I have been familiar with ZKG Cement Lime Gypsum magazine for 25 years, since I joined the research and development of cementitious building materials in 1997. The focus on cement plant engineering and building materials research is, so to speak, a unique selling point of ZKG and makes it worth reading. As an author, I appreciate the profound readership from the building materials research community of industry and academia.
Today I work in the accredited Laboratory for Testing and Materials Technology, LPM AG in Beinwil am See/Switzerland. Our laboratory is specialized in concrete, mortar and other building materials with regard to quality control during installation and durability.
Digital measurement technology on the construction site and in the laboratory is a question of efficiency and as such an ongoing topic in evaluation and acquisition. Sustainability as a testing laboratory means keeping our staff and methodology at the cutting edge of technology and recognizing trends in new and sustainable materials and technologies at an early stage. This is always evident in our departmental meetings, where the main focus is on these topics.
I find ZKG’s mix of raw material extraction, process technology, material research, market trends and current patents with the same reference to mineral building materials extremely valuable. The editorial team should follow this concept in future as well. I see the bundling of all aspects around one core topic as an important success factor. Thematically, sustainable binders and building materials produced thereof can hardly be overemphasized in terms of their production, durability and traceability. In this context, the comprehensive sustainability concept of the Agenda 2030, adopted by all UN member states in 2015, remains a solid reference. It is based on the three pillars: ecological compatibility, social justice and sustainable economic efficiency.
