Building & construction

Construction sector is among the largest and fastest-growing areas of the industry in Europe. The industry faces the following key challenges: continuously increasing requirements regarding safety, energy efficiency and durability while providing outstanding product quality and competitive price. Compliance with constantly changing legal regulations relating to production, applications, classification and environmental aspects of offered products is equally important. As a result of all those factors, despite the dynamic growth, the chemicals market in the construction sector is not an easy one for manufacturers and requires continuous creativity and quick reaction to the clients’ needs.

Nowadays, an offer of the building chemistry sector is continuously being developed, and entirely new items appear. Thus, in response to these changes, manufacturers of materials and components must provide increasingly innovative and specific methods.

Concrete additives

Additives for concrete and cement mortar constitute an essential part of products offered by PCC Group. Superplasticizers based on naphthalene sulphonic acid are used as the basic raw materials for the production of additives which provide concrete of an increased strength. They can also be successfully used as liquefiers for gypsum products such as gypsum mortars and pasteboards. Surfactants are an important position of our offer as they are used as aeration and air-entraining additives in concrete admixtures. They are used to improve resistance of concrete to temperature fluctuations. They may also act as the emulsifiers in the manufacturing process of bitumen emulsion and plasterboards, provide wetting properties by effective reduction of surface tension in paint or adhesives formulation, or improve lubrication properties. Furthermore, surfactants as components of cleaning agents allow for effective removal of dirt from concrete surfaces, as well as construction tools and equipment.

Another popular addition to concrete is microsilica, also known as silica fume. It belongs to the type II additive group, known as “pigments”. It is generally found as a by-product of the industrial manufacture of silicon metal. Microsilica has exceptional chemical and physical properties that allow us to obtain concrete with a compressive strength of 100-150 MPa. It is also characterized by good pozzolanic properties. Moreover, it is highly compatible with the plasticizers, superplasticizers and other plasticizing additives used with concrete.

The PCC Group also offers high-quality microsilica manufactured at Bakki Industry Park. This product is manufactured in line with the principles of sustainable chemistry. The production process uses renewable energy sourced from Icelandic geothermal springs. This leads to emitting a third of the carbon dioxide by other plants.

Polyurethane systems

PCC Group produces also one- and two-component polyurethane systems intended, i.a., for the construction industry, where they are widely used in residential, industrial, agricultural engineering and in public utility buildings. Polyurethane systems are intended for the production of insulation materials based on semi-rigid and rigid foams suitable for thermal insulation and waterproofing systems for roofs, attics, walls, floors or foundations. In addition, the product portfolio includes systems intended for the manufacture of various types of adhesives and polyurethane sealants.

PCC Group portfolio is also a wide range of components required in manufacturing OCF (One Component Foam) and rigid polyurethane foam applicable to thermal and acoustic insulation. Among them, there are semi-finished products (polyether polyols), flame retardants and emulsifying agents.

Crossin Insulations series

Our offer intended for the construction sector includes a line of innovative solutions regarding thermal and acoustic insulation and waterproofing under the Crossin Insulations trade name. Crossin series includes especially insulation boards for thermal insulation of walls and systems based on spray polyurethane foam intended for weld-free insulation of walls, slabs, ceilings, rooves. Crossin Insulation Systems based on polyurethane foam have the advantage of high effectiveness, quickness and simplicity of installation, sustainability and durability of parameters, as well as resistance to atmospheric factors.

Furthermore, the offer intended for the construction sector provides solutions concerning finishing, decorative materials, e.g. plasticizers used in wall and floor lining, additives to decorative paints or polyurethane-based finished agents for wood imitation.