Command Alkon managers secure patent on mixing process, strength predictability

Sources: Command Alkon, Birmingham, Ala.; CP staff

Command Alkon product design and programming veterans Bob Phare and Charlene Hohl have been awarded U.S. Patent No. 9,533,429 – System and Process for Mixing Concrete Having Desired Strength Characteristics. It covers methods for a) rapidly determining the predicted strength of concrete prior to pouring; and, b) creating and maintaining a database in which mix designs and their performance characteristics can be logged and updated as hardened concrete’s actual strength is measured. Functions based on the technology will be incorporated in future versions of the quality control platform, COMMANDqc.

Despite the long-established water/cement ratio and concrete compressive strength link, Command Alkon notes, producers and their customers have been unable to quickly pinpoint a load’s precise water and cement volumes. The Phare-Hohl patent addresses that variable by providing a system for accurately determining the right inputs in order to generate an expected compressive strength figure for finished concrete.

Phare has served in product design and management and system architecture roles throughout his 40-year Command Alkon career, and also holds a patent related to the company’s Moisture Probe Technology. Hohl has been with Command Alkon for 20 years in programming and product management roles and is currently COMMANDqc development manager.

“We encourage our employees to think outside of the box. Their industry expertise and problem-solving skills foster change [through] state-of-the-art inventions that address significant issues and challenges in the industry,” says Command Alkon CEO Phil Ramsey. “We are proud of these team members for their innovation in advancing processes that will help to improve our customer’s efficiencies and lower their costs.”