Supply Chain – Almost – Sunk This Concrete Canoe

Students of the Kennesaw State University entered the American Society of Civil Engineers 2021Concrete Canoe Competition. But the project came with a set of challenges today’s concrete contractors are all too familiar with: timing and supply chain issues.

Outside of the organization’s Design and Civil Engineering competitions, the American Society of Civil Engineers also conducts a  program with a special twist on the “traditional” concrete project concept: the creation of a canoe.

Established by the ASCE in 1988, the Concrete Canoe Competition requires college and university students to design, build and successfully race a concrete canoe. They are responsible for canoe and display design, presentation, a design paper, and a technical handbook on the canoe. The parameters of the competition change slightly each year, forcing students to think outside the box and conquer new engineering challenges. Students from the University of Florida took home the top prize for the 2021 ASCE Concrete Canoe Competition. 

If the non-traditional concrete competition sounds interesting, other programs like it have been QUIKRETE’s “One Bag Wonder Contest Project”. This contest challenges contractors and creatives alike to see what they can do with one bag of the company’s concrete mix. Taking home $2,500, the 2021 winner was announced late October 25. The top three projects received airfare and hotel accommodations to attend the 2022 Haven Conference (Atlanta, July 21-23). The 2021 winning project was an outdoor bollard light by Steve Dzibinski. 2020’s winner was a concrete guitar by Johnny Brooke.

This year’s ASCE canoe competition came with a new set of challenges for 14 Kennesaw State University students who volunteered their time to participate in the competition, with supply chain issues delaying their materials by more than three months. A process that typically begins in August every year wasn’t started until materials arrived in November.

Spraying Alchemco’s TechCrete 2500 onto the canoe was a project saver for the student team. Typically used on rooftops, facades, marine structures, precast elements, and more – TechCrete 2500 Waterproofing Agent is a bio-based, gel forming, modified silicate solution, that creates a barrier within the concrete against long-term water entry and enhances concrete durability.Kennesaw State UniversityWith their typical concrete surface sealers taking weeks to apply and dry, the TechCrete 2500 waterproofing agent allowed them to seal their concrete canoe in just one day—cutting out 2-3 weeks of work. The time-saving measure allowed them to successfully complete their 200-lb. concrete canoe in time for the competition. The company donated the project to the students for their build.

Quoted in a press release, Kennesaw State University civil engineering student Dale Goff heard of TechCrete 2500 from Alchemco CEO Mario Baggio at a conference. “It’s an impressive product that saved the day for our team, allowing us to save precious weeks when our timeline was severely diminished. I can see how this product is an exceptional asset to the construction industry as they battle the same supply chain delays we experienced,” says Goff.

Alchemco’s TechCrete 2500 Waterproofing Agent was voted the Most Innovative Product winner in the Concrete Products Category by all members of the concrete industry at the 2020 World of Concrete convention.

“We’re proud to have been able to assist these ambitious students at Kennesaw State University, and had complete confidence that our TechCrete 2500 product would prove successful in this unique application,” says Baggio. “We look forward to helping them in future competitions as needed.”

The 2022 ASCE Concrete Canoe is scheduled for June 3-5, held at Louisiana Tech University.