County Materials Corporation recently hosted two plant tours with a total of 25 staff members from the City of Madison Engineering Department in attendance. The tours took place at County Materials’ concrete pipe manufacturing facility in Madison WI, giving engineers valuable knowledge of the production processes and quality control testing for reinforced concrete pipe they specify for storm water management systems in their city.
The tour began with a short presentation about County Materials’ more than 70-year history, followed by a safety demonstration. Before entering the plant, the engineers were given a detailed description of the ASTM C76 specifications that County Materials’ reinforced concrete pipe meets. In addition to concrete pipe manufacturing, the engineers also saw testing processes for compression strength and absorption.
“Hosting tours of this type helps educate those making the decisions in infrastructure projects about the extreme quality control and testing we due prior to shipping to a site,” said County Materials Technical Resource Engineer, Brian Kolden, P.E. “Understanding the details that go into making reinforced concrete pipe, and the strict strength tests it can endure, demonstrates why RCP is an inherently strong material, and a better choice for our communities than alternative materials such as pipe made with polypropylene.”
County Materials is a leading supplier of reinforced concrete pipe, and a supporting member of industry associations, including the American Concrete Pipe Association. The company was recently named as an RCP supplier for the large-scale Foxconn Technology Group project in Mount Pleasant, WI.