Tuff Mix | Petersburg, VA
In 2011, Gerdau Ameristeel in Petersburg, VA asked Nycon to design a concrete tipping slab that would reduce their cost and the frequency of replacement, which was approximately every 18 months. The plant needed heavy-duty concrete capable of enduring tremendous abuse as well as occasional 200,000 pound wheel loads. The facility operates 24/7 so the new slabs needed to be ready for traffic in less than one week. The plant wanted slabs with improved abrasion resistance and an increased life expectancy to avoid disruption to the plant operations and to improve their return on investment.
The solution was NYCON’s Tuff Mix®. Tuff Mix is a high performance concrete design made with a blend of NYCON PVA fibers, timely cut control joints and proper curing.
The scrap recycling plant’s first project for Tuff Mix was a 40,000 SF scrap pad. Independent laboratory testing on cylinders, beams and panels made to compare normal concrete mix versus Tuff Mix confirm dramatic reduction to premature failure as well as twice the impact and abrasion resistance.
Fast forward to 2018, Gerdau’s Tuff Mix has no cracks, displacement or deformation since placing into service in 2011. Before Tuff Mix this pad needed replacement every 18 months, but Tuff Mix has now lasted over 4 times that and shows very little wear.
Tuff Mix has saved Gerdau millions of dollars in replacement cost and production loss.