News
LAUNCHED!
May 10, 2008
PROSOCO launches first-ever Consolideck® Academy
The secrets of
long-lasting finished concrete flooring stood revealed to a select group of
contractors, distributors and manufacturer's reps at PROSOCO's first-ever Consolideck Academy, held in Kansas City and Lawrence, April 14-16.
The academy gave the
23 attendees the full picture of finished concrete flooring, from chemistry and
installation, to performance-testing and long-term maintenance.
"Most installers
know little of what happens to their floors after putting them down," said one
of the Academy's founders, PROSOCO President David W. Boyer. "And most
maintenance technicians haven't got a clue about how the floor was made. The
result? Floors aren't prepared to stand up to the kind of maintenance they get,
and the maintenance isn't suited to the floor.
"A floor that
should last 10 years shows deterioration after two," David said.
The Consolideck Academy helps fix that problem by giving installers the full story on the
delivery, care and feeding of finished concrete floors. The course takes its
name from PROSOCO's Consolideck line of finished concrete flooring products,
and the procedures for using them.
Graduates of the
academy are prepared to install Consolideck® floors, then brief facility managers
and owners on how to take care of them. Even better, says Academy co-founder
Van Crary, PROSOCO's concrete products group manager, the graduates can offer
their own maintenance service program for the floors they install.
The Academy drew
deeply from PROSOCO's well of professional expertise. Presenters came from the
Lab, Production, Executive, Sales, Regulatory and Marketing departments.
Guest speakers
from companies making associated equipment, such as grinders and polishers, and
auto scrubbers rounded out the presentations.
Sessions included
classroom seminars and discussions; hands-on products and procedures demonstrations
on concrete slabs, and team-building exercises.
Forging Consolideck
Teams was a main goal of the Academy, according to Concrete Products Group
Manager Van Crary. When applicators who graduate from the academy go back into
the business world, they're supported by their local Consolideck distributors
and PROSOCO manufacturer's reps who went through the academy with them.
"That's going to give
them marketplace traction that their competition, working alone, can't match," Van
said.
"For instance, a
Consolideck® applicator, distributor, and manufacturer's
representative all on a sales call together will be much more convincing to a
potential client than a contractor alone," Van said.
"And with the
advertising and marketing muscle that PROSOCO puts to work for its Consolideck®
Academy-trained applicators and distributors, there'll be a lot more sales
calls – and a lot more sales, period," he added.
"The course was well
worth the time," said Kevin Johnson, president of Polished Concrete Inc., Sauk
Rapids, Minn. "With what we learned there, we'll be able to get jobs done
faster, keep floors looking new longer, and do a better job for our customers."
Kevin said the hands-on
LSGuard application demo was especially helpful. "It goes on thinner
than I thought," he said.
I'm really excited
about the help with sales leads and marketing, he said. "I really liked what I
heard about support at tradeshows, and with architects and AIA presentations.
"We went to another
manufacturer's three-day course, a few years ago," Kevin said. "They promised us
sales leads, too, but we never got a single one from them. We haven't gotten
any from PROSOCO yet, either, but it's only been a week. I'm confident they'll
come through."
For more info on how
to attend upcoming Consolideck® Academies, contact Van Crary,
Concrete Products Group Manager at 520-241-0089, or e-mail Van Crary

R&D Technician Chris Moore watches as Eric Larson, SSI, practices hardness testing.
Dave Owens, Customer Care, squeegees in an application of LS as part of a demo.
Production Control Manager Jeff Plumlee (L) tries to get some audience feedback in the LS demo area.
Consolideck® concrete flooring products earn indoor air quality certification
Feb. 7, 2008
We got it!
Four of PROSOCO’s Consolideck® high-performance concrete flooring products for sustainable building construction and renovation have earned one of the industry’s toughest certifications for indoor air quality.
PROSOCO, Lawrence, Kan., is a national manufacturer of products that clean, protect and maintain concrete, brick and stone architecture.
SCS Indoor Advantage™ Gold certification is the highest SCS (Scientific Certification Systems) certification level available for indoor air quality. Certification includes building materials, office and classroom furniture systems and components, and paints and adhesives.
This level of certification meets North America’s strictest indoor air emission criteria including California Section 01350, which sets health-based exposure limits to indoor air emissions for school children, and CHPS (Collaborative for High Performance Schools) for Low-Emitting Products.
SCS, Emeryville, Calif., is a leading third-party provider of certification, auditing and testing services, and standards.
The newly certified goods are Consolideck® LS, LS Guard, and LS/CS -- lithium-silicate hardeners, densifiers and sealers for concrete floors. Consolideck® GemTone™ color stains for concrete also earned SCS Indoor Advantage™ Gold certification.
In attaining the certification, these four products meet the strict requirements of California Section 01350, which sets health-based exposure limits to indoor emissions for school children.
SCS, which has been certifying green building products since 1990, awarded the certification after a thorough audit of these products’ indoor air emissions. The detailed audit included small scale environmental chamber testing by independent laboratory Berkeley Analytical Associates, Richmond, Calif.
"SCS Indoor Advantage Gold is a health-based certification and sets the toughest limits on indoor air emissions in the building products industry," said Stowe Hartridge-Beam, SCS program manager for indoor air quality. "These four concrete flooring products have met a high bar for indoor air quality performance."
"Our products, from masonry and concrete cleaners and protective treatments to air barriers and our new Consolideck® products for concrete floors, are meant for improving quality of life by improving and protecting the buildings we all live and work in," PROSOCO President David W. Boyer pointed out.
"These four just-certified Consolideck® products in particular have great potential for schools, hospitals and other care facilities," he said. "With this certification, everyone who has anything to do with these products – specifiers to parents of school kids – can be confident as I am in their indoor air quality"
For more information, call Gary Henry at 785-830-7343 or
e-mail Gary Henry

Create high performance concrete floors that protect
indoor air quality with these SCS Indoor
Advantage™ Gold certified products:
- Consolideck LS
- Consolideck LS/CS
- Consolideck LS Guard
- Consolideck GemTone™ Stain
Nice spread – Technicians apply Consolideck® LS (lithium silicate) hardener/densifier to a decorative concrete floor at Blackhawk Church, Madison, Wis. LS and three other Consolideck® products for concrete floors were recently certified as meeting the nation’s highest regulatory standards for indoor air quality.
Photo by Dan Ely
Concrete pour to beautiful floor – Consolideck® lithium silicate hardener/densifiers helped bring out the gleaming luster and rich color of this decorative concrete floor at Blackhawk church, Madison, Wis. PROSOCO’s Consolideck® hardener/densifiers and GemTone™ color stains for concrete, recently earned certification as meeting the nation’s highest regulatory standards for indoor air quality.
Photo by Erik Hendickson