The White Site 2001.06

June 2001/2

NEWSLETTER FROM AALBORG WHITE®

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SITE Contents:

Front page

Greetings from North America ARTicles of AALBORG WHITE®

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AALBORG WHITE® For buildings all over the world Roofs , floors and exteriors

Greetings from North America

by Pat O’Dell, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Lehigh White Cement

Congratulations on your new newsletter, The White Site, from your white family in North America! It is great to read about the exciting developments going on with our Aalborg family.

The Lehigh White Cement Company is pleased to be part of the Aalborg family. Since the beginning of our partnership in 1982, Aalborg and Lehigh have worked closely together to develop the white cement market in the United States and become the leading supplier in the market. In 1988, a third family member joined the partnership, CEMEX, headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico, adding a whole new dimension. Today, the Lehigh White Cement Company promotes and markets white cement throughout the United States and Canada. As the leader in this market, we have set the standard for quality and service.

The partnership produces approximately 40% of our current sales of white cement at our manufacturing plants in York, Pennsylvania and Waco, Texas. The remaining 60% is imported from Aalborg's plant in Denmark and CEMEX's plant in Monterrey, Mexico. The white cement from Denmark is shipped in a large oceangoing vessel

Glass-fibrereinforced concrete front panels, San Francisco.

to ports in Florida, where it is redistributed to terminals throughout the Northeast United States and as far away as Minnesota. The product that is manufactured in Mexico is loaded onto railcars in Monterrey and transported across the border to Lehigh's terminals in Waco, Texas, Riverside, California, Phoenix, Arizona, and Auburn, Washington, effectively covering the entire Western United States.

With these four sources of white cement, we are able to guarantee an uninterrupted supply of quality product to our customers, something no other competitor is able to offer. This is only one of the many strengths of our unique partnership.

From a handful of cement to over a 1/2 million tons of white cement shipped this year, the partnership has proven to be the perfect marriage of families and will provide tremendous opportunities for growth in the future.

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AALBORG WHITE® Exciting walls outside and inside GRC, GFRC Glass-fibre-reinforced concrete

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AALBORG WHITE®

Young students at the Danish Design School recently exhibited their latest project at the Furniture Fair in Copenhagen. After a further two years of study they will graduate as furniture designers.

Their recent project involved the design and production of outdoor furniture in glass fibre reinforced concrete with AALBORG WHITE®, and the photos below show some exciting examples.

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Applications of White Cement in Poland

The bench at the bottom was specially made for an industrial plant in Copenhagen.

AALBORG WHITE® for buildings all over the world AALBORG WHITE® is white cement, locally and readily available to enhance the interiors and exteriors of buildings everywhere. Concrete or mortars and paints containing AALBORG WHITE® give designers, architects and contractors much more of a free hand in finding exciting and outstanding applications, not only when it comes to accentuating the elegant lines of a building, but also where detail is concerned.

AALBORG WHITE® is suitable for all buildings: housing, industrial buildings, institutions, stadiums, music and culture centres – public and private.

Large and small buildings, light and dark, with or without colours – the imagination is the only limit to what can be done when the basis component is AALBORG WHITE®.

The illustrations below show just a few exciting examples of what can be done with AALBORG WHITE®.

AALBORG WHITE® means a white world, or one filled with colours and contrasts. AALBORG WHITE® provides the inspiration for creating buildings of vision and beauty.

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Beautiful roofs

AALBORG WHITE® makes exciting roofs possible.

Various types of concrete roofing tiles or fibre cement based on AALBORG WHITE® can be produced in many colours and shapes.

Fibre cement for roofing and walls.

Fibre cement is often shaped like corrugated plates or like flat plates, smooth or with a texture.

The results are light and beautiful roofs which last year after year after…

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Mosaic terrazzo floor with AALBORG WHITE®.

