Ornamental Concrete Paving Slab Production

a beautiful way to supplement farmer’s income

The CVBT's Experience With Ornamental Paving Slabs And

Rice Farming Villagers

Paving a future for villagers

Success on the first try with paving slabs

A ready-made marketing channel

The winners - the village workers

Finished products

Good wages for villagers

Technology developments

Wood mold frames support molds

Colour the world with friends

A need – an opportunity

Quality and pride

Customers – our market

Management and dissemination

Mould suppliers

• Armcon

• Advantage Plus

Hum, Lumpang, son and dog, a family that has worked at the CVBT

Aew vibrates a colored top layer

Ban thin nursery school with our sons peter and Thomas

A patio in ban Naka, Spanish style

Red lotus pattern in Phen district

A nursery supply store, outlet for villagers products

Paving slabs in stock at a garden supply store

Washed stone rounds ready for sale

Distributors come from 150 km away

Spanish style slabs in a gazebo with Andrew our eldest

How Paving Slabs Are Made

pebble sifter for washed stone slabs

Weighing cement insures quality

Pigment weighing needs to be accurate

Aew has a 6th grade education

Nute measures in 3/8 inch stone

Aew checks water content in sand

Nute measures super plasticizer

Nute cleans plastic molds

Painting release oil on molds

Nute calculates water content in sand

We measure water into the mix

Wichit weighs mortar into a mold

Wichit puts the pebble topping on washed stone slabs

Wichit vibrates the pebbles into the mortar

Wichit levels a mold frame

The paving slab production unit

4 people can produce about 100 slabs per day

Shirley Lu, a cal poly intern, tests washed stone technique

Aew demolds a slab

Wichit loads slabs from the curing chamber

Demolded slabs ready for curing

Putting slabs in solar high-humidity curing chamber

Concrete needs moisture to cure. Heat speeds up curing

Abe loads slabs from a curing chamber, 7 days is enough.

Laotian teachers learn slab production

A garden supply store, a winner

Gardening supplies

Display at shop showing round

riven, interlocking

block, Spanish, hexagonal and

sunburst patterns in gray, red and yellow.

Red lotus and brick patterns at a garden supply shop

Paving slab walk at a distributor’s

Samart on the hexagonal walk to our office

Buem checks out washed stone and brick slabs at a distributor in

Khon Kaen

Red brick slabs at a nursery

The display at the entrance to our center

Another load of slabs going out and bringing income to villagers

Aek and Ann, Aew and Abe's children at our Christmas party

Our board of directors includes Eddy Ruble who is here today

Noy and Wichit at our Christmas party

Payom pan mai, our oldest distributor

Villagers and staff at the CVBT

Geoffrey at our office

10 questions to ask when considering paving slab production • Do I have a market for paving slabs?• Can I find raw materials?

– Fresh Portland Cement– White Portland Cement (for yellow paving slabs)– Sand– ¼” or 3/8” stone from a quarry or a river– Color pigments of good quality

• Do I have land for the factory that is within 45 km of a large city, is close to a paved road and has water?

• Am I read to produce including looking after management, equipment maintenance and checking product quality?

• Do I understand that I have to invest some money before I can begin?• Am I ready to be trained by a professional and am I ready to continue to learn about this

technology?• Do I understand that in starting to produce paving slabs that I will encounter some

problems; just like in any new activity. These problems can be solved by diligent workers and good management?

• Am I interested in creating new good-paying jobs locally for villagers?• Am I able to collect money (or take out a loan) of $6000 to $8500?• Do I have a person who can manage work (for example, some one with experience or a

vocational college degree) and do I have workers?

11 steps to successful paving slab production

• Do a feasibility study including a marketing study, raw material cost survey and other factors. Do a production cost analysis and income projection. A consultant might be needed.

• Chose products to produce: what patterns and how many. Maybe there are products other than paving slabs to produce also such as pillars, pipes, blocks etc. Get quotations from equipment suppliers.

• Take your feasibility study to your money source to ask for a loan (bank, government program, etc.).

• Make an equipment purchase agreement including manual, training, warranty, service and parts. Make all points clear. You might have to wait 2 months for equipment to come from overseas. After ordering special equipment, purchase accessories like scales, curing chamber tarp, shovels, hoes, etc.

• Prepare the site, build workshop, curing chambers and raw material bins.• Choose distributors and prepare marketing materials such as flyers and display stands.• Recruit workers and staff. Success depends on people.• Receive training. Put your heart into learning.• The first period of production will be a time of learning. There will be some mistakes. You

must solve problems and give encouragement to workers. You must continue to look after the production process and the product quality.

• You should practice the 5 Ss to keep efficient and secure: (look up this Japanese practice).

• Follow up the market, serve customers and distributors.

resources

The CVBT, Udon Thani, Thailand

Armcon molds

Advantage plus molds