RMC Group, which claims to be the largest readymixed concrete supplier in the world, has supplied more than 300,000 cu m of readymix concrete for the Dubai Marina project to date.

'The concrete supplied to the project concrete had to meet the most onerous durability requirements,' says Nigel Harries, commercial manager for the company.
RMC supplied to the Dubai Marina in a range of capacilities:

• It was the initial back-up supplier to Al Futtaim Tarmac for the quay walls;
• It supplied concrete for the piling work undertaken by Middle East Foundations and for the foundations to Al Futtaim Tarmac for the six towers in the North and South sections;
• It was the back-up and support supplier for Nasa Multiplex/Al Futtaim JV on the North towers; and
• It was concrete supplier to Nasa Multiplex/Al Futtaim Tarmac JV on the South towers.

RMC is represented in the UAE by two concrete companies: RMC Topmix in Dubai and Sharjah and RMC Supermix in Abu Dhabi.   It also owns a gabbro quarry (Gulf Quarries in Fujairah) and a cement and slag grinding operation (Falcon Cement in Jebel Ali).
The company has locally developed a number of special types of concrete. These include, Readyfibre, Readyfill, K Screed, Readyspread, Readycolour and SCC.
Elaborating on these products, Harries, says: 'Over the last four years, we have actively marketed a range of branded concrete products to satisfy the needs of our customers.
'There is a tendency in our industry to be reactive to customer's requirements, that is, just offer only what he asks for. We believe, as industry specialists, we can offer more of a service than just this. As an example, we know from our worldwide operations that between 5 and 10 per cent of all concrete placed in major concrete markets incorporates some type of fibre to assist with crack control and to enhance quality. In 1999, less than 0.1 per cent of our concrete contained fibres. Today, through an active programme of seminars and technical proposals, the figure is approximately 1 per cent. We offer both polypropylene and steelfibre reinforced concrete under the brand name Readyfibre.'
 'Another interesting example is our controlled low-strength trench fill product Readyfill. Originally, this was developed as a self-levelling low-strength material to offer an alternative to laborious and time-consuming compaction of sand in trenches. However, one of our most successful applications was as void filler in the foundations of an underground car park of a newly constructed 15-storey tower. Approximately 1,800 cu m of Readyfill was pumped through a static line over four consecutive days. Using conventional means, it would have taken at least four weeks, as the access would have precluded the use of mechanical shovels and other conventional tools. Other interesting use of Readyfill has included filling disused drainage pipes on a major local villa development.'
K Screed is a proprietary screed supplied through RMC's network of plants throughout the UAE.
He continues: 'Isocrete K screed is the UK's market leader in floor screeds and is jointly marketed by Flowcrete FZCO and RMC. It is a semi-dry cementitious screeding system incorporating proprietary additives to produce a controlled early drying and high-strength screed with reduced shrinkage, cracking and curling. One of its main advantages is that it can be laid in much thinner layers than conventional sand cement screeds.
'Major projects undertaken throughout the world include Chek Lap Kok Airport in Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur Airport in Malaysia, and Heathrow Airport in addition to numerous hospitals and commercial buildings throughout the UK. Local projects have included the cinemas at Sharjah's Mega Mall and Al Tayer showrooms, besides the Dubai Marina towers for Emaar.
'Prior to 2001, the contractor had two main options when carrying out plastering or render work: either to site mix - which is labour intensive, prone to wastage and often of variable quality - or to use proprietary bagged systems - which tends to be expensive and also prone to costly wastage.
'RMC introduced the retarded mortar system, marketed as Readyspread, using technology and experience from its sister companies in Europe and the US. Essentially Readyspread is a ready-to-use mortar, plaster or screed system incorporating set retarders for up to 12-hour retardation. Deliveries are made in proprietary 0.25 cu m tubs, which are crane-liftable. With this system, there is no need for any materials to be stored on site or for mixing equipment, it dramatically reduces labour and wastage, and improves productivity while reducing the risk of failure. Since its introduction, many local contractors exclusively use Readyspread, which is currently being applied on many of the prestigious local projects.'

'Concrete does not have to be grey and boring,' says Harries. 'Through an initiative whereby RMC has joined forces with LM Scofield, one of the leading coloured concrete additive companies in the US, it is now possible to buy concrete in a range of more than 20 colours. Many successful projects have been undertaken locally including the Children's Museum and the Grand Hyatt Dubai. Colour conditioned concretes are marketed under the brand name of Readycolour.'
Another interesting development has been the incorporation of Readyspread technology with the coloured additives to produce coloured architectural renders. The launch of its 'Turath' traditional-style render with hand-applied finishes is creating huge interest on the ongoing Madinat Jumeirah project, he says.
However, perhaps of most interest is its latest 'self compacting concrete', often referred to as SCC or Rheodynamic concrete, which needs no vibration and will change the way construction is carried out in the future, he claims. It offers many benefits, including improved surface finish, reduced risk of honeycombing, guaranteed insitu compaction and overcoming congested reinforcement, among others.
'However, one of the most significant uses will be in enabling faster construction methods with drastically reduced labour requirements. In one recent project successfully supplied with SCC, 4-m-high walls and columns were cast by pumps - not conventionally from the top but via shut-off valves located at the base of the shutters. The results were extremely positive with walls containing 14 cu m of concrete cast in 12 minutes with zero labour input,' concludes Harries.