Australians' track record in U.S. concrete sports dominant positions in ready mixed, precast, speciality products and mix agents (note Down Under Delegation box, page 20). The newest concrete contender from the land down under — already a fixture in domestic wallboard and siding — is staking its claim by promoting an alternative to one of the industry's original products, reinforced precast pipe.

A holding of Australia's James Hardie Industries Ltd., Hardie Pipe commissioned a $32.5 million cellulose fiber-reinforced concrete pipe operation this spring. The Plant City, Fla., facility is presently dedicated to a storm water drainage product, HardiStorm fRCP speed drain, manufactured to ASTM C 1450 — Non-Asbestos Fiber-Cement Pipe requirements. Using a production process similar to the one employed for asbestos-cement pipe, fRCP is fabricated in 16-ft. lengths of 12- to 48-in. diameter, and Class I to V strengths. Dubbed Mazza (note Production box, page 18), the process entails the rolling of pipe into various wall thicknesses from a thin, dewatered fiber-cement-sand film collected on a wide belt. Aggregate gradation, coupled with high-pressure steam exposure in the second of two curing phases, enables Hardie Pipe to obtain more load-bearing capacity with less material. As such, HardiStorm is one-half to one-third the weight of conventional reinforced concrete pipe.

“This product is lighter, longer, as strong as precast RCP, and has machined joints,” says Hardie Pipe General Manager Dave Kessner. “You can put it in the ground faster — that's our basic pitch.” Kessner has headed up construction of the Plant City facility, which is adjacent to a sister cellulose-fiber cement siding plant and about 20 miles east of Hardie Pipe's Tampa headquarters and sales office. Both properties are under Mission Viejo, Calif.-based James Hardie Building Products (USA) Inc. which, in addition to the Florida site, has five other fiber cement siding operations and three wallboard plants.

Hardie Pipe's new line represents an investment four to eight times that of a typical concrete pipe operation. Daunting as its price tag might seem to the average concrete plant operator, however, James Hardie USA appears well positioned to roll the dice on its core competency — fiber cement technology. Since 1991, the company has seen shipments of its cellulose fiber siding, with production and mix formulation similar to HardiStorm fRCP, soar 48-fold, from 17.5 million to 850 million square feet.

Competition

When sold on an installed-cost basis, Hardie Pipe figures that fRCP can be competitive in 10 states spanning much of the Southeast, and thus reach construction sites representing 25-28 percent of the U.S. drainage market. The inclusion of “Storm” in branding is appropriate beyond product function. Hardie Pipe's target area crosses key markets for three of the top five players in concrete drainage products: Rinker Materials/Hydro Conduit, Hanson Pipe & Products and Choctaw Inc. Like most of their counterparts across the U.S., these companies have witnessed concrete's share of the small bore (< 30 in. diameter) drainage market erode with the advent of plastic pipe alternatives.

On behalf of Rinker, Hanson, Choctaw and other producer members, the American Concrete Pipe Association has challenged Hardie Pipe on nomenclature matters surrounding HardiStorm speed drain promotion, noting that where concrete drainage products are concerned: 1) the term “reinforced” implies the presence of conventional steel; and, 2) the use of “concrete” implies a finished matrix of sand and coarse aggregate versus fRCP's mortar-like composition. ACPA also notes that member company representatives are monitoring the activity of American Society for Testing and Materials and American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials committees that author standards affecting fRCP application in public and private markets.

To counter the nomenclature matters, Hardie Pipe Vice President of Sales & Marketing John Smithwick, who managed the flagship James Hardie Ltd. pipe business in Australia, notes: 1) the concrete designation of HardiStorm fRCP stems from the product's development under Australian Standard 139 Fibre-Reinforced Concrete Pipes & Fittings; 2) fRCP production employs material gradations, mix constituents and curing similar to autoclaved aerated concrete, a block and panel product carrying the “concrete” label worldwide under European companies Hebel and Ytong; and, 3) the reinforcing potential of commercial fibers — especially synthetic and steel types, although not excluding wood-derived alternatives — is widely acknowledged in North American concrete practice.

