The cost of construction materials can be just as important as the quality. Ultra High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) checks all the boxes for quality, but many still worry that the price is too high. The question on everyone’s mind seems to be: “When will the cost of UHPC come down?” 

Thanks to Cor-Tuf, the answer is…right now!

Concrete cost is driven by mix ingredients and batching operations. If excess time, labor, or supply contracts are required, costs will quickly shoot up. Competitive supply chains and efficient production are the key to keeping prices in check. Contractors need to be able to use existing local plants and ready-mix trucks without adding new procedural hurdles. Simply put, the key to lower UHPC costs is less UHPC complexity.

Many UHPC vendors bolster their profit line with proprietary sand, cement, admixtures, and special mixing equipment. These might be acceptable for niche architectural small projects, but they won’t cut it for a typical bridge or building. Cor-Tuf understands how budgets work in the real world. Our construction experience has informed a cost-effective approach that improves quality without unnecessary add-ons. Cor-Tuf aims to enhance long-term concrete performance, not to reinvent the industry.

Ready-mix Cor-Tuf UHPC is the perfect example of cost-efficiency. Our products work seamlessly with existing ready-mix equipment and production methods. Combine our CT-25 dry material with the same sand and cement you would normally use, in the same manner as any conventional ready-mix batch, and you are good to go. You can use the same trucks and the same production schedule you currently employ without issue. With CT-25 ready-mix,  producing a world-class UHPC product couldn’t be easier, but with a stronger, more versatile material that will outlast traditional concrete and all other UHPC material on the market today.

It’s also important to note that Cor-Tuf takes 8.5 minutes to go plastic. We’ve been present when another UHPC mix was being mixed in a ready-mix truck (twice, same manufacturer) and we timed it. It took an hour and twenty minutes, both times, to go plastic. The much shorter time to plasticity with CT-25 can add up to big cost savings in labor and project time.

UHPC from the laboratory created a narrative that this material is expensive. The early years of this class of material involved uncertainties around the use of local mix ingredients, the scale of the batch being mixed, and the equipment being used. A heavily controlled lab setting with unlimited time and money might be nice for research, but it’s not how real concrete gets  produced Cor-Tuf products have moved us past the period of “what-if” and into the modern world of “can-do.” Our UHPC will work with any scale of operations, in existing batch plants, and with local ingredients. The result is an efficient, cost-effective UHPC that remains unrivaled in the market.

The superior performance of UHPC does not have to come with a hefty price tag. The combination of longer-lasting, higher-strength, and under-budget UHPC is no longer fiction, thanks to Cor-Tuf’s classic concrete approach. Your sand, your cement, our Cor-Tuf UHPC.