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Theme: The concrete market in the next 50 years
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Thesis statement: Will concrete remain a prevailing construction material in the future of developed countries? – A focus on the United States concrete market.
Why this subject? Before starting my internship I was like most people, I had a poor image of concrete. I saw concrete as, at worst, a product destructive of its environment and, at best, as a boring product with no style. After spending nine months in B2B marketing in a multinational construction company, my vision on this product has greatly evolved. As such, I wanted to delve deeper into what concrete is and its potential future. Through seeing the restructuration of marketing teams and understanding the challenges this industry face (industry that provides millions of jobs and is responsible for the creation of most of our infrastructures) the question I attempt to answer in this memoir can also be used as the beginning point of a marketing argumentation or a concrete advertising campaign.
Interestingly, the future of concrete lies primarily in the product itself, and in its production process. I carried out this research to investigate the changes needed for concrete to remain a central product in the future construction market, as well as to analyze why this potential future relies so heavily on the product itself as opposed to the many environmental factors that influence its existence.
Thesis Plan
I. UnderstandingConcrete
- Describe all types of concrete that fit within the scope of your thesis, and those that do not.
- Ready-mix
- Accounts for about ¾ of total
- Mixed at plant à tailor made
- Transportation costs
- Two types : transit-mixed or shrink-mixed
- Viewed more as a commodity
- Precast
- Vital component of infrastructure
- Time-saving
- Mass-production
- Simplificationoftheconstructionprocess
- Two types : standard or special
- Viewed more as a commodity
- Trend of diversification
- High-strength concrete
- Architectural concrete
- Most versatile material
- Shotcrete
- Is there a risk of market saturation?
- Emerging countries have no market for innovationà concrete is still viewed and used as a commodity
- Less focus on esthetics
- More focus on costs and practicality
- Developed nations focus far more on esthetics and innovation
- Concrete must look good, blend in the environment, be “green”
- The future of concrete is in these markets
- Innovation must bring about a change in:
- Environmental Footprint
- Esthetics
- Product capabilities
- Costs
- These variable set limits to concrete use that need to be broken down for concrete to have a future.
- Emerging countries have no market for innovationà concrete is still viewed and used as a commodity
- History
- When did people start using it?
- Natural cement deposits
- Limestone and shale oil reaction
- Romans add volcanic ash
- Faster setting times
- Amphibious setting
- Natural cement deposits
- When did people start using it?
- The market evolution.
- The specifics of the American market.
- Cement mix requirements
- Building requirements
- Concrete production requirements
- Physical description
- A mixed product with various components
- Coarse aggregate ~ 40%
- Gravel or crushed stone
- Fine aggregate ~ 30%
- Sand
- Water ~ 15%%
- Cement ~ 10%
- Usually Portland cement
- Air ~ 5%
- Coarse aggregate ~ 40%
- Many different types…
- Architectural and Decorative concrete
- Exterior design concrete
- Interior design concrete
- Structural concrete
- High-strength
- Lightweight
- Manufacturing and sourcing
- Cement plants and clinker production.
- Quarries management.
- Limestone
- Aggregates
- Additives
- Alternative materials
- Architectural and Decorative concrete
- A mixed product with various components
II. Issues and perspectives(preferrably the most dense part of the paper)
- Sustainability
- Enhancing durability
- Reducing environmental footprint
- Emissions
- Energy consumption
- Waste
- Raw materials consumption (resource depletion)
- Locally-sourced materials
- Increasing social responsibility
- Safety and security
- Low impact on local communities
-
- Saturated market
- Product performance
- Stakeholder and customer expectations
- Legal environment
- Qualified labor force
- Customer service.
- Adherence to performance specification
- Onsite engineering and monitoring of the product
III. Facing the challenges
- Innovation
- Innovative products
- Strength, durability, plasticity, etc.
- Nanotechnologies, molecular research
- New software, embedded chips, on the field monitoring
- Innovation in construction
- R&D financing
- Innovative products
- Policies, standardizations, specifications
- Education
- Workforce
- Training
- Technology transfer
- Community
- Public relations
- Stakeholder
- Lobbying
- Marketing
- Segmentation
- B2B or B2C?
- Developing advertising
- Institutional campaigns or product campaigns?
- Cross business line communication
- Customer relationship management
- Product image
- Workforce
Conclusion
For concrete to be the prevailing construction material 50 years from now in developing markets the industry needs to experience a radical change. As such, will we still be able to call this product concrete?
Literature Review
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