Thomas Concrete Group's brand-new plant in Heby, north of Stockholm, Sweden, has opened.
In two working shifts it can produce pre-cast, reinforced double-walls and slabs in volumes sufficient to build approximately 4,000 new apartments/year in the Stockholm area, where there is a severe housing shortage.
“The new Heby plant will enable us to meet the needs of the market and help solve housing shortages," says Hans Karlander, CEO of Thomas Concrete Group.
Prefabricated double-walls and slabs are tailor-made in the new Heby plant to meet specific applications, with electrical installations, wiring and pipework all put in place on an assembly line before the casting process begins. After curing in a hardening chamber, the prefabricated elements are then delivered to the building site, where they are mounted into a site-cast concrete frame. This construction method is rational, simple and fast, giving shorter build times than conventional methods.
“As a Swedish-owned family company that operates internationally, it is still natural for us to invest in Sweden,” says Hans Karlander, President and CEO of Thomas Concrete Group.
“Our growing home market is very important. In recent years, we have strengthened our position in the major Swedish cities of Stockholm and Gothenburg, as well as investing in a number of new ready-mixed concrete plants in the US, Germany and Poland. The Group's strategy is continued growth with a strong focus on customer service.”
Last year, the Group launched a sustainable building system, Thomas Miljöstomme, with 30% lower CO2 footprint than conventional methods.
The system is based on prefabricated walls, slabs and balconies in combination with ready-mixed concrete. The pre-cast double walls and pre-cast slabs are now produced in the new Heby factory.
The Heby plant is the result of an approximate 100 million SEK (€10.5 million) investment and will provide about 35 new jobs.
Part of its production capacity is already contracted by the Swedish construction company JM. The Heby plant is certified according to Green Building, SGBC, standards which ensure its energy consumption is at least 25% lower than the requirements of the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning’s rules.
