Anfapa, host of the 2nd European Congress of mortars in Barcelona
The European Organization of mortars EMO and Drymix.info with the logistical support of AnfapaAssociation national manufacturers of industrial mortars, have held the 2nd European Congress of mortars, bringing together speakers from the sector from all over Europe in Barcelona. After the success of the first Congress held in Paris (2011), Barcelona has been chosen to carry out this meeting in June, at the Hotel Condes de Barcelona. At the Congress have been highlighted trends, needs and developments in the sector and it has been discussed about the future of the mortar and the environmental sustainability of the materials used in the construction.
Ludwig A. Soukup, President of EMO, and Angel González, President of Anfapa, has been responsible for opening day and to welcome the participants. In his statement, Angel González highlighted the further development of rehabilitation in Spain, the consolidation of the sustainability and development of the environmental aspects as trends for the coming years within the framework of the new rules and regulations. He asserted also that the strategy of the companies of Anfapa through focus their efforts even more in search of quality over volume, to adapt to the conditions of the market in the current economic context.
In the first part, the Professor Josep Gómez Serrano (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya) has made a retrospective of Barcelona architectural works and especially the work of Antoni Gaudí in Sagrada Familia, by emphasizing the use of mortar as a key element and its evolution.
Manuel Guillem Ballesteros (Cementos Molins) then Victor Ferreira (Habitat Cluster Portugal) have spoken of new demands from the market and environmental responsibility citing the case of the manufacture of sustainable cement and the case of the group Habitat in Portugal.
The third and fourth part have focused the debate on environmental needs. The round table moderated by Hans-Peter Braus discussed topics such as the demands of the sector towards politics and associations, and the challenges for the architecture of the 21st century. Finally been released some tools and case studies for the application of these environmental requirements and Dr. Christian Scherer (Fraunhofer-Institut Furbauphysik) has presented the first results of a study of the environmental characteristics of the mortars.
EMO, Ludwig A. Soukup, President has closed the Congress by thanking the organizers involvement and the participation of 120 Congressmen of all nationalities who have made this meeting possible.
