Construcciones Yamaro: Allcon Group strives to make concreting easier
By providing the right gear at the right time, Allcon Group is helping construction professionals deliver fast, efficient, high-quality concrete works for their major civil infrastructure projects.
For over 35 years Allcon Group has provided solutions to concrete problems, with a primary focus on making the traditionally laborious task of concreting easier. Established as a family business in 1987, the company was one of the first to introduce the plastic bar chair to the Australian market and today remains at the forefront of concrete tooling and equipment innovations.
From its humble beginnings supplying plastic bar chairs, primarily for the residential building industry, Allcon Group has diversified and expanded to service the major civil, commercial and industrial construction sectors with its range of hand-tools, equipment and consumables for concrete applications.
Sales manager Ben Weeks, whose grandfather started the business, has worked within Allcon Group since the moment he left school. Understanding the fast-paced and demanding nature of civil infrastructure projects, he says the company is committed to helping construction teams save time and get their projects finished to scope.
“Our main point of difference is reliability,” says Weeks. “Our customers can rely on our extensive industry experience, quality products and efficient delivery service to ensure they get their concrete jobs done on time.”
“We supply concrete consumables and a range of labour-saving products that are easy to use, with an emphasis on quality and reliability.
“At the end of the day, our main aim is to enable construction professionals to do what is normally physically demanding work, more efficiently.”
Through its range and services, Allcon Group addresses a number of common concrete challenges seen in the civil construction industry, such as those caused by time constraints and unsuitable design specifications.
When it comes to concrete design, the Allcon Group team will provide a design sketch and project takeoff for its customer’s formwork requirements – including full dimensions – to provide them with an optimal, time-effective solution for their application. “Then, we ensure we deliver the solution on time,” says Weeks. “Often with major civil construction, project teams have tight delivery timeframes or time restraints associated with site access.”
On time delivery is also crucial to ensure goods – such as cardboard void formers, which are extremely sensitive to moisture – aren’t sitting around onsite getting damaged. Many concrete products have to be delivered and installed on the same day, or within a couple of days, to ensure that they aren’t damaged by being stored in a site environment.
“Through our carrier network, in-house fleet of GPS tracked delivery vehicles and conveniently located warehouses in Victoria and NSW, we ensure quick and efficient delivery of all tools and equipment – helping our customers to keep their job moving,” says Weeks.
This on time service was essential for Multiplex and BKH Contractors’ delivery of the Western Sydney Airport Terminal project. Allcon Group supplied and delivered over 35,000 square metres of collapsible cardboard void former for the main terminal ground slab, during what was one of the wettest years on record.
“Despite these challenges, we were able to work with BKH Contractors and Multiplex to deliver semi-loads of product to site with less than 48 hours of notice after the rain eased,” says Weeks.
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Allcon Group similarly played a key role in BESIX Watpac and I&D Group’s delivery of Microsoft’s MEL 07 ‘hyperscale’ data centre – a multi-level facility near Melbourne Airport.
“Allcon Group supplied and delivered over 20,000 square metres of collapsible cardboard void former over a period of five months, which required careful planning and communication of site deliveries due to the tight delivery timeframes and the number of semi-loads required per month to ensure the project remained on schedule,” says Weeks.
Construction professionals also face challenges associated with project variations. The Superseal Group recently experienced such a challenge on the complex URBNSURF wave pool project at Sydney Olympic Park, where they found themselves having to shut down and drain the pool every three months for resurfacing and waterproofing maintenance.
“To minimise shutdown maintenance on the project, we put forward a tertiary waterstop solution that met the engineering requirements and critical demands of the unique application,” says Weeks. “The solution not only minimised shutdown maintenance works for the client, but also came with a 100-year product warranty.”
Another key product currently driving positive outcomes for Allcon Group’s customers is Geoplast, a plastic formwork system. Traditionally, formwork is installed using plywood which is custom cut to size by the formworker according to the job’s specifications. After being in contact with fresh concrete, plywood starts to degrade, reducing the number of times it can be reused in subsequent projects. Geoplast, conversely, is a plastic, modular formwork system that can be reused over 100 times and requires no tools to install.
CPB Contractors recently used Geoplast from Allcon Group in its delivery of BHP’s Wind Fences Project in Port Hedland. “By transitioning to the plastic formwork system, CPB Contractors was able to reduce waste and the use of chemicals onsite and found Geoplast to be approximately one and a half times more efficient than plywood,” says Weeks.
For spearheading the rollout of Geoplast as a replacement for plywood on the project, CPB Contractors’ Peter Ting was awarded Engineer of the Year at the 2023 Civil Construction Federation’s (CCF) Industry and Training Awards.
On top of its consumable and equipment ranges, Allcon Group supplies tools that can not only save time, but also improve health and safety for the user. Many workers in the concrete construction sector perform tasks that are highly repetitive, which can lead to repetitive strain injuries (RSI).
For instance, a common way to secure reinforcing bars in concrete construction is to use tie wire, which is generally installed by a professional steel fixer by hand. “It’s common for these professionals to end up with a RSI as a result of doing this task every day,” says Weeks. “Whereas our tie guns will tie the steel automatically – all the steel fixer has to do is pull the trigger.”
Additionally, concreters and builders have to rely on a dedicated steel fixer to come onsite and tie the steel, which they have to schedule. “If the steel fixer doesn’t show up, it delays the job,” says Weeks. “The tie gun allows the concreter to take control of that task themselves as it doesn’t require a professional qualification to be operated.”
“This allows them to be more flexible with timing and get the job done quicker.”
With a focus on its vision – to be the most reliable provider of concrete construction equipment and materials to contractors across Australia – Allcon Group’s range continues to grow to keep up with the ever-evolving needs of the construction industry.
The post Allcon Group strives to make concreting easier appeared first on Inside Construction.
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