Smithwick recognizes the competitive circumstances Hardie Pipe faces, but cites strong confidence in fRCP's potential in U.S. drainage construction based on such factors as:

Acceptance

HardiStorm has been approved for use in jobs referencing Florida Department of Transportation Specification 941 — Concrete Pipe (for Culvert and Underdrains). The document recognizes fRCP as conforming to ASTM C 1450 and, depending on site conditions and engineering requirements, a suitable alternative to ASTM C 76 (reinforced) or C 985 (non-reinforced) concrete pipe. In mid-August, FDOT approved the Plant City operation for production in accordance with its Standard Operating Procedure for Inspection of Precast Drainage Products.

In addition to demonstrations for FDOT, Hardie Pipe has initiated fRCP test installations for counterpart agencies in Georgia and South Carolina. Municipal and private work with the product has been mostly confined to Florida, including an 80-ft. placement of 24-in.-diameter sections for the City of Kissimmee and a 300-ton order of 18- to 30-in.-diameter pipe for a subdivision outside of Tampa.

Field performance

James Hardie cites more than 70 years' experience in fiber cement pipe production. During the last two decades, it has focused on development of cellulose fiber-based pipe at a Brisbane operation formerly used for asbestos fiber cement products. Hardie Pipe reports that the Australian version of fRCP has 16 years of field performance in storm water drainage conditions without failure, while testing has shown that cellulose fiber reinforced concrete pipe can withstand exposure in corrosive sewer conditions comparable to asbestos fiber reinforced products. fRCP developers note that durability of their product is greatly improved by curing and chemical reactions effected during a 12-hour autoclaving process, which yields a dense matrix of low permeability.

Market development

Hardie Pipe is combining a direct sales method common among conventional concrete pipe producers with distributor sales. To cover Florida, it has contracts with national distributors Hughes Supply, Ferguson Enterprises, and U.S. Filter, plus Semsco, concentrated in the Southeast. The firms have a total of 35 Sunshine State offices. (In addition to its electrical, plumbing and public works distribution business, Hughes has five precast concrete operations in Georgia and Texas, although none produces pipe.)

Hardie Pipe Customer Service Manager Anthony Scott notes that along with affording greater product exposure, the distribution arrangements parallel those plastic pipe producers have used to move product in drainage construction. Additionally, Hardie Pipe has deployed a customer relationship management program to establish a database of contractor and civil engineering targets in Florida, and afford quick relay of HardiStorm technical data and information pertaining to agency approvals and contract activity.

Production competency

James Hardie derives just over two thirds of its $820 million annual revenue from cellulose fiber cement products. The company sees a global market potential for its fiber cement technology exceeding $7 billion — up to 15 times its current siding and pipe shipments on both sides of the Pacific. The extension of the Australian pipe business into North America is the latest exercise management sees in sustaining an edge in fiber cement technology.

In advance of the Plant City commissioning, James Hardie CEO Peter Macdonald assessed the investment rationale surrounding the U.S. drainage market: “We are very confident we can create a profitable business in Florida soon after start up. Longer term, this business has the potential to grow into a large, national operation comparable to the size of the U.S. fiber cement business we have today.”

Production

Primary HardiStorm fRCP speed drain materials are cellulose fiber, obtained from unbleached kraft pulp of select trees at specific maturity; Type I/II portland cement; and high silica (> 90 percent) sand. The latter is ground to extreme fineness in a ball mill (A) similar to equipment used for cement clinker. Florida offers what Hardie Pipe officials feel is sand near optimal composition — a quality control point well tested by an established fiber cement siding line adjacent to their new Plant City operation (B). The new facility was built by Casey Industrial, Denver, with the bulk of equipment supplied by German autoclaved product specialist Wehrhahn GmbH.

fRCP is the product of the Mazza process, adapted from Austria's Hatchek method for fiber cement unit fabrication dating to1916. Prior to blending with water and other concrete mix agents, pulp is refined by a thermal method that fibrillates the edges of random length fibers. Processed pulp of very wet consistency is channeled to a bin alongside cement and sand vessels (C, D, E). The materials are blended, with additional water dosed (F), and conveyed to a tub sieve (G) which, through continuous revolutions, gathers fibrous mixes and places them at about a 1/16-in. thickness on a belt stretching just over 16 feet wide. The fibrous mix “film” collects on a steel mandrel (H) sized according to product diameter. As the mandrel turns, collects the film and forms the pipe, overhead rollers press material to ensure uniform mix distribution and density.

