Total partner in precast concrete

At manufacturer and supplier of concrete products Hoco Concrete, contractors, fabricators and architects will find everything under one roof: from balconies, stairs, walls, elevator shafts and cladding in a variety of shapes, colors and textures to load-bearing structures with or without prestressing, such as beams, columns, solid floors and TT slabs. No matter how small or large the order, the customer is always the focus.

Text | Lieke van Zuilekom    Image | Hoco Concrete

From the quotation request onward, the company actively participates in converting traditional architectural detailing to precast concrete solutions, which not only significantly shortens lead times on construction, but also results in significant quality gains. "By thinking along at an early stage, optimizations can be achieved in detailing, mold insertion, reinforcement quantities and assembly," said deputy director Luc Op de Beke and account manager Sander Bosch. "By continuously optimizing and innovating our products and processes, we connect to the market requirements of today and tomorrow."

Fast switching

Hoco Concrete has all the disciplines necessary to achieve a good result, Op de Beke said. "We have the capacity to facilitate design process, calculation, engineering, production and logistics in-house, depending on market requirements. This allows us to move quickly. Hoco Beton also has long service records and extensive experience in the realization of a wide variety of precast concrete solutions." Bosch: "We like to come to the table at an early project stage, to think along with the contractor, constructor and architect as a design partner about detailing and optimizations and to advise as a specialist in a practical, feasible and cost-efficient precast solution. For example, with regard to sandwich facades, where we supply complete facade elements including inner and outer leaf, cavity insulation, window frames and finishing. In doing so, we actively seek opportunities to produce a very diverse and high-quality facade with a limited number of molds."

Flower box with floral design. This photo was taken at Hoco Concrete's bag field.

Everything under one roof

After the contract is awarded, the engineering process begins, with a preparation schedule agreed upon. "The project is then 3D modeled in accordance with the latest BIM standards, after which Hoco Beton generates the production drawings from the model," Bosch said. "The form drawings go to the mold makers, the reinforcement drawings to the iron braiders. In addition, Hoco Beton has its own laboratory and concrete plant. This concrete plant has several silos, distinguishing between 'regular' gray concrete and the project-specific decorative concrete. From our concrete batching plant, the concrete is transported fully automatically and by a cube conveyor to one of the five spacious production halls. Once the elements are poured and cured, they are stripped and stored in our bag field, from where they are transported just-in-time to the construction site."

Latest techniques

Architects are always looking for new challenges in their creations. Hoco Concrete is happy to go along with this, Bosch says. "We continuously optimize our products and processes. For example, our engineering department uses the latest techniques in drawing and calculation software." Says Op de Beke, "Thanks to our highly qualified personnel and our extensive knowledge and expertise, we are able to construct and model the most complex structures. By using BIM software, we can exchange BIM models with all relevant stakeholders. This makes coordination problems a thing of the past." Since 2018, Hoco Beton has additionally been using a Holo lens. "With this lens, through Augmented Interactive Reality (AIR), the reinforcement baskets are projected on the production tables. In addition, the Holo lens is used for quality control. The first results of the Holo lens show that we can work more efficiently, failure costs are reduced and the quality of the concrete products is increased even further. This technique allows us to work on be able to go paperless in the near future. This contributes to our digital manufacturing ambition."

Account Manager Sander Bosch.
Sander Bosch joined Hoco Beton on May 1 as an account manager in the sales department. Prior to this, he has been active within the facade industry for 10 years, first as an engineer/project supervisor and then as project leader. Before that, he worked as an engineer at an engineering firm for precast concrete elements.

For the production of the sandwich elements, Hoco Beton uses Schöck Isolink® fiberglass facade anchors as standard to counteract thermal bridges. Thus, the manufacturer and supplier of concrete products meets the new BENG requirements. In addition, Hoco Concrete is a member of industry association Betonhuis Constructief Prefab. "We are active in various committees and working groups and think out-of-the-box about issues that concern our sector," concludes Op de Beke. "From professional guidelines and norm technical aspects to demountable/modular and circular construction, where we actively look at the possibilities for Hoco Beton."