NZ Concrete Industry Conference

Holland’s Professor Joost Walraven (keynote speaker)

Preparations for this year’s NZ Concrete Industry Conference – scheduled for 6 – 8 October at Auckland’s Ellerslie Event Centre – are progressing well.

Conference organisers say the Ellerslie venue is ideally located with quick, easy access from the motorway and unlimited free parking for delegates. It’s also an excellent venue for equipment displays by sponsors and trade exhibitors with ample space for heavy vehicle demonstrations.

Out of town visitors have a choice of convenient accommodation between the Ellerslie Novotel and IBIS hotels, both a short walk from the conference venue.  The conference is jointly organised by the Cement & Concrete Association of NZ, the NZ Concrete Masonry Association, the NZ Concrete Society, the NZ Ready Mixed Concrete Association and Precast New Zealand Inc.

Holland’s Professor Joost Walraven has been confirmed as one of the conference keynote speaker. He is internationally recognised for his research into shear, punching, crack width control, creep and shrinkage of concrete, rotation capacity of concrete structures and the behaviour of precast concrete structures.

Over the last decade his work has focused specifically on the development of new types of concrete and their application.  These include high-strength, self-compacting, high-performance fibre and low-binder concrete.  Walraven was president of the International Concrete Federation fib from 2000 -2002, and chaired the Project Team responsible for writing the Eurocode 2 Concrete Structures, delivered in 2004.  He is currently chairman of the fib Special Activity Group (New Model Code for Concrete Structures) and chairman of the fib Task Group (Ultra High-Performance Fibre Concrete).

From the myriad of abstracts received as a result of the ‘Call for Papers’ the conference organisers have put together a fantastic technical programme covering all aspects of concrete construction and associated technologies, including papers on research, design trends, marketing opportunities, recent developments, construction projects, materials, methodologies and new issues for cement and concrete.  For more information on the technical programme visit the conference website https://confer.eventsair.com/concretenz-conference-2023/technical-programme

The Conference will be structured around the traditional three-day format and in addition to the various seminars and workshops will include a range of social activities. As is reflected from previous events, the programme offers delegates excellent opportunities for networking, catching up with friends and establishing new contacts.

This year’s conference in Ellerslie, Auckland, is proving to be exceptionally popular with trade exhibitors – all but two of the exhibitor spaces have been sold.  Similarly, there are only a few sponsor spots left.  Sponsors – it should be noted – are eligible for trade exhibit sites at half the normal price, and in a key location.  Anyone keen to secure the remaining spots needs to move quickly.

The conference, in addition to the comprehensive technical programme will also be hosting a full social programme over the three days.  These include the traditional fun, off-site dinner at a special venue on Thursday night, a range of activities for Friday afternoon and the formal conference dinner and awards on Friday evening. The social programme is designed to maximise networking opportunities for delegates. Delegate’s partners are encouraged to attend an “icebreaker” afternoon tea on the Thursday, a tour of Auckland activities on Friday morning and, of course, the two conference dinners.

For more information, visit www.theconcreteconference.co.nz