Cemex Ventures’ first “smart concrete technology” investment is a developer of wireless sensors conveying accurate, project schedule-accelerating data. The sensor and transmitter technology of Cambridge, Mass.-based Concrete Sensors enables contractors and engineers to monitor hardening slabs’ and structures’ temperature, relative humidity and strength.
Combined with a mobile app, the Internet of Things-styled devices supply numbers and measurements needed to make critical decisions with a high degree of accuracy. Upon completion of pours, sensors are automatically activated to immediately analyze the concrete, ensure quality, and foster schedule efficiency. Concrete Sensors tools continually collect performance data to alert contractors and engineers of potential issues before they arise. Early users have included Turner Construction Co. and Skanska USA.
Cemex Ventures CEO Gonzalo Galindo describes Concrete Sensors as “a startup that offers solutions to a broad range of challenges in construction. It brings added value to customers by exploiting our product benefits and saving costs.” His business unit launched last year with a focus on helping to overcome challenges and seize opportunities in the construction ecosystem through sustainable solutions, he adds. Based at the Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. headquarters in Monterrey, Mexico, Cemex Ventures harbors an open, collaborative platform to engage startups, entrepreneurs, universities and other stakeholders in shaping the industry’s future.
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| Concrete Sensors’ zip tie-secured CS200 features a 1.5- x 3-in. transmitter, which relays data to mobile devices from up to 6 inches of concrete depth and is linked to a 0.5- x 1.5-in. sensor by 3- or 8-ft. cable. The sensor gauges temperature and relative humidity to ± 0.4°C and ± 3 percent accuracies. Concrete Sensors-derived figures especially suit ASTM C1074-17, Standard Practice for Estimating Concrete Strength by the Maturity Method, and F2170-18, Standard Test Method for Determining Relative Humidity in Concrete Floor Slabs Using in situ Probes. |
Joining the unit in the Concrete Sensors investment are New York-based Requus Ventures, which targets opportunities in construction and real estate; and, Arab Angel Fund, a venture capital fund positioned to facilitate North American startups’ pursuit of Gulf Cooperation Council business plus Middle East, North Africa and Western Asia markets.
“Concrete Sensors’ IoT solution for the construction sector offers an effective response to the industry’s pervasive challenges and delivers customer cost and time savings and overall quality improvement,” affirms Arab Angel Fund General Partner Omar Darwazah.