US-based company Kohler manufactures toilets, faucets, sinks, showers and other kitchen and bathroom products.
To meet increasing demand, it constructed an extension to its manufacturing site in Monterrey. The concrete floor of this facility was reinforced with Dramix® steel fibers, after Bekaert demonstrated to Kohler’s technical staff that Dramix® gives a number of structural and procedural advantages over steel bars.
At first, Kohler specified rebar to reinforce the concrete floor of this extended manufacturing plant. However, following a joint effort between Bekaert’s technical experts in the United States and Mexico, a demonstration was given to Kohler’s technical staff to convey the advantages of using Dramix® fibers as reinforcement material.
They were invited to visit projects carried out with Dramix® in Mexico so that they could appreciate the high-quality finish and performance of the floors, and talk with some end users to hear of their experiences.
Kohler’s technical staff were convinced that the increased fatigue resistance and durability of Dramix® reinforced floors, as well as their higher impact strength, would bring additional value to their concrete floors. For this project, 35 tons of Dramix® 3D 80/60BG were used at a dosage of 10 kg/m³ to create a slab thickness of 15 cm. The project was executed on time to Kohler’s total satisfaction.