May 18 2006
The industry's leading water-resistant concrete form is now available for purchase throughout the northeastern United States. Based in Connecticut, A.H. Harris & Sons, Inc. has begun to distribute new Sonotube(R) with RainGuard(TM) concrete forms at its 38 locations throughout the Northeast.
Manufactured by Sonoco, new Sonotube with RainGuard brand forms incorporate a proprietary, high-strength, water-resistant paper that allows contractors to set them in wet weather and pour concrete the next day. This gives contractors additional scheduling flexibility to complete their construction projects on time.
"We're pleased to be able to bring this kind of innovation to our customers," said Saul Mazur, director of marketing at A.H. Harris. "We are constantly looking for products that will help our contractors and builders save time and money. Our ability to offer them a breakthrough product like Sonotube, which makes wet weather less of a detrimental factor, is very exciting."
In 2005, Sonoco conducted extensive market research to understand the unmet needs and issues facing contractors who use fiber concrete forms. Out of a list of 14 issues, contractors most frequently mentioned rain or inclement weather as the top issue that inhibits their ability to complete a job within the committed timeframe. The forms are used for a wide variety of applications, including light poles, outdoor signposts and columns for residential and commercial buildings.
Sonoco leveraged more than a century of paper making experience to re-engineer its Sonotube concrete column forms. The outcome is a proprietary fiber form with improved strength, toughness and durability in wet conditions that has resulted in superior strength-to-weight properties and the virtual elimination of "blowouts" -- the most frequent mode of failure of wet fiber concrete forms.
"In the construction industry, time is money, and the uncertainty of weather has always been problematic for contractors. Until now, a contractor's column pouring schedule has been at the mercy of the weather forecast," said Rick Turner, sales manager for Sonoco's Construction Products Group. "With the introduction of Sonotube forms with RainGuard technology, A.H. Harris & Sons, Inc. customers now have an increased probability of completing their jobs on time, because Sonotube forms will stand strong in wet weather."