Sampyo Industries showcases two specialty concretes designed to withstand extreme summer weather

Sampyo Group has unveiled specialty concrete technologies capable of maintaining stable quality even during heat waves and the monsoon season.

Sampyo Industries, a Sampyo Group affiliate, held a performance verification demonstration Monday at its S&I Center research institute in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, showcasing two products — Bluecon Rain OK, a concrete designed for pouring in rainy conditions, and Bluecon KeepSlump, a high-temperature-resistant concrete — for construction industry officials.

The demonstration was organized to verify the performance of both products under conditions closely resembling actual construction sites, amid growing concerns about sudden downpours and heat waves driven by climate change. Tests compared the products against standard concrete to assess quality differences.

Bluecon KeepSlump was developed to maintain workability in high-temperature environments. Co-developed with Hyundai E&C, the product demonstrated workability more than 2.5 times better than standard concrete in conditions where the daily average temperature exceeds 35 degrees Celsius or transport time exceeds four hours, the company said.

Bluecon Rain OK was verified through tests that replicated actual rainfall conditions. Concrete was poured into a simulated 0.5-by-0.5-meter structure under rainfall of more than 5 millimeters per hour to check for material separation and strength reduction.

As summer heat waves and concentrated downpours have become more frequent, concerns over work stoppages, project delays and quality degradation at construction sites have grown. Industry officials expect adoption of specialty concretes with enhanced performance and smart construction technologies to expand gradually as the sector responds to climate change.

A construction company official who attended the demonstration said there had been concerns about quality degradation at sites — such as workers adding water when workability dropped — but expressed hope the new products could address those issues. "More stable construction should also be possible even when it rains," the official added.

Sampyo Industries said it plans to use the specialty concrete technologies to reduce causes of faulty construction, including strength reduction and quality defects, and to improve structural safety.

"As climate change increases uncertainty at construction sites, we will continue developing technologies that secure stable quality even in extreme conditions such as heat waves and heavy rain," a Sampyo Industries official said. "We will also work to spread new technologies that help create a safer construction environment."