Lujabetoni invests in future-proof precast factory

Finnish precast concrete producer Lujabetoni has taken its business to the next level with a large and versatile precast factory capable of meeting changing customer and market needs now and in the future. The upswing in construction in the Nordic country has been concentrated in the biggest cities – Helsinki, Tampere, Turku and Oulu – and especially in high-rise residential buildings. To meet the huge demand for concrete elements, Lujabetoni has introduced a new “Superslab” design to the Finnish market and built the country’s largest precast factory in the city of Järvenpää. Equipped with four 132-metre production lines provided by Elematic and occupying an area of 30,000 square metres, the new factory is Lujabetoni’s biggest investment to date and reflects the company’s innovative and confident growth plans for the future.

Business has been good for leading Finnish precast concrete producer Lujabetoni in recent years.

A boom in residential construction has driven growth for the third-generation family business, which provides a wide range of precast concrete elements, ready-mixed concrete and various infrastructure products. Part of Luja Group with 600 million euros in turnover, the company employs 700 professionals and has an annual turnover of more than 170 million euros. “We expect sustained long-term growth as Finland continues to urbanise further. Growing cities will need more apartments, infrastructure and services for people,” says Mikko Isotalo, CEO, Lujabetoni.

Lujabetoni chose Elematic to help design and provide the production technology for Superslabs. Given the ambitious goal to develop a production line capable of producing hollow-core slabs, beams and columns too, the project required extensive expertise. Elematic provided the 96-metre pilot version of the 3.8-metre-wide production line to Lujabetoni’s factory in Siilinjärvi in 2017.

What makes Lujabetoni’s Järvenpää factory stand out from the rest is its unprecedented versatility. The 20-million-euro plant is capable of producing so-called Superslabs, hollowcore slabs, compact walls, wall panels as well as beams, columns and other special elements used in building construction. Large infra products like concrete elements for bridges can be produced too, thanks to the factory’s prestressing and lifting capabilities.

Importantly, the production lines can be changed from making Superslabs to hollow-core slab lines overnight and to beam and column lines in just a couple of days. This helps to deal with the cyclical nature of the industry.

Designing a new kind of production line

The Järvenpää factory follows Lujabetoni’s decision to bring the SL-Deck product concept developed by Denmark’s Abeo to Finland under the local brand name Superlaatta (Superslab). Lujabetoni has developed the product into a new 3metre-wide version and innovated the integration of building services solutions, such as bathroom installations and floor heating pipes, seamlessly to the slab, thereby helping to lower construction costs.

“The challenge for the construction industry is to shift work from construction sites to factories and to standardise products while remaining flexible towards customers. The future of precast lies in genuinely integrating value-adding solutions to the elements,” Isotalo says.

Lujabetoni chose Elematic to help design and provide the production technology for Superslabs. Given the ambitious goal to develop a production line capable of producing hollow-core slabs, beams and columns too, the project required extensive expertise.

Mikko Isotalo, CEO of Lujabetoni, sees that the challenge for the construction industry lies in shifting work from construction sites to factories and in standardising products while remaining flexible towards customers. The future of precast lies, he thinks, in genuinely integrating value-adding solutions to the elements.

“We have been in the precast business in Finland for decades and have seen that specialising in one product in large volumes is not necessarily a good thing in the long run. It’s more important to be able to make different products using the same facilities. If demand for one product wanes, you can smoothly switch to producing another one,” Isotalo explains the idea behind the factory.

“Elematic is a leading precast technology provider and longtime partner of Lujabetoni. They were very positive about our vision, took on the challenge enthusiastically and fully committed themselves to the project. A lot of work was required, and we could not have pulled through without a capable partner,” Isotalo tells.