In our previous issue, we featured Erik Stuart implementing his LID (Low Impact Development) skills in installing the pervious paving system on which the Apollo Sunguard EV Charging Station sits. You might have noticed that Titan America was mentioned as their truck was pictured donating the cement for the project.
You may not be aware of what an impressive company Titan Florida (of Titan America) is and so we wanted to share a bit about them with you.
Titan Florida is committed to donating pervious concrete for 4 parking stalls and PaveDrain material for the driveway.
Titan Florida is a leading environmentally and socially-progressive heavy building materials company that produces cement, aggregates, fly ash, and concrete products while remaining a family-led business with a values-oriented, people-focused culture. Titan America products protect human life and personal property, improve the quality of life, generate economic prosperity, and connect society. We so believe this that "Materials for Life" is our registered trademark.
Our Values guide how we conduct ourselves and our business affairs, particularly with regard to our customers, our employees, our communities, and the environment. As trends and attitudes have changed with regards to environmental stewardship, our company has redirected its focus toward a new strategic direction of overall sustainability through advancements in social, economic, and environmental stewardship.
Pennsuco Cement & Aggregate Plants
Titan Florida's cement is produced at the Pennsuco plant located North of Miami in Medley, FL. Pennsuco, the largest cement plant in Florida, is a state-of-the-art facility and one of the world's most environmentally-responsible cement plants. It produces up to 2.4 million tons of cement annually while being one of three Energy Star Certified cement plants operating in the U.S. Through the ENERGY STAR Program, the U.S. EPA identifies and establishes the benchmarks for superior energy performance. Energy Star works with industrial companies such as Titan Florida to identify and deploy robust energy strategies for the future and guild superior corporate energy management programs.
Stormwater & Pervious Pavements
Storm water runoff is one of the leading contributors to pollution of our fragile waterways. Pollutants often found on impervious surfaces such as driveways, streets, alleyways, and parking lots include: Motor Oil, Gasoline, Heavy Metals (Zinc, Iron, Copper, Lead), Common Metal Alloys (Chromium, Cadmium), and Fertilizer Runoff (Phosphates, Nitrates).
The danger to rivers and streams from storm water runoff can be extensive: Destruction of Wildlife Habitat, Loss of Recreational Opportunities, Need for Additional Water Treatment, Loss of Commercial Fisheries, Reduced Property Values, Increased Health Risks, and Potential Navigation Hazards. Couple this with Climate Change (rising sea levels, saltwater intrusion into the aquifer, and urban heat islands) the time to act is now. Titan Florida has two products that specifically address these concerns.
Pictured above: Pervious concrete at eye level (Left). Pervious concrete close up (Right).
Envira (Pervious Concrete)
Envira Concrete, developed by Titan Florida, is a combination of coarse aggregate, portland cement, and water. When properly placed, it absorbs, filters, and stores storm water and can dramatically reduce pollution to bodies of water. Envira is an ideal surface for the light vehicular loads on parking lots, alleyways, sidewalks, and residential streets. When rain hits its pervious surface, it seeps directly into the earth to recharge the aquifer while naturally filtering harmful pollutants and preventing them from flowing into bodies of water. In the voids of Envira, microbes grow and thrive consuming organic compounds like oil and gasoline. Other pollutants like Zinc, Copper, Phosphate, and Nitrate chemically bond to Envira, becoming a part of the pavement.
Pictured right: Envira pervious concrete.
PaveDrain Sustainable Stormwater Solutions
The PaveDrain System combines modern day functionality and a structural concept used for centuries to create the revolutionary permeable paving solution that has the highest infiltration rate and lowest maintenance of any pervious pavement. PaveDrain incorporates a patented arch design in the middle of an articulating concrete block to create an internal storage chamber that can be filled with stormwater runoff, while simultaneously providing strength for heavy vehicular loads. The PaveDrain System is an aesthetically pleasing Permeable Articulating Concrete Block/ Matt (P-ACB/M) that provides installation ease and flexibility to meet current and future stormwater management regulations.
Above: PaveDrain cross section. Right: PaveDrain interlocking system.
The PaveDrain System is designed to be a critical component of Low Impact Development (LID) allowing for the infiltration of stormwater runoff. The PaveDrain System provides infiltration, storage, detention, conveyance, and a paving surface all in one. When combined, these features allow for a reduction or elimination in stormwater infrastructure costs while minimizing environmental impact. PaveDrain can be used for heavy vehicular loads on parking lots, alleyways, sidewalks, and low speed streets.
Why concrete? What's the big deal?
Concrete is the world's most used man-made material. The only natural material used in greater volume is water! More than wood, plastic, glass, asphalt and even steel, concrete provides:
- The highest level of security and protection for both people and property
- The longest life and durability, resulting in the lowest cost of ownership
- The lowest environmental lifecycle footprint
- The highest domestic value-added content, resulting in more domestic jobs and economic prosperity
Concrete is the combination of: portland cement, aggregate (sand and rock), and water. Other materials such as fly ash, slag, crushed concrete, and chemical admixtures can also be added to improve performance and/or be pre/postconsumer recycled. In Florida, concrete is a local material and most ready mix plants are within 30 miles of the jobs they service. All raw materials are made and consumed in Florida as well.
Titan Florida is committed to making the world a better place for present and future generations. Our vision is that of a sustainable world for growing populations and higher living standards. Sustainable means having 1) a long functional life, and 2) a small lifecycle environmental footprint.
Concrete structures achieve both. They have the longest lifespan of all types of construction and the smallest environmental footprint over their long lifecycles. Our goal is to continuously improve this to a) increase the life of concrete structures even further, and b) reduce the lifecycle environmental footprint of concrete structures to zero or net positive.
"Titan Florida uses tried and true products and processes. We just can't keep doing things the way we've always done."
~ Justin Fleming, Advocate at Titan America
