Revolutionary: a maintenance-free low-carbon concrete industrial floor 

Major developers of logistics real estate are more than ever looking for predictable and reliable quality. This is very important because logistics processes often have to be handled 24/7 and with tight delivery time promises. Downtime due to repairs and maintenance of the concrete shop floor, for example, is disastrous for the logistics provider renting the property. "The sustainable ambitions of progressive developers are also becoming more and more concrete," says Frans van den Biezenbos, commercial director at Van Berlo. "We see developments in circularity, bio-based materials and energy-positive logistics real estate. But we also see the market struggling with the feeling that there are little to no reliable options for reducing the environmental impact of the concrete commercial floor, while representing up to 50% of the MPG score. Van Berlo has therefore developed a revolutionary solution that meets both needs, namely sustainable and maintenance-free commercial flooring. Truly a win-win situation."

Van Berlo has worked with its Research & Development department for many years to develop a durable and maintenance-free floor by getting an even better grip on the behavior of concrete. "The basis for a maintenance-free floor is a crack-free floor. That's why six years ago we started a PhD in crack-free concrete at the Technical University of Eindhoven and set up our own laboratory," says Nick Vervoort, head of Research & Development at Van Berlo. "We have gathered an enormous amount of knowledge and data on innovative concrete compositions for reliable commercial floors. We therefore know better than anyone else how such a floor behaves over the years and have a grip on the raw materials, processing, strength and cracking behavior. By analyzing all that data and also thanks to large-scale testing in practice, we have come to the conclusion that the themes of crack-free concrete and CO2 reduction go hand in hand."

The revolutionary solution from Van Berlo's laboratory was first applied on a large scale about four years ago. Van den Biezenbos: "By now we have realized about 75,000 m2 of company floor with this revolutionary solution. The results are so successful and reliable that we are now actively offering it. The next mega-project is already in the pipeline and several other candidates are showing serious interest. Especially for large logistics centers, this floor with reduced EQI score has a huge impact on reducing CO2 emissions. This translates directly into a low environmental score (such as MPG) and additional BREEAM credits. A CO2 reduction of 40% is easily achievable and can make the difference between building or not. We are thus perfectly in line, for example, with the CO2 budget approach under the Paris Proof Material Emissions."

Van Berlo's maintenance-free and low CO2 industrial floor lends itself perfectly to intensively trafficked surfaces and automated warehouses. Van den Biezenbos: "It is future-proof, hygienic and has absolute aesthetic added value. The latter is also ideal when changing tenants. The floor stays as good as new, so to speak. And the beauty of all this expertise is that the low-hanging fruit is also already flowing back to our regular floors today. That's another reason why you choose Van Berlo."

Van Berlo gives a guarantee of no less than twenty years on the performance of the floor. That shows how much confidence there is in this maintenance-free and durable floor. "We put a lot of effort into monitoring," says Van den Biezenbos. "The floors are fitted with sensors and subjected to an annual inspection. The combination of innovative concrete compositions and monitoring means that instead of the standard ten-year warranty on this revolutionary solution, we offer a whopping twenty-year (!) warranty. Wondering how exactly that works? Feel free to stop by for a cup of coffee and we'll be only too happy to walk you through it."