Hosted by the Turkish Ready Mixed Concrete Association in Istanbul this year, the 17th European Ready Mixed Concrete Organization (ERMCO) Congress was completed with more than 400 participants.
The 17th European Ready Mixed Concrete Organization Congress hosted on 4-5 June 2015 by the Turkish Ready Mixed Concrete Association THBB was held at the Military Museum in Istanbul, a city which has experienced numerous different civilizations and cultures through the ages. More than 400 representatives of the ready mixed concrete sector from many countries, particularly the UK, Italy, and Germany participated in the Congress. In the Congress where total 61 papers, 38 from abroad and 23 domestically, were presented, four different sessions about the sustainability of the concrete solutions, contribution of concrete to society, developments in the issue of concrete, and marketing and management of concrete were conducted in two separate halls. Included in the Congress were the photographs of the underwater concrete statues of Jason De Caires Taylor, which were designated as one of the best 25 wonders of the world by National Geographic magazine. The Congress also included exhibitions of materials, products, and equipment for the production and testing of concrete.
The Congress brought together academicians, institutions, and companies in the concrete and concrete equipment sectors from Turkey and abroad and began on 4 June with the inauguration speeches of Yavuz Işık, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Ready Mixed Concrete Association, and Stein Tosterud, President of ERMCO. In his speech Yavuz Işık said : “The ready mixed concrete sector is developing day by day in parallel with the construction sector that keeps developing in Turkey. Mega projects like the Eurasia Tunnel, the Izmit Tunnel, and the 3rd Bridge present substantial opportunities to our sector. On the other hand, the facilities of the members of our Association are being continuously inspected by the QAS-Quality Assurance System - in order to ensure that the productions are conducted in accordance with the standards and that much safer living spaces can be created for our people.”
The opening ceremony continued with the speeches of Burcu Uygur, Sales and Marketing Superintendent of IMER-L&T, the Main Sponsor of the Congress; ASO President Nurettin Özdebir; ISO President Erdal Bahçıvan; and Prof. Dr. Ali Taşdemir; the first session ended with the presentation of the eminent academician prof. Surrendra P. Shah entitled “Advances in Concrete Science in the Last 50 Years”. The expert contributors evaluated the Eurasia Tunnel and the 3rd Bridge Project within the scope of the issues of sustainability of concrete and contribution of concrete to the society in the afternoon session. The first day of the Congress was completed with a gala dinner organized in Su Ada where Fatih Erkoç took the stage.
Three sessions were held on the last day of the Congress. Many speakers provided significant insightsinto different production techniques of concrete, the Turkish concrete sector, and marketing and sales strategies in the concrete sector. The Congress ended with a plaque ceremony.
As part of the Congress, a technical visit was paid on 6 June to the Eurasia Tunnel Project (the Bosporus Tube Crossing Project), which will link the European and Asian sides of Istanbul by means of an undersea motorway tunnel .
About Turkish Ready Mixed Concrete Association
Turkish Ready Mixed Concrete Association (THBB) is a professional organization that has endeavored for the production of concrete complying with the standards to construct the reliable and resistant structures and for the use of concrete in high resistance classes in the concrete applications conforming to the standards especially in the areas with high earthquake risk since 1988. It is mandatory for the companies wanting to be a member of THBB, which has been a full member of the European Ready Mixed Concrete Organization (ERMCO) since 1991, to conduct production in compliance with the standards in all their ready-mixed concrete plants, to have received a QAS Certificate of Conformity having had their Quality Assurance System subjected to continuous spot checking, to possess an appropriate laboratory, and to fulfill the technical, environmental, legal, and ethical criteria as well as the criteria relating to work health and workers safety in a complete manner.
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