Three of South Africa’s leading cement producers have stepped in to fund the establishment of a new company to preserve the vital education, and consulting services previously provided by the Cement & Concrete Institute (C&CI).
AfriSam, Lafarge and Sephaku are now financing the operations of The Concrete Institute which, from May 2 this year, started providing most of the major services previously provided by the C&CI which closed down at the end of April 2013 following the withdrawal of funding.
Bryan Perrie, former MD of the C&CI, is in charge of The Concrete Institute, a non-profit company with a number of key members of the C&CI staff retained. The Concrete Institute will offer vital concrete technology services to the construction industry, including:
- Education and Training;
- Information Centre;
- Consulting; and
- Publications.
With regard to Education and Training, Perrie said all the courses listed in the C&CI’s School of Concrete Technology 2013 Training Programme are still being offered. “We are, in fact, hoping to expand the curriculum by including even more courses. The Concrete Institute has also taken over the responsibility for running the comprehensive and highly-respected Advanced Concrete Technology course which was underway when C&CI closed,” Perrie stated.
The Concrete Institute is currently also offering a free advisory service as well as chargeable consulting services, including on-site visits by technical staff.
The Concrete Institute will continue to offer a comprehensive Information Centre. The Centre – equipped with top specialists and state-of-the-art computerised systems – is one of the largest and most respected sources of information on concrete in the southern hemisphere. The Concrete Institute will also distribute the wide range of C&CI publications.
“There was widespread dismay within the building and construction industries when the C&CI was forced to close doors. With the new support of new cement producer, Sephaku, as well as AfriSam and Lafarge’s continuing support, we are now confident that the Concrete Institute will continue to provide the services which made the C&CI an industry icon over the past 75 years,” Perrie added. “The new Institute also aims to play a wider role and work more closely with, and provide assistance to, other building and construction bodies and establish reciprocal working arrangements with these organisations.”
The Concrete Institute operates from Block D – Lone Creek, WaterfallPark, Bekker Street in Midrand. It can be reached on telephone 011 315 0300 or fax 011 315 8180. Details of the new website and email addresses will be announced shortly.
The post Cement producers preserve C&CI services by establishing The Concrete Institute appeared first on Leading Architecture & Design.
