Inter-Beton

Providing a broad range of high-quality, standard and customised concrete products, Inter-Beton has become the ready-mixed concrete market leader in Belgium
A solid future

Providing a broad range of high-quality, standard and customised concrete products, Inter-Beton has become the ready-mixed concrete market leader in Belgium

Specialising in the manufacturing and distribution of readymixed concrete, Inter-Beton offers its customers a broad portfolio of high quality, standard and customised concrete products from an extensive network of 29 sites.

Founded as a joint venture in 1967, Inter-Beton has become the readymixed concrete market leader in Belgium’s construction industry over the years, a glowing reputation that stems the company’s commitment to its core values. These strategic points include an extended service level and an ongoing innovative approach to market developments through the launch of new, industry relevant products. The company provides the most competitive cost value to customers, a structured environmental policy and employment of first-class, well educated personnel who are unconditionally committed to following the same vision and strategy.

Celebrating its fourth decade in operation in 2007, the company witnessed strategic developments in 2004 when it became a 100 per cent subsidiary of the HeidelbergCement Group; a global leader in aggregates that boasts nearly 53,000 employees and a prominent presence in the cement, concrete and building materials sectors. Today, Inter-Beton has 29 concrete plants, 515 employees, 252 trucks and 10,000 clients; on top of this, its annual production capacity reaches three million m3 and its annual sales are over 175 million euros.

Over the years Inter-Beton has co-operated with customers and continuously invested in technology to develop a wide range of innovative products ranging from classical concrete composition over fast hardening road building concrete, piling products and mortars. In addition, its industrial floors portfolio includes aesthetic concrete floors, ready SCC Compactmix, steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC), insulating concrete, hydromix concrete for use under or near water, Pilemix for pile foundations, Hillmix for steep slopes, Lightmix and Heavymix, which offers guaranteed volume mass and Gunimix, a ready-mix shotcrete. However, should a customer require a more tailor-made solution, Inter- Beton staff have the knowledge and adaptability to deliver a concrete design that is specifically tailored to each unique project.

Constantly pushing boundaries, the company develops close working relationships with its customers to ensure its newly developed products provide the best possible value and are relevantto market needs. For example, although steel fibre reinforced concrete (SRFC) has been around for years under the name Fibermix, Inter-Beton is the first concrete supplier in Belgium to offer customers a guaranteed residual flexural strength and the essential mechanical performance of SRFC named Steelmix. Having further developed this concept alongside Bekaert, the two organisations launched a website for Steelmix QPC in October 2013. With the strength class C 30/37, consistency class S4 and environment class EE2, Steelmix can be used in specific applications that have a SECO certificate; this includes basement walls, general foundation plates and slot foundations for individual houses. However, the use of Steelmix is not limited to these applications and can be used as a viable alternative for other projects.

Enabling customers to work faster and more efficiently with SRFC, Steelmix QPC is attestedby SECO for its flexural strength, making it the first SRFC to offer guaranteed bending strength. Other benefits of the product include no cut-and-pleat work at the yard, and increased progress of the yard; furthermore, there will be no loss of time for structural engineers signing off reinforcement details. These advantages, in addition to the strength of the innovative Steelmix QPC, will result in significant changes in the expectations of concrete in the future.

On top of its commitment to delivering quality products, the company is dedicated to ensuring personnel operate in a safe and environmentally friendly environment; as such, Inter-Beton’s sustainability policy is determined by three key pillars – noise reduction, the recycling of waste water and residual concrete as well as the protection of soil and subsoil, and dust reduction. The latter of which means each cement silo is provided with filters and sand and gravel are separated by high walls in order to lower the risk of material blowing away.

Meanwhile, Inter-Beton has had a new Global Prevention Plan in place since 2006; the main objective of this plan is to reduce the frequency and severity of accidents, and it is based on three key pillars. These include informing and raising awareness on safety standards to its staff, emphasising the importance of safety and providing training to all staff to ensure they behave responsibly and remain alert to potential hazards. As part of its sustainability and safety strategy, the company was announced as the first concrete company in Belgium with four of its plants achieving the environmental ISO 14001 certificate and OHSAS 18001 safety certificate in February 2014, with all manufacturing sites due to be certified in 2017.

More than ….
Standing by its logo of providing ‘so much more than concrete!’ Inter-Beton has successfully used its expertise in a diverse range of challenging projects for customers in the road building, infrastructure and construction industries. In 2013 alone the company used Fillmix, a high liquid mortar with guaranteed compressive strength that behaves like a homogenous liquid and remains stable, for a project at the West Flemish nature reserve De Blankaart; Ultrafastmix, a fast hardening ready-mix concrete, for the restoration of the E34 in Vrasene and high performance concrete for the new cable-stayed bridge in Geel-West. For the latter contract, Inter-Beton used classic raw materials such as 450 kg Portland cement, CEM I 52.5 R HES, sand, limestone and supranational used polycarboxylates to create a high-strength concrete that could be used for pillars of up to 55 metres.

Moving forward, the company is currently working on a three-year contract to supply concrete for the new A11 highway in Belgium, which will amount to 350,000m3 of concrete. The construction of a 12 km A11 motorway link, connecting Brugge and Westkapelle in Belgium, will provide a direct link between Europe’s motorway network and the Port of Zeebrugge, which will thus lower delays and heavy traffic to freight companies. Some very innovative concretes will be used in this project, with particular demands like alfa-T and E-Modulus.

In other areas of the business Inter-Beton is looking to grow through the acquisition of similar organisations; a strategy that will expand its network, enhance its product portfolio and result in stronger market positions in locations throughout Europe. Through diversity and adaptability, Inter-Beton’s future in the infrastructure and construction industries therefore is ‘more than concrete’.

Inter-Beton NV

Services: Manufacturer and distributor of ready-mixed concrete