Concrete colour creation

Canada-based Interstar has unveiled a new pigment mixing system for the ready-mixed concrete market, which the company claims is the first of its kind. The fully-automated megastar batching unit is aimed at the decorative concrete market, can produce 300 colours at the touch of a button and can also be configured to produce bespoke colours.
"The unit stores four dry pigments that are stored in separate hoppers and discharged into the concrete truck in the right quantities to make the specified colour," explains Interstar managing director Zachary Gillman. "The discharge takes about two minutes and the system uses the mechanical action of the mixer en route to the construction site to mix the colour."
The system uses a patented encapsulated pigment for colouration, which differentiates it from other colouring methods already available, according to Gillman. The pigments are inert and are not adversely affected by UV radiation.
"We have been field-testing the system at five sites for the last two years and we how have a total of 10 units in commercial operation," says Gillman.