Two independent and three major, multiple-plant producers have chartered the Altus Group, a Lancaster, Pa.-based partnership supporting national production of CarbonCast, a proprietary concrete for commercial and residential applications. Representing a range of architectural and structural product capabilities, the producers are Cretex Cos. of Elk River, Minn. (through Iowa Prestress, Des Moines, and JW Peters, Burlington, Wis.); High Concrete Structures of Denver Pa.; Metromont Prestress of Greenville, S.C.; Oldcastle Precast Inc./Building Systems Division, Edgewood, Md.; and Rocky Mountain Prestress of Denver.

CarbonCast incorporates self-consolidating concrete mixes and C-grid, a carbon fiber mat providing secondary reinforcement. Mix density and mat strength combine to offer products of thinner cross section and weight savings of 20 to 65 percent versus conventional precast, Altus officials note. The material specs and fabrication methods, they add, enable delivery of consistent quality and performance across the country from charter member operations. Altus Group emerged from a development initiative that Oldcastle Precast undertook with an Anderson, S.C.-based carbon fiber manufacturer, TechFab LLC. Charter members are licensing technology from that initiative and participating in the CarbonCast market development, which kicked off with a Feb. 12 web cast, followed by an exhibit at the Feb. 17-20 World of Concrete in Orlando.
— www.altusprecast.com