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DJC.COM
May 25, 2001
A bullet-proof fix for aging concrete
Special to the Journal
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Photos courtesy of Perma-Crete |
Why should concrete be ugly, stained, faded or chipped?
That’s the way concrete is often seen but Perma-Crete, a Nashville, Tenn., producer of protective acrylic polymer cement compounds for resurfacing new or worn concrete surfaces, believes all concrete can be beautiful.
A year ago, with a network of 500 dealerships across America, Perma-Crete opened its first West Coast distribution center in Los Angeles to help pave its way into new construction markets in the western states.
Today, there are more than 700 dealers in the United States and several foreign countries, including D.C. Flaming Construction in Bellingham and Carmel Steel Frame Homes in Washougal.
| How Perma-Crete works |
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Perma-Crete is an acrylic polymer cement compound with more than 6,000 psi compressive strength, twice the strength of conventional concrete.
It can be applied to highways, bridges, airport runways, pool decks and interiors, driveways, sidewalks and over surfaces of steel, concrete, asphalt, foam, masonry and wood — including vertical building applications. Applications can be hard-troweled or squeegeed over a surface or applied with a spray-hopper gun. Surfaces can be coated from 1/8 to 2 inches thick, providing great flexibility for a variety of projects. The company also provides its Blue Nitro product for cleaning and its Orange Power product, an organic, non-petroleum liquid cleaner and degreaser, for removing oil spots. Cost of the product is about $3 to $8 per square foot, including surface preparation and cleaning materials, with the exact price dictated by each individual project. Although the product looks similar to stucco and Dryvit, the company has found even hammering on Perma-Crete doesn’t damage it, unlike competitive products, the company claims. Essentially categorized as chemical concrete — the products are available in more than 150 standard colors, plus custom hues. |
The company’s various Perma-Crete products don’t replace concrete, but they strengthen, protect and beautify concrete structures with a 1/8- to 2-inch layer of material that withstands 6,000 psi of compressed weight, effectively rated at twice the overall strength and endurance of standard concrete.
Applications in various colors work well over concrete, masonry, asphalt and steel — from highways, bridges and building entrances to loading docks, pool decks and walkways. Sealed and non-porous, the Perma-Crete products are extremely resistant to industrial chemicals, oils, stains, mildew, intense heat and freeze-thaw environments.
Recent ballistic tests have shown that even 1/8-inch-thick Perma-Crete surfaces applied to aluminum panels used on residential and commercial structures can withstand penetration from .38 caliber, .45 caliber and 9 millimeter weapons fired from only 18 inches away. Used on building exteriors, the products provide protection from tornadoes, hurricanes and hail — as well as random drive-by shootings.
The product is easily applied over worn, cracked and uneven surfaces in smooth or patterned finishes, can be used for either new or retrofitted projects and provides a slip-resistant surface that surpasses the Federal Trade Commission’s standards.
Plus, its resilience means savings on previously high-maintenance areas once they’re coated with Perma-Crete and also adds to the intrinsic value of real estate properties because the coating is long-lasting.
“The concrete business in this country is a $1 trillion industry,” said Perma-Crete’s Senior Vice President Greg Hill. “We’ve had phenomenal response to our product because concrete, once it’s poured, lasts for a long time, long enough to deteriorate. We just go in and fix it without tearing everything out. We do kitchen floors at McDonalds, interstate highways, bridges, interior floors, warehouses and exteriors of residential and commercial buildings.”
There are other concrete-surfacing materials on the market, he said, but “ours is unique in its characteristics and wide range of applications, plus it’s unique in being fire-rated material that can be used on the sides of buildings as well as a driveway, yet with the same strength and sealing ratings,” he said.
Perma-Crete owes its existence to President and CEO George Henderson’s search for a high-quality resurfacing product for the area around his swimming pool. Realizing the potential market for such a product, he formed Quality Systems Inc. (QSI) with $250,000 of his own capital in 1990, hired two employees and began two years of research with several chemists to create Perma-Crete. The product name has since become his business name.
But Henderson didn’t envision just the swimming pool market. He saw pallet-damaged loading docks, pock-marked highway bridge surfaces, worn stucco and plaster building exteriors and deteriorated paved areas around commercial and industrial buildings and warehouses.
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Today, the company’s files are filled with letters from satisfied customers that include the Sheraton Music City Hotel, for resurfacing its faded indoor and outdoor pool decks; the Allegheny Center Plaza for coating its shopping area with a surface that withstood Pennsylvania’s harsh winters and significantly reduced annual maintenance; and the Nashville Convention Center, where a traffic-damaged 3,300-square-foot loading area was resurfaced, producing a new surface that engineers said looked better than the original installation.
Perma-Crete adds five to 10 new dealerships each week from its expanding backlog of more than 10,000 companies that have inquired about carrying the Perma-Crete products. The company recently closed an exclusive contract with United Driveways to serve the United Kingdom, adding to its global markets in Europe, the Far East, South America, Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and parts of the Caribbean.
In 2002, Henderson plans to take his company public to raise capital to finance an expansion of the its domestic and world markets. To date, the company has subsidized all of its growth from its increasing product sales, he said.
Terry Stephens is a freelance writer based in Arlington. He can be reached by e-mail at features@gte.net.
Terry Stephens is a freelance writer based in Arlington. He can be reached by e-mail at features@gte.net.
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