UniForm formwork system in use at Dutch Bisoton

Use of the UniForm formwork system for production of sandwich and solid concrete elements is becoming increasingly popular. Bisoton B.V., based in Ede in the Netherlands, decided on this system when expanding its production. The formwork system is particularly convincing through its effective flexibility and the speed of the production process.

Permanently usable form fabric

BT innovation presents a new formwork system: UniForm. This is a permanently usable form fabric made of steel with a bolting mechanism on the reverse side. The advantage is rapid exchange on the BT-MultiForm girder. The formwork girder system can, in turn, be precisely positioned with MagFlyAP magnets and fixed in place on the form table.

Great advantages for recurring element heights

The savings potential are obvious, especially for production of recurrent element heights. Wooden sheets must be cut to size and mounted to the girder or built-up entirely on the form table. The number of castings varies depending on the quality of the wood used for the sheathing. This is where the formwork system from BT comes in. Easily moved girders are positioned. The steel form fabric is fixed in place on the girder by bolting. There is no sawing, bolting, or discarding of worn wooden form ledges. UniForm form sheeting offers moreover visibly clean and straight formed chamfers on the element.

UniForm formwork for Bisoton

At the beginning of the year, the company Bisoton commissioned BT innovation with the manufacture of UniForm formwork in four different heights.

Bisoton was founded in 2012. Against the background of existing business relationships between the company founders and great demand from the agricultural sector, a modern carousel system was placed into operation at the Ede location near Arnheim, Netherlands, in 2013. In a production hall approx. 7,000 m² in size, insulated and solid precast concrete walls were highly efficiently manufactured for industry, logistics and agricultural construction. The product range consists of an extensive portfolio of precast wall elements. Special processes, moreover, enable fashioning decorative surfaces with clay and gravel optics. Concrete colors and special varnishing types round off the product range.

The high-capacity utilization of the plant and the demand for special elements and customized elements requiring a high degree of preparatory work prompted the management, in 2019, to put into operation a neighboring production hall. For handling production peaks from the carousel system, and due to additional focusing on work-intensive projects, the decision was made to invest in a tilting table production with flexible use of formwork. Standard heights from 100 to 350 mm were planned. For the production management it was important to use lightweight formwork girders that could be moved and positioned manually in order to speed up the entire preparation process in production. In addition, the formwork system had to be suitable for mechanical troweling of the elements.

The BT formwork system meets all these requirements and was planned by the Dutch partner Hakron-Terwa within the scope of equipment for four tilting tables measuring 25 x 5 m each. The benefits of the system became quickly evident soon after startup of the production process. Rapid erection of the formwork, fast positioning and activation of the MagFlyAP magnets ensure measurable time savings. The girders can be quickly fitted or exchanged with Uniform form sheets. The chamfers are impressive with their high quality on the precast element and, last but not least, the consumption of wood for the formwork is enormously reduced. At the same time, waste disposal costs are substantially lowered and, as a result, the entire production is more environmentally friendly.