OREANDA-NEWS. October 22, 2010. There are many innovations in construction and each of them aims to simplify people’s work, cut production time and reduce manufacturing costs.

One can learn about innovations by regularly visiting specialised construction exhibitions or by searching online. The organisers of KazBuild, the oldest and most well-known exhibition in Central Asia and Kazakhstan, suggest another way - studying the products submitted by companies to the competition of innovations, which is part of KazBuild for the second time. The winners of the competition have launched interesting new technologies in the domestic construction industry.

The full title of the competition is “Goods, Brands, Technologies”, the 2nd International Competition of Innovations in the Construction Industry, and it took place within KazBuild 2010. The competition presented 19 innovative products from companies from Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Poland, Russia and France, which appeared on the Kazakhstani market in 2010. The competition jury consisted of independent professional experts in the field of construction, planning, architecture and design, and representatives of government bodies working in the field of innovation in construction. In addition, accredited construction industry specialists took part as experts. The main criteria for evaluation were: ergonomics, technological effectiveness, eco-friendliness, and demand. In addition to receiving honorary certificates, the winners were granted the right to use the competition logo in the labelling of the winning product.

The first prize in the competition of innovations in the construction industry at KazBuild 2010 was unanimously awarded to an inspection hatch made from a polymer-sand composition. It should be noted that this is a domestic invention. Elbrus Ltd from Ekibastuz has developed a technology for making from ordinary municipal waste a desperately needed product for the housing and communal services sector: inspection hatches that can not be used for other purposes. Unfortunately, in the former Soviet Union, there is still a big problem with the theft of cast iron manhole covers, which not only creates additional costs for the heating network, telecommunications companies and government agencies, but also causes injuries and sometimes even deaths. Hopefully, the polymer-sand hatches, which can not be used for other purposes, and are therefore safe in comparison with iron covers, will not only be used in Ekibastuz, Petropavlovsk, Semey and Pavlodar, but also in other cities in Kazakhstan.

Second place in the competition of innovations went to Golden Pear for its LED lamps, which can be used for office, home and architectural lighting. The lamps can run for 35,000 hours. The advantages of the innovation are: the light is more stable, consumption is low, the load on the grid is reduced, and, hence, energy costs are lower (up to 10 times). The innovative lamp has no element, which in ordinary light bulbs gets very hot. As a result, the room temperature does not rise, so office air conditioning can be used less frequently, giving further savings. The lamps do not contain harmful substances, so do not require special disposal.

Third prize was awarded to BETONATA for its high-grade self-compacting concrete. The company’s newly built plant is equipped with modern equipment, and this year began producing concrete of the highest quality and international standards, which is able to compact under its own weight, completely filling out the area, even in densely reinforced structures, while maintaining flexibility and the self-compacting effect for quite a long time. The application of nanotechnology in the manufacture of ready-mixed concrete eliminates the human impact on the quality of concrete structures. There is no separation in high-grade self-compacting concrete mixtures when pumping concrete to a great height. The technology of self-compacting concrete was developed in Japan in 1998. In Kazakhstan, this innovation has only now begun to be used. Especially valuable is the fact that high-grade self-compacting concrete can be used in any structure - from simple to complex.