Innovative Business Model Ya Tung Ready Mixed Concrete Corporation Helps Sponge City

        Concrete "can be said to be a seemingly ordinary yet indispensable existence in life, with its simple appearance visible everywhere in roads, houses, parking lots, etc. However, did you know? The functionality and support of different proportions of concrete vary greatly, and there are even environmentally friendly products that can penetrate, absorb water, and retain water. This "Cover Story" will flip your imagination of "soil"!

                Focusing on water retention and permeability as a sustainable solution

        In recent years, climate change has intensified, with frequent occurrences of heavy rainfall and drought, which have also tested the resilience and resilience of urban planning. Many people are starting to think, can we take advantage of rain to absorb water, store water, and release it for recycling when there is a shortage of water? The concept of "sponge city" has emerged, and "finding suitable building materials" has become the top priority.

                Ya Tung Ready Mixed Concrete Corporation has always been committed to promoting high-quality green building materials and conducting research and development of related products. Considering that the appearance of permeable concrete is very similar to that of sponge, it is a porous material that helps to retain, permeate, and retain water in the pavement. It can respond to extreme heavy rainfall levels, extend flood peak time, achieve flood control effects, and reduce environmental temperature, alleviate the heat island effect. At the same time, by utilizing the advantages of an island like climate, it can achieve water storage and reuse, in line with the global sustainability initiative indicators, The trails in Japanese parks even specify the use of permeable paving, so the team has set their goal on developing this forward-looking product.

        However, permeable concrete is not actually a brand new product. As early as the 1990s, many mud workers often made it on site. However, at that time, most of the masters lacked professional training and relied solely on word of mouth or personal experience to explore, resulting in unstable quality and delayed construction speed; Although there are also pre mixed plants that have assisted in production, they can only be transported by construction units using dump trucks. Sometimes, the construction site is too narrow, making it difficult for dump trucks to enter and exit. In addition, the product itself is easily affected by climate dryness and poor front and rear sections of the bucket, resulting in inconsistent strength and quality, and poor market acceptance.

        With the continuous evolution of the industry, permeable concrete has gradually become a globally recognized environmentally friendly building material with disaster reduction benefits, and the variety of products has become increasingly diverse. In addition to the definition of "fine-grained concrete" by the American Concrete Institute (ACI), there are also businesses embedding micro plastic pipes in concrete for use as water channels or permeable brick paving. Due to the wide range of applications and projects, inspection specifications often vary from case to case, and customers have many doubts about the use of the product.

        Comprehensive improvement of old products and re innovation style

        In order to overcome the difficulties in product manufacturing and promotion, Ya Tung Ready Mixed Concrete Corporation first started from the design aspect. Considering the previous production processes of permeable concrete, which used more coarse bone materials and less slurry, and were loaded into pre mixed trucks, it was easy to cause blockage or material buildup during transportation, which affected the willingness to accept orders for product production and transportation. The team then readjusted the material ratio, introduced special chemical admixtures, improved product stickiness, and optimized the production sequence. At the same time, they planned a transportation dividend mechanism to enhance the willingness of pre mixed truck drivers to transport, creating the first one-stop service in Taiwan to load permeable concrete products with pre mixed concrete trucks.

        In addition, in the past, product development mostly considered concrete performance as the main consideration, which easily overlooked the impact caused by the construction process. In fact, the quality of construction affects the quality and aesthetics of products.

                Ya Tung Ready Mixed Concrete Corporation searched for suitable construction methods and equipment from various countries' construction technology materials, and discussed with professional teams. It introduced lightweight compaction equipment specifically for permeable concrete from Japan, and developed the "back type construction method" that is most suitable for the on-site construction environment in Taiwan through industrial upstream and downstream strategic alliances. In the future, it plans to introduce Japanese style "paving machines", Comprehensively promote the development of new permeable concrete.

        The new type of permeable concrete can adjust its thickness and strength according to different needs, and is suitable for places such as pedestrian walkways, parking lots, or fire exits. It not only meets the American Concrete Institute (ACI) 522 specification for permeability, but also does not jump, grout, or flow vertically. It can also choose concrete of different particle sizes as the permeable layer, or present different colors according to needs, to increase the aesthetics and convenience of surface cleaning, The base layer is reinforced with larger particle sizes to enhance its bearing capacity, which combines quality, durability, aesthetics, and permeability.

        After improving the quality and construction process, establishing a unified quality inspection standard is the last mile in determining whether the product can be smoothly promoted. The R&D team of Ya Tung Ready Mixed Concrete Corporation reviewed the quality inspection standards for permeable concrete at home and abroad, and ultimately chose the standards recommended by the American Concrete Institute (ACI) as the testing basis, integrating Japanese standards, and strengthening the evaluation of product operability. On the other hand, Ya Tung Ready Mixed Concrete Corporation also reorganized the relevant research results into a paper and published it in the specialized journal "Concrete Technology" published by the Taiwan Concrete Society. It hopes to promote the establishment of reasonable and consistent international quality inspection standards through a third-party academic review mechanism.

        In addition to the initiative of Ya Tung Ready Mixed Concrete Corporation, the Construction Agency of the Ministry of the Interior has also successively revised the "Building Technical Regulations, Architectural Design and Construction Regulations" to specify the water retention indicators for building bases, and added relevant requirements for permeable paving in the "Technical Regulations for Water Retention Design of Building Bases" to facilitate the water retention of the base. Clear regulations are expected to bring a new wave of demand and business opportunities for permeable concrete products.

        Expanding promotion and renovating urban appearance

        Ya Tung Ready Mixed Concrete Corporation has successfully improved the performance and yield of its products, significantly reduced transportation costs, and won customers' favor for new permeable concrete by innovating production technology, construction processes, market service models, and guiding industry quality standards. It has also attracted an article from Economic Daily in the "Sponge City" special issue, becoming a leading brand in promoting "Sponge City" in Taiwan. At present, the products have been successively applied to the C2 standard project of Taifei Nangang, the engraving project of Yangbei, a new store in mainland China, the new construction project of TPKE Building in Far Eastern Group Communication Park in Taipei, the renovation project of the bicycle lane in the campus of National Taiwan University, the renewal project of Decathlon parking lot, etc. In the near future, the project will also be requisitioned in the F and G sections of Nanke, Tainan City to provide services, not only to create amazing economic benefits, but also to make specific contributions to environmental protection.

        Next time you pass through these projects, you might as well stop and enjoy the colorful permeable concrete. You will find that concrete is not "soil" at all!

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