Pervious Concrete On Wheels At Ohio Expo

An indoor demonstration of pervious concrete placing and finishing was among highlights of the Ohio Ready Mixed Concrete Association’s Concrete at the

An indoor demonstration of pervious concrete placing and finishing was among highlights of the Ohio Ready Mixed Concrete Association’s Concrete at the Expo event, staged early last month in the Greater Columbus Convention Center.

A crew from Columbus developer and concrete paving contractor Nickolas Savko & Sons, Inc. performed the demonstration paving on a lowboy trailer. We think the concept [pervious concrete] has a lot of applicability for developers here in Central Ohio, said Martin Savko, Sr., owner. It can eliminate wasting valuable, buildable land for hazardous detention ponds, and can reduce nonpoint-source water pollution in environmentally sensitive areas.

The pervious concrete mix for the demo was supplied by Arrow Concrete Co., from its Fifth Avenue plant in Columbus. Arrow Quality Control Manager Jim Fichtelman said the company’s South Carolina Division has been producing pervious concrete for parking lots and driveway projects for about three years. In addition to Ohio and South Carolina, Arrow has ready mixed operations in West Virginia, its home base, and Pennsylvania.

ORMCA’s Concrete at the Expo was a two-day subprogram within the 2006 Ohio Design & Construction Expo, organized by the Central Ohio Builders Exchange. Along with the paving demonstration, there was a half-day training session for contractors on pervious concrete installation, and 12 different seminars on concrete-related subjects offering continuing education credits for engineers, architects, landscape architects, and building officials.

Notes ORMCA President Ken Caubble, This was the first time our association has attempted to present a program of this size. We had help from 16 other concrete industry associations Û regional, state and national Û in assembling speakers, moderators and technical information for the various sessions.