Build sustainably, with Dramix®

Our commitment

We at Bekaert give the highest priority to protecting the environment.

Therefore, we are well aware of the environmental impact the concrete and steel industries have on the planet. We continuously strive to minimize our environmental impact by integrating sustainability at all levels of our business. For example, in June 2021, Dramix® manufactured at our Petrovice plant was granted an EPD certificate. Not just our products contribute to more sustainable construction, but your entire journey with Dramix® does. From project planning to concrete finishing, Bekaert will support you. Our efforts speak louder than words, that is why we are better together.

Dramix® will support you on your sustainability journey

1. Less concrete + less steel = less CO2

By using Dramix® ...

You can reduce the thickness of concrete floors by 10 to 25%
You can reduce the amount of steel by 30 to 50%
By using less concrete and less steel, you significantly reduce the carbon footprint of your construction

2. Longer lasting concrete elements

Dramix® enables you to build concrete elements with longer lifetimes.

Flooring

A concrete floor reinforced with steel fibers is more durable and resistant to wear and tear than traditionally reinforced floors. This is particularly important in industrial flooring given the increased warehouse automation. Automated warehouse vehicles follow identical routes, creating more localized usage-patterns.

Precast pipes

Precast concrete pipes reinforced with Dramix® steel fibers extend the lifespan of pipe systems by 15 to 20 years, as confirmed by wastewater treatment organizations.

Underground

In underground solutions, Dramix® fibers increase the service lifespan of concrete tunnels to no less than 120 years, thanks to optimal crack control and structural stability. It is no surprise that our tunneling and mining partners select Dramix® as the reinforcement

3. No microplastic pollution

Dramix® steel fibers deliver a microplastic and pollution-free solution, as is increasingly required by government regulations in shotcrete applications for subsea tunnels.

4. Sustainable transportation

Dramix® steel fibers enable densely packed reinforcement material. In layman’s terms, this means that we do not transport air, as opposed to transporting steel mesh. Therefore, the fuel consumption for transport per unit weight is substantially lower. Less mechanical handling with lifting material, adds to the reduction of greenhouse gasses. In addition, the concrete-thinning benefits of Dramix® in precast elements contribute to
even more transport exhaust savings.

5. Recyclable steel fibers

The Bekaert R&D team together with universities continue to investigate recyclability.
We want clean fractions of aggregates, sand and steel.
We are looking into reusing binder material.
Reuse steel (remelted or reused as steel), without any quality loss and certain fractions could be directly reused as steel fibers.

6. We are part of sustainable networks

Our Dramix® branded solutions will be available in early 2022 in One Click LCA and their free embodied carbon tool for buildings One Click LCA Planetary. We want to facilitate transparency and enable our customers to make the best sustainability choice when designing elements and selecting materials and solutions. Dramix® branded solutions will also be available in One Click LCA’s BIM plugins, and commercial tools to support in achieving LCA certification credits such as BREEAM, LEED, Levels, DGNB and others.

Calculate your Dramix® sustainability savings

With One Click LCA tools, you can calculate your Dramix® sustainability savings, by simulating the solution or using Dramix® branded solutions (e.g. Dramix® jointless floors) to benchmark against alternatives. In both cases it will show how much concrete and steel reinforcement savings can be achieved and translate this into environmental impact savings.

We are also developing a link into our Dramix® Pro suite that would enable a sustainability calculation in parallel to a structural design.

EPD certification for Bekaert Dramix® production plant Petrovice

We are pleased to announce that since June 2021, Dramix® 3D, 4D and 5D, manufactured at our Petrovice plant, Czech Republic, has a cradle-to-gate third-party verified Environmental Product Declaration (EPD).

An EPD is a document that transparently communicates the key environmental performance indicators of a product over its lifetime. A third-party verification ensures that data relating to environmental aspects of Dramix® has been validated by an external organization.

You are welcome to visit the webpage of the ITB (the EPD external certifying agency for Dramix®). Our EPD certificate is already in One Click LCA’s free embodied carbon tool for buildings One Click LCA Planetary.

We are committed to sustainability

Bekaert has an ambitious sustainability agenda. In line with the Science Based Targets initiative, we aim to reduce Green House Gas emissions by 45% by 2030 and become Carbon Net Zero by 2050. We collaborate with our suppliers and customers to deliver upon this ambition and develop processes and applications that help drive sustainability improvements across the supply chain.

Any questions?

Do you have a question that is not covered in our FAQ list? Then please reach out here, we will be happy to be involved in your sustainability journey.

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