(Left to right) Carlos Colmenares, Aedobe Manufacturing Corp. president; Carlo Mangin, owner of MACD Construction Supply; and Architect Ronel Jumiller of Aedobe shows the lightweight MonsterBlock. /Irene R. Sino Cruz
CEBU CITY, Philippines—The annual Cebu Construction Show (CebuCon) has always served as a launching venue for innovative products and services in the construction industry.
This year’s CebuCon continue this thrust as one of the products on display at the exhibit is an innovative construction product – the MonsterBlock, an innovative product produced by Aedobe Manufacturing Corp. using glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC).
GFRC is a combination of fine sand, cement, polymer, water, other admixtures and alkali-resistant glass fibers. This material can be used for the manufacture of lightweight panels. GFRC panels are much thinner than the traditional concrete panels. Also, because of higher glass fiber and polymer content, it is stronger than traditional concrete products.
Carlos Colmenares, Aedobe president, said that he came up with the MonsterBlock when he saw the huge potential for an innovative construction product.
“The MonsterBlock is better than the regular hollow blocks. It is a light weight block that is heat-proof, fire-proof, sound-proof and waterproof,” said Colmenares who holds the patent for this innovative product.
One needs only three pieces of MonsterBlock for a one-square-meter area, which requires 14 pieces of regular-sized hollow blocks and seven pieces of the light blocks presently sold in the market. This meant that the installation time would be less when using MonsterBlock, he said.
Also, Colmenares noted that the structural costs would be lower because a lighter load factor would require fewer reinforcement bars or rebars.
Carlo Mangin, owner of MACD Construction Supply, said he decided to market the MonsterBlock because he saw the potential of the product.
Mangin noted that developers could save on labor costs because of the shorter installation time. He said that the installation of MonsterBlock is two to three times faster when compared to that of regular hollow blocks.
In addition, when developers and contractors use the MonsterBlock, plastering and finishing would no longer be needed, the 25-year-old entrepreneur said.
Also, Colmenares stressed that their company has an edge over the others since they could produce the MonsterBlock at the project site if needed since their manufacturing equipment is mobile.
Meanwhile, Mangin said he joined CebuCon because he considered the 27-year annual exhibit as the perfect venue for the launching of MonsterBlock. Monday, June 10, is the last day for CebuCon, which opened last Friday, June 6./dcb