| 30 October 2009
Port Elizabeth continues to be the province’s epicentre where advanced construction technologies are concerned. No sooner has this city celebrated the completion of the world class Nelson Mandela Stadium, a similarly impressive construction technology has broken ground in the province.
Imison™, a large scale construction company with activities in 6 of South Africa’s 9 provinces, is using its ground breaking alternative building technology to build the first of the thousands of the urban chic units for a quality urban lifestyle. While South Africa has grown in leaps and bounds in the use of most technologies, the country is still steeped in antiquated brick and mortar technology which has shown major limitations in meeting urgent global housing needs. Imison’s technology does for the housing market what cellphones did for the communications industry by introducing technology that is stronger, smarter and faster. In so doing it has presented itself as the solution to South Africa’s and global housing delivery.
The aptly named New Horizon Village is Imison’s first on a large scale in the Eastern Cape. New Horizon Village is situated on a 110 hectare property on Cape Road in Parsons Vlei. Â
Imison™ uses ready to assemble, prefabricated Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) panels that have steel columns running through the panels. These panels are then plastered with a super strength, spray-on industrial plaster called Fibrecote™. The result is superior structure that:
- is built in a quarter to a third of brick and mortar construction,
- enjoys superior thermal (temperature) transfer control,
- superior insulation – causing Imison™ homes to be 6° warmer in winter and 2° cooler in summer in South African climate conditions,
- full protection against rain penetration,
- a home that is 67% more energy efficient and walls that are far stronger than traditional brick and mortar walls.
- as EPS does not settle it greatly reduces the likelihood of cracking and its waterproof and vapour diffusion properties dramatically reduce damp problems.
Imison™ has several certifications and is also fully bonded (financed) by the banking sector in South Africa. In addition to this very difficult to attain approval from the banking sector, Imison™ has a full hurricane rating Florida, as the technology can be steered to able to withstand 258km/h winds and a Snowload 3 rating in Sweden our homes can carry the weight of 3m of compacted snow on the roof without compromising the structure.
This system, first used in multi-million rand homes, is now also used in middle and entry level housing. Such advanced technology normally comes at a highly inflated cost, but Imison™ offers this superior production in a very competitive price range.
Imison™ offers turn-key solutions as both a technology supplier and contractor, but also supplies the construction sector with the technology to use in their projects. The company therefore considers itself as a partner to all players in the housing sector. Imison™ will be supporting its operations in the Eastern Cape with the establishment of the factory in Port Elizabeth. In typical Imison™ fashion, in addition to working with developers and contractors the company will be working hard with local suppliers and artisans to establish a strong skills base in the province which will also advance local employment.
Enquiries can be directed to, Renier Louw on 082 900 3040. Show houses can be visited at New Horizon Village and you can stay abreast of this and other Imison™ developments at www.imison.com.
