CEMEX UK supplies Britain
Thanet Earth is being developed by fresh produce supplier, Fresca Group Ltd and will cover over 91 hectares with seven glasshouses, each around the size of 10 football pitches. CEMEX has been working with main contractor Fitzpatrick and sub contractor, Masterpave.
Steve Crompton, Technical Director CEMEX UK comments "The most technically demanding mix was the concrete which had to be capable of withstanding the corrosive action of the acidic juices from the produce. Traditional concrete manufactured with Ordinary Portland Cement can be susceptible to degradation in acidic conditions. Our local technical team created a mix which incorporated high levels of ground granulated blastfurnace slag to enhance the acid resistance of the concrete. This mix was further modified by the incorporation of water-reducing admixtures to further increase the durability of the concrete whilst improving the plastic properties of the mix to facilitate placing of the concrete."
CEMEX has also supplied large volumes of C28/35 readymixed concrete for the external works and high workability C28/35 for the greenhouse access corridors. A further 1700 cu metres of C32/40 concrete has been supplied to Stuarts Industrial Flooring for the pack house.
The concrete has been supplied from CEMEX Margate plant with over 350 cu metres a day at peak demand. The company will be supplying the project until mid-2009 with the first Thanet Earth crops on the shelves during Spring 2009.
Thanet Earth aims to revolutionise the growing of British salad crops, producing 2.5 million tomatoes available every week all the year and cucumbers and peppers to be picked continuously from February to October.