Cletec Japan Inc. plans to begin accepting orders for bridge repairs using a German company’s cement technology that is said to be twice as fast and twice as strong as conventional methods. The new technique, which is used to repair cracked and peeling concrete, features a special mortar that is particularly resistant to hydrogen sulfide. To apply the mortar, polymer cement is mixed with sand to form a powder that is blown under pressure through a nozzle, where it is mixed with water at the tip. A 1cm-thick application costs about 10,000 yen (US$94) per square meter. The company is targeting 3 billion yen in orders for the first year. Cletec Japan was formed in November 2001 by a consortium of 60 small and midsize construction companies.