Floors

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AALBORG WHITE® enables the manufacture of a vast variety of floors. In-situ-cast terrazzo floors with mosaic work attain particularly high strength and whiteness when AALBORG WHITE® is used. If special effects are required, AALBORG WHITE® will ensure pure and bright colours. Tiles and concrete blocks made with AALBORG WHITE® will give floors compact, durable and beautiful surfaces. Where surfaces are concerned, there are many possibilities. Ball blasting and polishing are just two examples.

Depending on the production methods, surfaces can be given a wide variety of profiles or textures.

Outdoors can be lighter too

AALBORG WHITE® makes a difference outdoors – on roads, bicycle paths, footpaths, in open spaces, taxi ranks, parking places and bus stops.

Where good aesthetics and improved safety in traffic is required, AALBORG WHITE® shows the way with pleasant and light tiles and guide blocks in outdoor areas. At the same time, compared with painted surfaces, white concrete ensures low maintenance costs.

Traffic regulation with AALBORG WHITE®.

For ornaments and garden furniture like benches, fountains, balusters, etc.

Pavements with AALBORG WHITE , colour pigments and light sand. ®

AALBORG WHITE® is also the ideal cement because workability and high strength are essential qualities in final products.

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Exciting walls outside and inside

Create vertical surfaces with AALBORG WHITE® - outside and inside. Define your requirements on surface, texture, colours, reflection, sound and strength. AALBORG WHITE® complies with all demands, whether aesthetic or functional.

Vivid surfaces Naturally, the very surface of the walls of the building is of major importance in achieving the desired result, and with AALBORG WHITE® the choice is wide.

Plaster made with AALBORG WHITE® can give a thin, rough, or specially textured coating. Concrete can be cast in situ or supplied in the form of prefabricated units.

Surfaces can be smooth, acid-washed, sandblast, profiled or polished like terrazzo. Special means enable concrete producers to create vivid surfaces which can contribute to the creation of a unique building. One possibility is the use of various sorts of aggregates – depending on the desired effect.

Sound In certain geographical areas it is very popular to use wood fibre slabs for internal walls and ceilings. When slabs are produced with AALBORG WHITE® it leaves a light, ligniform impression. Wood fibre slabs also offer very good qualities like sound insulation and sound absorption in large rooms.

Coloured plaster and stucco with AALBORG WHITE® and colour pigments.

The whole palette of colours If it must be white, then let it be white! However, the possibilities of using the whole palette of colours are right there, when the base material is AALBORG WHITE®. Add pigments and the outside as well as the inside walls can have colours which match the other parts of the building and which are in harmony with the surroundings.

GRC, GFRC Glass-fibre-reinforced concrete Concrete is a marvellous material which can be used for coarse ballast or for where impressive richness of detail is desired. Glass fibre reinforcement technology is often used here and facilitates the creation of buildings in which architectural expression knows almost no bounds. Surfaces similar to those on traditional concrete panels can be created by using exposed aggregate, by polishing or by finishing with a broom, etc. In addition, it is also possible to recreate details like those of the Renaissance.

With this freedom of design, old buildings can be rejuvenated so expertly that in appearance they almost match the original plans. A further possibility is the creation of new buildings that harmonise naturally with adjoining buildings.

The unique workability of the material together with its low weight give the architect a great deal of freedom. It is weather-resistant and can be used for exteriors. At the same time it forms a shield against the weather. With interior design, glass-fibre-reinforced concrete can be used to enclose fire protection insulation, or cover installations in a way that creates an attractive appearance while also ensuring maintenance accessibility.

Fibre-reinforced concrete possesses impressing durability even when exposed to the most severe climatic conditions. Continuous research is carried out to find new suitable fibres. Fibres of steel, glass, plastic, and organic materials are of particular interest.

In the early seventies a glass fibre was developed. Unlike ordinary glass, the fibre was not decomposed by concrete. This alkali-resistant fibre is used in many different products such as pontoon bridges, depository vessels, cable ducts, water pipes, facings, permanent moulds, etc.

