Translations:Hauptseite/296/en

Adjustments needed - new material, polymer concrete

Poster of the CONSTRUCTA building trade exhibition in Hannover in 1970, where ACO exhibited the fibre cement DRAIN channel. The innovative design was well received by the trade visitors.

The response to the DRAIN channels at the Constructa building trade fair in Hannover at the end of January 1970, not to mention the sales to date, the results of market research, and the advertising channels that were used at the time, were certainly promising. But the first problems arose a few months after the start of production. The channel proved to be unstable. The Achilles' heel of the construction was the bonding. Adhesive surfaces that were too small, caused the frequent collapse of the gratings under load. In addition, fibre cement panels were inflexible when it came to forming. Thus, less than a year after the market launch of the channels, a change in the production process was on the horizon. Both the material and the forming were being optimised. Dieter Brink's team had a favourite as the new material: polymer concrete. This would make it possible to cast the channels in their entirety instead of gluing them together.