Glyn Jones (BSCP, email: glynjones@bscp.co.uk), publicity committee chairman David Glover (David J Glover & Associates, email: djglover99@hotmail.com), and technical committee chairman Iain Peter. (Iain D Peter & Associates, email: idpeter@ukgateway.net).