In the UK the material is known as GRC (Glassfibre Reinforced Cement) whereas in the USA it is known as GFRC (Glass Fibre Reinforced Concrete). In the USA it is widely used in constructing skyscrapers, for here net weight is a critical factor and the lightness of GFRC panels is an important advantage. An additional benefit is that the elasticity of these panels makes them suitable in areas prone to earthquakes.

Glass-fibre-reinforced products have been used for 30 years and have by now proved ideal wherever the goal is a good and durable construction. As with all other building materials however, a good result is always conditional on good workmanship right from start to finish.

Ornaments with a wealth of detail with glass-fibrereinforced concrete.

Glass-fibre-reinforced concrete front panels with AALBORG WHITE®.

White Cement applications in Poland

Tomasz Stasiak Managing Director, Aalborg Portland Polska Sp. Z o.o.

With more consumer buying power becoming available up through the 1990s, white cement is being put to more sophisticated uses in Poland.

Typical applications are dry mortars, terrazzo elements, and concrete products such as decorative tiles, paving stones, garden decorations, etc.

The dry mortar sector accounts for about 75% of the total consumption of white cement on the Polish market. White cement is used for many mortar products, such as plasters and stuccoes, different kinds of renderings, adhesives and joints. There are also plans to start the production of cement-based paints in Poland. The main market for these products is made up of companies who build single-family houses and apartment blocks. Within this sector, the prognosis for the next few years is quite positive in Poland, therefore demand should grow and, in turn, the share of the total consumption of white cement occupied by dry mortars should remain at the same high level.

Terrazzo products account for about 18% of the total consumption of white cement in Poland.

The material is widely used in the production of terrazzo elements, e.g. wall and floor tiles, window seats, stairs and flooring. During the last 2-3 years in particular, terrazzo tiles have proved to be very popular, the reason being the rapid development of shopping centres, supermarkets, and hypermarkets. The properties of terrazzo tiles, especially their high wear resistance, make them ideal for the purpose.

Concrete products constitute more than 5% of total white cement consumption in Poland.

Decorative bricks incorporating the material are used for the facades of single-family houses,

fence pillars, foundations, etc. White cement gives the bricks outstandingly clear colours so that they provide decoration yet remain compatible with almost every kind of facade. Paving stones are gradually becoming more popular, especially among residents who care about the aesthetic appeal of their neighbourhood. Until very recently, products based on white cement have not proved so popular in urban developments such as pavements, cycle tracks, car parks and roundabouts.

Garden pot with AALBORG WHITE®.

Bricks and blocks with AALBORG WHITE®.

As white concrete can be cast in any form and shape, it is used for producing garden decorations: figures, fountains, benches, flower-pots, etc.

The market for white cement in Poland will develop in the next few years. In many Western European countries the consumption of white cement is 1% of the total, and to equal that consumption figure, Polish consumption will have to increase threefold or more. It all depends on how fast Poland is developed and at what rate consumer purchasing capacity increases.

On 3 May Aalborg received a visit from trade officers promoting products in Algeria, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Syria. The trade officers learnt about cement, and in particular white cement from Sinai White Cement Co. in Egypt.

This product is to be promoted throughout the region, starting in the second half of 2001.

Aalborg Portland A/S Aalborg Portland White A/S Rørdalsvej 44 P. O. Box 165 DK-9100 Aalborg

Editorial group: Jørgen Norup, Chief Editor Gurli Brogaard Svend Barnholdt

It was a very enthusiastic crowd that left the Aalborg plant with a good knowledge of Aalborg White cement and its activities.

Circulation: 1500 Phone: Fax: E-mail: Website:

+45 98 16 77 77 +45 98 10 11 86 sales@aalborg-portland.dk www.aalborg-portland.dk

Poland uses white cement in the production of many statues, fountains and other garden decorations.

AALBORG WHITE® is a trade mark registered by Aalborg Portland A/S

B-10 MARKETING A/S 239.084/01.05

Danish Embassy trade officers from North African countries and Middle East visit Aalborg