Oldenzaal, the Netherlands – After commissioning the largest Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (“AAC”) of Latin America in Mexico last year, Aircrete Group (“Aircrete”) announces that it will build and invest in a new state-of-the-art AAC facility in Argentina.
Together with leading regional construction and development companies Grupo Brayco and Pecam , Aircrete is developing a USD 20 million (EUR 18 million) AAC block and panel plant with an initial capacity of 120,000m3 in San Lorenzo, Santa Fe, near the city of Rosario. The products will be marketed under the name “Brimax”.
Expanding Latin American foothold
As key technology partner to the project, Aircrete will not only design and build the plant, but will also participate with a significant minority shareholding in the project. Furthermore, Aircrete will be closely involved in the operations of the plant, including the training of local plant staff. For Aircrete the investment in Argentina means an expansion of its portfolio of investments in Latin America.
Aircrete CEO Jop van Boggelen said: “The Brimax project is a great opportunity for the Aircrete Group to expand its foothold in Latin America. Argentina is on the verge of an economic recovery and AAC has all the characteristics to efficiently address the affordable housing shortages. Given the strong commercial partners Aircrete is keen to not only be involved in the development phase of the project, but also in its operations. Hence, the financial commitment of the Group.”
Social housing shortage
The new plant will address, amongst others, the severe shortage of high-quality, social housing in Argentina. The initial capacity of 120,000m3 of AAC products will provide the masonry for approximately 6,000 affordable houses of 50m2 annually.
The plant will create approximately 100 direct jobs. The design of the plant allows for an upgrade up to 400,000m3 in the future.
All-round building material
AAC is a sustainable, lightweight, pre-cast building material. Due to its natural insulation properties it complies it with ever stricter building regulations relating to energy savings in new buildings. Furthermore, due to its lightweight and accuracy AAC allows for very fast construction. These are among the key reasons why the product is picking up in popularity in fast-growing economies with significant shortages in affordable quality housing.
Aircrete Group is a Netherlands-based global AAC technology company dedicated to developing building solutions based on Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (“AAC”). Its key activity is the designing and building of new AAC plants worldwide. On a selective basis Aircrete’s investment arm takes minority stakes in the plants it builds, hereby becoming the first vertically integrated global AAC player. In 2015 Aircrete commissioned the largest AAC facility in the Americas, near Mexico City.
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