The manufacturer Basalite provides complete product lines including structural block, interlocking paving stones, wall systems, ornamental and garden products with customized shapes, sizes, colors and finishes, and are renowned for their durability, sustainability and beauty.

This focus on customization and quality led Basalite to the Equipment manufacturer Quadra. Having opened its US subsidiary in 2016, Quadra Usa Inc commited to study and understand the products and manufacturing processes for concrete products in the US. Now Quadra Usa Inc has full time dedicated technical staff and sales team as well as local spare parts inventory.

After a visit to France to see Quadra’s headquarters and several Quadra block plants in operation, the Basalite team were impressed by the technical solutions provided by Quadra un terms of block machine, handling solutions and robotic cubing systems. One of the brand leaders in France for more than 20 years, Quadra supplies fully automated production plants, typically supervised by only one operator, without any manual operations. These were exactly the kind of solutions Basalite was looking for.

For the new cubing line in Dupont, Quadra designed something completely different than any other solution available or currently being used in the US plants today. In order to create a fully automatic solution, with only one person on the line for quality control, Quadra designed a line with 3 robots avant several product conveyor and pushers.

With a large range of colours, formats, structures and finishes, the gravel boards market is growing in the modern landscading industry. Maes Betonfabriek, based in Dessel, Belgium, is one of the main manufacturers of concrete fencing in the country. Founded in 1949 by Karel Maes, this family-owned company is currently managed by his sones, Lund and Dirk Maes, and the upcoming generation is already active in the company. With more than 50 years of experience, Maes Betonfabriek manufactures and markets a large range of concrete products.

The strong suit of the company is the sustainability, variety and contemporary design of its products. With a daily production of about 200 tons of concrete, Maes Betonfabriek is equipped with 4 wet-cast production lines supplied by Quadra, the Equipment manufacturer. The partnership between both companies began with the delivery of the first DIFAL machine in 2006. Faced with the technical and aesthetic requirements of the products and the growth of the business, Maes Betonfabriek quickly became interested in a modern, automated and efficient industrial solution, designed and manufactured by Quadra.

A family-owned company based in the South of France, Fabemi has been combining know-how and innovation since 1961, making it one of the most important players within the French market. With 14 plants spread throughout France, the Fabemi Group has been expanding its production thanks to innovative technology. Initially, Fabemi was known for the manufacturing of concrete blocks. Since then, the group has widened its production. Under the brand names Bradstone and Carré d’Arc, Fabemi currently produces and delivers a large range of wetcast products designed for the landscaping market: slabs, pavers, copingstones and garden products, retaining walls, and wall coverings.

In order to boost its competitiveness, enhance the quality of its products and avoid repetitive and painful tasks for its operators, Fabemi has invested in the full automation of the production line based in Donzere and exclusively dedicated to the manufacture of wetcast products. To achieve this technological leap Fabemi has established a partnership with the French equipment manufacturer Quadra. Currently, only 4 operators manage the complete production process, from the mould cleaning, oil application and concrete filling through to the curing, demoulding and palletizing of the finished product. Equipped with a modern handling system, the plant is fully automated and achieves high versatility. All the items of equipment provided have the ability to adapt their system to the multiple product formats. This is the main innovation. To do so, an RFID chip is integrated in every pallet and identifies the type of the product. Accordingly, this RFID chip controls the oiling settings, the concrete dosing, the automatic introduction of balls on the back of the products, the product reference printing, and the demoulding and palletizing conditions with high precision.

This innovative system was developed and implemented by the supplier Quadra. This is a unique process, since up to now no device has been able to adapt to successive and changing mould formats in real time. More than 4000 manufacturing recipes are recorded, handled and automatically incremented. The production line and all stations permanently and automatically switch into all recipes .

Rochester Concrete Products is a third-generation family business, with mortarless concrete manufacturing and construction expertise dating back to 1914. Specialised in residential and commercial landscaping products (slabs, pavers, retaining walls, edgers, outdoor living kits, site furnishing, etc.), Rochester Concrete Products manufactures and distributes some of the most respected brands in the hardscapes industry, such as Interlock Concrete Products, Silver Creek Stoneworks, Rockwood Retaining Walls, Necessories Outdoor Living Kits, Rosetta Outdoors, Keystone retaining wall systems, Techniseal, Alliance Gator, Snap Edge Paver Restraint, AWS Pedestal System, Strata Systems and Super-Stik. The reputation of this group relies on the premium quality of its products, which combine beauty, durability, efficiency and sustainability. This is of high importance for Rochester Concrete Products to continually develop new products and services that exceed the social and environmental requirements of America’s landscapes.

The Maen Karne Group is made up of Maen Karne Aggregates Ltd and Maen Karne Concrete Products (formerly Western Blocks Ltd). Recently acquired by the GRS Group, the Maen Karne Group has displayed sustained growth since its founding and is now one of the leading renowned suppliers to the precast industry in the southwest of the UK. The Maen Karne Group is active in several fields: supply of aggregates, manufacture of ready-mix and precast concrete, manufacture of concrete products (mainly blocks and pavers) and the supply of waste management solutions. Divided into four sites and equipped with two plants for the manufacture of concrete blocks, Maen Karne placed an order with Quadra for the upgrading of the existing production line and commissioning of a “high performance” block making machine at their Melbur site, located in the county of Cornwall. High production capacity, consistent and optimum quality in terms of height, compaction, durability and dimensions, and ease of maintenance – these were the main requirements for the new plant. The wealth of experience and proven skills of Quadra have finally convinced the Maen Karne Group, which has chosen to rely on the French equipment and know-how.

