Top-quality concrete is essential to the future of the SA construction market, says Walter Ebeling, director of Pan Mixers South Africa, the leading manufacturer of concrete block, brick and paving machinery.

Ebeling says that PMSA has identified the increase use of world-class concrete as key to ensuring the future success of South Africa's housing and infrastructural development. As the construction industry in South Africa starts to show signs of recovery, the need for producing the highest-grade of concrete is more important than ever before.
   The company has exclusive distribution rights to the European-manufactured Fiori self-loading concrete mixer. This world-renowned product that comes fully-equipped with an on-board weighing system, which allows the user to weigh aggregates before loading them into the mixer; thereby, creating better quality concrete.
   Ebeling says that the mixer has come under fire in recent media reports, which claim that the on-board electronic weighing system is prone to technical problems, owing to the fact that the sensitive equipment is not built to withstand the harsh South African climate and terrain. Ebeling points out that they have sold several Fiori self-loading mixers over the past few months, and the company has not received any complaints about the weighing system. He added that one client who owns two Fiori mixers and a competitor's mixer was impressed by the reliability of the Fiori's. "As a condition of the supply for one of their recent contracts, each batch of concrete that the client produced had to be recorded, and calibration certificates supplied for each of the machine's weighing systems. If the client did not have the facility to weigh and record each batch, they would not have been awarded the contract."
 

He said, "The Fiori mixers are currently being used for road infrastructure and the manufacture of concrete floors on two separate sites, located 10km apart. The road infrastructure project poses the biggest challenge, as the mixers are used for in-situ casting of roadside kerbs and storm water channels, as well as concrete support beams for paving of the road surface. The mixers are pushed to the limit every day, owing to the fact that they operate on steep inclines, in dry and dusty conditions caused by high temperatures. However, despite the hostile environment, the mixers have performed perfectly."
    "Fiori's advanced weighing system has pressure sensors in the hydraulics system for weighing, which makes it more robust and accurate. "It is the top-of-the-range mixer on the market, and enables users to produce the highest-quality concrete. Although the weighing system is an optional extra, it is highly-recommended in order to ensure that a top-quality end-product is produced every time."
    "Advanced technology developed by Fiori enables the mixer not only to weigh the raw materials, but also to calculate whether the material is mixed, and the slump value required - making it the only self-loading mixer in the world capable of producing world-class, CE quality concrete."
    Ebeling says that by adding the extra costs involved in purchasing a Fiori self-loading mixer are minimal compared to industry-standard machinery. "The difference in price is minor; however, the Fiori mixer provides contractors with the peace-of-mind that they are delivering the exact quality of concrete, where and when they want it."