MEDIA ADVISORY: LMS Group Announces Creation of New Company
VANCOUVER – September 28, 2010: LMS Reinforcing Steel Group, a leading Western Canadian fabricator and installer of reinforcing steel products, today announced the creation of a new company that will manufacturer post-tensioned (“PT”) cable for distribution and sale.
Post-tensioning is used in Canada in limited applications, but in the United States post-tensioning is used widely and is generally seen as the most cost effective means of concrete reinforcement in all concrete structures, from driveways to high rises.
“Experience in the U.S. has shown that post tensioning allows for shallower beams, thinner floors and fewer columns” said Ron McNeil, Co-Chair & Founder of the LMS Group, “PT allows design engineers to use significantly less reinforcing steel, reducing project cost and abbreviating construction schedules.”
“We believe post-tensioning is an excellent method of reinforcing concrete and we think that the use of the product will grow considerably once all of its advantages become better known” said Ron McNeil.
LMS has leased a new 10,000 square foot warehouse where it will manufacture the cable. The cable will be for use not just on LMS’s many projects across Western Canada, but for general sale and distribution.
LMS’ move into post-tensioning is in keeping with a growing recognition of the value of the product in Canada. Recently, the $500 million 60 storey Trump Tower in Toronto became the first major Toronto project to incorporate post-tensioned slabs. Trump International marketed the use of PT in its building extensively; advising potential purchasers that the Tower would have more open floor plans and reduced columns as compared to conventionally constructed buildings.
McNeil believes that the advantages of PT are too many to be ignored. “PT allows for more economical, faster construction, combined with increased design flexibility for the structural engineer” said McNeil, “to these inherent advantages we now add the cost savings of manufacturing the product here in Western Canada.”
LMS’s post-tensioning facility will use the latest technology meeting all of the requirements of the Michigan-based Post-Tensioning Institute.
As with reinforcing steel, LMS Post-Tensioning will be a fully integrated business. All aspects of post-tensioning, from sourcing strand, to fabricating and installation will be completed in-house, by LMS employees. Over the past 10 years, LMS PT installation crews have installed cable on some of the largest PT projects in B.C., including the 50 storey Fairmont Waterfront, the 48 storey Hotel Georgia and Coal Harbour’s prestigious Harbour Green #3.
About LMS Reinforcing Steel Group
The LMS Reinforcing Steel Group is a leading rebar fabricator and installer in Western Canada. Recent projects include the Calgary Airport Parkade, the Shangri-La, the Sea to Sky highway upgrade, the Golden Ears Bridge, the Cross Town Development, the Millennium project and many other high profile construction projects throughout British Columbia and Alberta. LMS’s activities are informed by a desire to invest, not just in technology, but in relationships with its people, clients and trades. The Company is well known and respected for its philanthropic work throughout Western Canada.
www.LMSGroup.ca
Interviews can be arranged through:
Dean Mailey
Fusion Communications Group
604 913-8810 or 604 218-6767 (mobile)
dean@fusioncommunicationsgroup.com