Coffor formwork system set to be launched in UK in 2004

Stay-in-place formwork that enables concrete structures to be built up to three times faster than other construction systems, without a crane, could be available in the UK next year.
Showcased at Batimat 2003, the construction equipment exhibition held in Paris last week, Coffor is a patented structural stay-in-place formwork system for concrete construction made by Swiss firm Coffor.
Coffor is made of two reinforced filtering grids connected together by articulated rebar loops that allow the panels to be folded during transport. The system weighs less than 11kg/m.
Coffor is primarily used for building walls in all types of construction and remains in the building to reinforce it after the concrete is poured.
After Coffor is placed, concrete is poured inside and excess water is eliminated by gravity through the grids. The fluid concrete becomes semi-solid, decreasing pressure against the grids, which is why Coffor is so light compared to traditional heavy waterproof formworks.
Coffor head of public relations Odile Messiqua said: "Coffor is so versatile that it can be used for radius, blind and retaining walls, slabs, floors, inclined or flat roofs, infrastructures, foundations, columns, beams, swimming pools and much more."
The system is two to three times faster than other construction systems, she said, as every step of the construction process is simplified, from panel placement and rebar insertion to concrete pour.
On average, two workers can perform all steps of the construction process in just 10 minutes per metre.
Although Coffor wasÊlaunched five years ago and is used throughout Europe and the US, it has yet to reach the UK - something the firm wants to change.
"We have met a distributor that wants to distribute Coffor for us in the UK. If things go to plan you should be seeing the system in the UK sometime in 2004," said Messiqua.
So why should the UK construction industry use the Coffor system?
"There are many advantages, but a key one is that construction mistakes are reduced as Coffor is transparent. It is much easier to control the quantity, quality and placement of rebar and service conduits before and during the pour. Coffor eliminates the risk of voids under window openings, eliminating the need to re-do a pour, and the occurrence of cracks and waterproofing defects are reduced."
Messiqua said the system's simplicity and flexibility are other advantages. "Unlike other stay-in-place formwork systems, Coffor does not require skilled labour or special equipment and is used with regular concrete without additives. There is also no limitation of wall height or number of floors."
But is it more expensive than other methods?
"Although the system is more expensive, the savings generated by Coffor far outweigh the initial cost. Savings result from: the reduction of construction time; less rebar use; construction without cranes; no anti-cracking welded wire; and less labour," Messiqua said.
She explained to CJ some examples of the speed of Coffor: "Villas of 100m2 are built in one day with four workers; a seven-storey 8,400m2 dormitory was built in five weeks; and the concrete shell of a 40,000m2 residential complex, including one
12-storey building and four nine-storey buildings, was built in just four months."