Renowned for combining high-quality products and product innovation, the company BC Suplidora, manufacturer of concrete products, has been a key player in the Dominican Republic. Based in Santo Domingo, BC Suplidora has decided to increase and upgrade its production facilities in order to cater to a fast-growing market. This manufacturer was looking for a supplier able to assist the company in the achievement of its ambitious objectives in terms of performance and production capacities. BC Suplidora commissioned the French equipment manufacturer Quadra to install a complete production plant, fully automated, including the latest technological advances. The requirements were related to the flexibility, the performance and the efficiency of the equipment provided, with a view to outperforming and offering further enhanced products, and efficiently meeting the growing needs of the customers. The new production unit was also the opportunity to enable BC Suplidorato to extend its range of products. BC Suplidora aims to specialize in the production of concrete kerbstones and to position the company as one of the pioneering manufacturers on the island for this type of product.

Located in Etalans in the east of France, Vieille Matériaux was founded in 1963 by René Vieille. Currently headed by his grandson, Sebastien Vieille, this family-owned company has been specializing in the manufacture and trading of precast concrete products for more than 60 years. Recognized throughout its area for the quality of its products and its ability to innovate, Vieille Matériaux achieved a resounding success with the launch of its insulating blocks called “NRJ block” and their high thermal and acoustic performance. Vieille Materiaux is continuing to grow and has expanded its product range with the manufacture of hemp blocks called “Biosys”. This is a special building solution with a globally unique product, mechanically assembled when it is dry, with a high-precision vertical and horizontal interlocking system allowing fast and simple use.

The Star Stone Company was founded by Cristian Pop in 2007. Specializing in the production of wet-cast products (slabs, pavers, concrete reconstituted stone and any kind of landscaping products), Star Stone has been growing exponentially since its beginning. Cristian Pop has recently decided to reach a new level by upgrading the plant. The continuing growth of Star Stone involves a high level of performance, which its existing facilities are not able to satisfy. Rather than a supplier, Star Stone was actually looking for a fully-fledged partner for proposing a new manufacturing solution: a major change for this manufacturer, who was basically manufacturing its products manually. Following a first contact during the Batimat show in 2011, where the manufacturer Quadra is always present, Star Stone took a closer look at Quadra by visiting several plants and studying the different technologies that might be applied for automating its production.

Created in 1988 by Mr Pascal Leandri, the company Prefabeton, based on the island of Reunion in France, is specialised in precast concrete products designed for road works, building, construction and public works. Prefabeton has successfully ensured its leading position by investing in effective production equipment. The leading manufacturer within its area, Prefabeton has enlarged its products range over the years: slabs, pavers and kerbstones with high added value, blocks, vegetative retaining walls, manholes, gutters, rainwater scuppers and other concrete products designed for companies, craftsmen, municipalities and private individuals. In 1997, Prefabeton became the first company on the island of Reunion to obtain the standard called “NF” for its manhole range. This quality process is now applied to all its products, along with CE branding in order to provide its customers with certified products. The first collaboration between Prefabeton and Quadra was in 1999 when Prefabeton bought their first production unit with block machine. This long-standing client has recently commissioned the equipment manufacturer Quadra with a large-scale project: the manufacturing of solid products with semi-dry demoulding by turning over, through a fully-automated process. This production was originally ensured by its operators working on machine type vibrating tables or small rollover machines. The main production for which this new equipment was intended was the manufacturing of manholes and seating rings and extended to other products such as low walls, retaining building blocks, drainage channels and other products with suitable dimensions for the curing chambers.

 

Founded in 1971, the Ino block company, currently headed by Mr Han and based in Hwaseong in South Korea, is now acknowledged as a leading manufacturer of landscaping materials in this area. Specialized in the manufacturing of pavers and all other kinds of landscaping products such as slabs, retaining walls, kerbstones, etc., Ino block supports the development and the reconfiguration of the urban design in Korea by continuously manufacturing new products. As a licensee of products such as Nikko from Japan, Godelmann from Germany and Anchor and Rosetta from the United States, Ino block takes advantages of strong partnerships which enable it to manufacture products that are designed worldwide. This manufacturer aims at sustaining its leading position through the quality, advanced design and large diversity of its products. Thanks to the implementation of the INO CAD program, Ino block is able to design customized products and offers more than 2000 different products in 300 different colours. Last but not least, this manufacturer is an avid user of equipment of the latest generation, including state-of-the-art manufacturing solutions. Ino block placed an order with the equipment manufacturer Quadra, which is well known for supplying tailor-made automation solutions. Ino block’s investment was based on a fully automatic filling system, designed for manufacturing the Rosetta product range and similar products with a view to improving productivity while maintaining and enhancing high product quality.