Concrete literally holds together hospital building projects large and small. As the January earthquake dramatized, substandard concrete eventually gives way with devastating results. With so many concrete dependent projects on tap, Hôpital Sacré Coeur insisted upon producing a designed mix which would withstand the rigors of its environment.
The Holcim Company of Waltham, MA understood the direct correlation between the integrity of building materials and the potential to safe guard lives. Motivated by a desire to support the expansion of the hospital’s vital mission, Holcim donated 900 ninety pound bags of high quality Portland cement.
That’s a lot of cement to mix in tropical heat! Hand mixing was out of the question.
“I have been looking for a cement mixer that has the capacity and ability to provide us with concrete that has both the strength and integrity that we cannot achieve under the normal practice of mixing concrete by hand in a shallow hole dug into the earth” said Construction Manager, Tim Traynor.
Traynor’s request had barely taken flight when Jim Corrigan, of Corrigan Co. in St. Louis stepped up to the plate. Corrigan funded half the cost of a mixer and solicited his suppliers to come up with the balance.
The Multiquip cement mixer has a batch bucket attached that also works as a metering device. Loaded by 2-4 men, this bucket has compartments for sand and stone. Measuring is done by filling to the top and striking off with a board, stick, or shovel. Designed for fool-proof and easy mixing, the mixer then dumps off the concrete into buckets for distribution.
The cement and mixer enabled the pouring of slabs for the newly donated 6,500 square foot Sprung building warehouse and General Services building in a remarkable-for-Haiti time of 15 days combined.