When pipes have been rolled for wall thicknesses relative to one of five strength classes, mandrels are withdrawn (I) and product rolled into a steam curing chamber (J) for a seven-hour cycle. After the initial cure, pipe remain horizontal and are loaded into wheeled carts (K), which in turn are staged along rails leading into autoclaves (L). A 12-hour, high-pressure steam curing phase prepares the pipe for machining of joints, plus flexural and strength testing.

Down Under Delegation

European multinational companies have the most influence on North American cement and concrete production, yet their Australian counterparts have seized their own territory since the 1960s, especially in the U.S. From Concrete Products records, a review of who came when and where they ended up:

• Adelaide Brighton Cement Holdings, Melbourne. With investors that included CSR Ltd. (separately listed), the company acquired Miami's Stresscon Inc. in 1986, selling the precast/prestressed operator seven years later to Coreslab International, Stoney Creek, Ont. It was also a 50/50 partner in Hawaiian Cement, Honolulu, with the once high-flying Lone Star Industries. By the late 1990s, full ownership of Hawaiian Cement was under MDU Resources/Knife River Corp., Bismarck, N.D.

• Boral Ltd., Sydney. In the early 1980s, it entered domestic clay brick and roof tile and concrete roof tile businesses, along with fly ash, aggregates, gypsum. By the late 1990s, the company had streamlined its portfolio to encompass: Boral Bricks Inc., Roswell, Ga., the number one U.S. player in clay products; and Boral Material Technologies Inc., San Antonio, the number two fly ash marketer and an admixture supplier with distribution across the Sun Belt; and a 50 percent stake in MonierLifetile, Irvine, Calif. (separately noted under Monier Ltd.), top concrete roof tile producer.

• CSR Ltd., Sydney, Set up its U.S. base in 1988 with the acquisition of Florida's Rinker Materials Corp., creating a platform which, through acquisition, would grow to hold top five market positions in ready mixed, block, and pipe and precast. Strong name recognition of its original asset has prompted a move away from CSR America identity to Rinker Materials — with Hydro Conduit (note main story), Pipe, Prestress divisions — as the U.S. franchise.

• Monier Ltd., Sydney. Australia's earliest success story for U.S. market development. As Concrete Products reported in the mid 1960s, the company formed a concrete roof tile joint venture with New York-based Raymond Int'l. The business grew to more than 20 plants by the late 1980s, with ownership changing to U.K.-based Redland Plc. The roof tile business was merged with Boral's Lifetile unit to form MonierLifetile, encompassing concrete offerings and U.S. Tile clay roofing products. Paris-based Lafarge Group, which acquired Redland shortly after MonierLifetile was formed, is Boral's equal partner. Separate from the roof tile business, Monier's U.S. fly ash marketing and concrete admixture unit, Monex Resources, was acquired by Boral Ltd. and now operates as the above noted BMTI. At one point, Monier and Rocla Group (noted below) were part of the Amatek Holdings businesses under BTR Nylex and BTR Plc.

• Pioneer Ltd., Sydney. After a rocky, mid-1980s start in Alabama, California and certain Texas markets — and toughing out depressed cycles in Dallas and Houston — the company saw its ready mixed, aggregate and cement unit, Pioneer Concrete of Texas, rebound handily. By the late 1990s, Australian management committed major resources to building Pioneer USA which, by then, held the number two spot in ready mixed production; had integrated concrete businesses in Texas, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah; plus three concrete roof tile plants serving Sun Belt markets. Pioneer Ltd.'s financial performance, coupled with market positions in Asia Pacific, Europe, North America and the Middle East, prompted a takeover offer from U.K.-based Hanson Plc in December 1999. Pioneer USA operations have since been assimilated into Hanson Building Materials America — of which Hanson Pipe & Products (main story) is one of three units.

• Rocla Group Ltd., Melbourne. Parent company of Choctaw Inc. (main story), Memphis, and Rocla Concrete Tie, Denver. Previous owners or management entities have included Australia's BTR Nylex and Amatek Holdings, under which Rocla Concrete Tie was established in 1987 and Choctaw acquired the following year. Rocla began as a joint venture with Lone Star Industries, opening a Colorado plant, followed by a satellite Delaware operation in 1990. Amid Chapter 11 reorganization, Lone Star sold its interest in 1992. While management for Choctaw and Rocla Concrete remains in Australia, ownership is now under a European equity firm, CVC Capital Partners.