Japanese technocrats share knowledge with construction experts at Tokyo Cement seminar

Tokyo Cement recently hosted a select group of industry top brass to a knowledge sharing seminar, titled ‘New Trends in Concreting Technologies’ conducted by Japanese experts from UBE Industries Ltd., at the Anantara Resort, Kalutara.

The event was organised by Tokyo Supermix Ltd., the newly-incorporated and fully-owned subsidiary of Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka) PLC, operating its ready mixed concrete and value-added products business.

Three Japanese civil engineers and professors flown in from UBE Industries, the technology partner of Tokyo Cement, conducted the seminar to a group of 75 practicing structural engineers and concrete manufacturing professionals.

The objective of the event was to provide a platform to discuss new technologies developed in the Japanese construction industry and the use of cement-based value-added products, with a view to enrich Sri Lanka’s construction industry that is on a striking growth trajectory at the moment.

The seminar created the atmosphere for a high-level peer group meeting coupled with panel discussions for senior decision makers, engineering consultants and project managers from both public and private sectors, alongside the senior management of Tokyo Cement and Tokyo Supermix.

Dr. Keisuke Takahashi, Engr. Tomoaki Ito and Dr. Hirokatsu Mori of UBE Industries, Japan presented on their specialty subjects, engaging our engineering experts who used the opportunity to hash out new ideas based on their rich local experience and practical knowledge. The sessions were moderated by Dr. M.G.M.U. Ismail – Director Research and Development of Tokyo Cement, and Engr. Janaka Perera – General Manager of Tokyo Supermix Ltd.

Dr. Takahashi – Senior Researcher at UBE Industries delivered the opening session centred on ‘Hot Weather Concreting,’ a topic of great relevance in the Sri Lankan context where high-rise structures are being constructed in many areas of the country. 

Dr. Takahashi is a member of the group of researchers currently engaged in a study on this subject in selected Asian countries headed by Saitama University of Japan.  From Sri Lanka, the Civil Engineering Departments of Moratuwa and Ruhuna Universities are collaborating in this research.  

Tokyo Supermix as a concrete solutions provider was able to cater to the paradigm shift of quality requirements in the Sri Lankan construction industry that happened over the last five years. 

Tokyo Supermix, Sri Lanka’s largest concrete manufacturer with the widest network of batching plants spread across the island, was the first to develop mix designs to meet the complex specifications required for durable and high-performance concretes for some of the sophisticated projects such as, the Southern and Outer-Circular Highways done by Taisei Corporation of Japan and the Altair project, all of which were completed under tropical hot weather conditions. 

The second session on ‘High Strength Concrete’ was conducted by Engr. Ito – Group Manager of the Concrete Development Group at UBE Industries, a professional civil engineer and an expert on specialised construction materials development. His session focused on the importance of using specially formulated high-strength cement that can derive high performing concrete for high-rises and super structures.

Ito, during his presentation observed that Japan has reached up to 150-200 Mpa ultra-high-performance concrete designs using advanced cement material displaying properties such as high strength, energy capacity, resistance against chemical erosion and excellent durability, compared to other conventional concrete products.  

In Sri Lanka, Tokyo Supermix, which uses Nippon Cement Pro to make ready mixed concrete, has supplied Grade 70 self-compacting concrete, specially designed for the iconic Avic Astoria Project which was later used for Capital Twin Peak and Krrish Square projects as well.

The company owns the only batching plant approved for producing Grade 85 high strength concrete – the highest grade ever used in a project in Sri Lanka at Cinnamon Life constructed by Hyundai Engineering.

Dr. Mori – Senior Researcher attached to the Construction Materials Development Department of UBE Industries, conducted the session on ‘Self-Levelling Compound’. Dr. Mori, with his expert involvement in product development of self-levelling compounds for over 10 years, discussed the widely used self-levelling underlayment products for different applications for construction projects in Japan.

Tokyo Cement is the only producer of self-levelling compound in Sri Lanka, and recently supplied for the underlayment for vinyl carpeting at General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University Hospital among other projects. Self-levelling compound is one of the products in the value-added product range manufactured by Tokyo Cement Group.  This event is another culmination point of Tokyo Cement Group’s efforts to harness the benefits of longstanding ties with Japan, who is in the forefront of high-tech construction. Tokyo Cement Group envisions to continue the transfer of cutting-edge technical knowledge from Japan, using this affiliation and strengthen its mission of becoming a significant partner in nation building.