Concrete is capable of so much – but there is always more to discover. Our commitment to innovation expresses itself in many ways, with our dedicated Technical Services Lab and our Research & Development facility, C-lab®. At Thomas Concrete, we believe that innovation is built on constantly asking questions of ourselves and our industry. By doing so, we aim to remain a company in motion and ultimately offer customers across our markets even more effective and sustainable solutions.
Our ambition is to develop advanced product solutions and to minimize CO2 emissions. In our Georgia laboratory, our technicians analyze customized mix designs and regularly test alternative materials with lower carbon impact. We are the Concrete Specialists, driven by a mission to work closely with our customers to build sustainable societies for generations to come. We embody this mission by offering consultations and lab services for our customers, partners, and academic associations to facilitate innovation in sustainable building.
Examples of lab services include the development of concrete with lower embodied carbon, digital strength monitoring of in-situ concrete, optimized concrete mix designs, controlled and field testing environments, strength and compression testing, thermal requirements, alternative binder testing, and testing for modulus of elasticity (MOE).
C-lab® is based in Gothenburg, Sweden, and is Thomas Concrete Group’s accredited (ISO/IEC 17025) center for material and laboratory testing, technical consultation, and research and development. We are one of a few global concrete suppliers to operate our own research and development facility.
During 2023, 5,918 accredited testing assignments of concrete, aggregates, and binders were conducted according to national and international standards.
To meet the increased demand of testing we expanded our premises with a new room dedicated to freeze-thaw testing to facilitate our 16 temperature controlled freezing chambers. We also received an accreditation for testing the potential alkali-reactivity of aggregates according to RILEM AAR-2 and ASTM C1260.
With a focus on concrete in both its fresh and hardened state and in its constituent materials such as aggregates and binders, we conduct projects in collaboration with customers and material suppliers.
Thomas Concrete also works closely with academic and industry institutions including Georgia Tech and the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub (through the Concrete Advancement Foundation). Several members of our Technical Services team have served on boards and committees of state chapters of the American Concrete Institute, the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Georgia Ready Mixed Concrete Association, and Carolinas Ready Mixed Concrete Association.
