March 2004 Concrete Evidence By Paige Orr
Jim Reece, 84, has spent the past 20 years and $3.2 million developing technology that has received worldwide attention and just now is hitting the market.
Delegations from 39 countries, including India, China, Russia and Chile,have traveled to Clarksville to see first-hand the acid-proof,
salt-resistant concrete developed by Reece¹s company, GRC Inc.-Chempruf.
The company’s three products are based on Chempruf Concrete, the Clarksville company’s refinement of an original formula developed by the U.S. Bureau of Mines. GRC solved durability problems that had stymied other attempts to use sulfur polymer concrete.
Why should anyone care about sulfur polymer concrete? While the Chempruf product costs several times more than standard concrete used in ordinary construction, its resistance to corrosive chemicals makes it much more durable. For chemical plants, refineries and paper mills, this is a crucial advance.
David Carver, plant engineer at William Bonnell Co. in Carthage, Tenn., says the Chempruf floor installed there more than 10 years ago is holding up well. As an aluminum extruder, the plant converts raw aluminum into usable products that are sold to customers who make products such as aluminum door and window frames.
The Chempruf floor, located in the plant where the aluminum finishing
process takes place, has not shown any significant erosion, Carver says. He adds that about a dozen visitors have come by to look at the Chempruf floor and examine its durability.
Just this year, Reece's company began training contractors to use Chempruf, and he says GRC is the only company producing the technology. With a business model focused on licensing the product and technology to engineering and construction firms, the company also aims to provide exclusive rights to purchase Chempruf Concentrate in an exclusive territory of operation.
A few other companies are working to enter the sulfur polymer
concrete market, but Reece claims his products are ahead of the pack
in terms of physical integrity and market-readiness.
As part of Chempruf's development, Reece's company has already completed 90 industrial jobs for companies like DuPont and General Motors. Now, as Reece takes Chempruf to the industrial market, he expects the special concrete “will become economical in non-corrosive settings in other parts of the world, especially the Middle East and Caspian Sea areas, where large stock-piles of sulfur are accumulating.”
“Several oil companies are investigating Chempruf Concrete as a means to use their sulfur profitably,” Reece adds. “The war in the Middle East has put a temporary hold on some of our progress, but we hope this will only be a temporary delay.”
Patience has been critical to Reece¹s work during the past two decades. But now, with the testing complete and numerous projects in place showcasing the quality of its product, Reece’s company is poised to solidify its unique position in the marketplace.
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