 |
History of AAC
AAC’s roots began in the 1920s, when Sweden was enduring an extreme shortage of wood due to deforestation. In need of an alternative building material, Swedish architect Johan Ericksson experimented with aerated concrete. Others’ attempts at creating an aerated concrete resulted only in a crumbly, unstable material, but Ericksson saw the potential of using abundant raw materials to create a lightweight concrete. Running short on time, Ericksson decided to speed up the curing process by placing his material in an autoclave. The resulting concrete had high compressive strength and a strong composition.
Dr. Ericksson patented his product, “poren betong” (porous concrete), in 1924. In 1929, the material was first commercially manufactured as Ytong, a combination of the Swedish word for concrete (betong) and the Swedish town where it was produced (Yxhult). As Ytong gained in popularity, it earned the nickname “warm stone” due to its thermal properties.
|
In 1945, Josef Hebel, who owned a German reinforced concrete supply company, further improved AAC when he invented and patented a method of incorporating steel reinforcements in the AAC manufacturing process. In addition, the manufacturing processes for Hebel AAC recycled all excess material and waste, making it one of the world’s first environmentally friendly manufactured products.
After World War II, German landfills were overflowing with waste and debris, making it important that the materials used to rebuild Germany produced minimal waste. Hebel AAC was the ideal choice, and was used to rebuild much of Germany.
Ytong and Hebel remained the two largest providers of AAC throughout the 20th century, with facilities in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, China, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey and the United States.
In 2002, Hebel and Ytong merged and now operate under the Xella corporate umbrella, the world’s largest AAC provider.
|
|
|
|
