At Clayco, we know the art and science of building is always evolving. We believe there’s always better way to build, you just have to challenge yourself to figure it out. That mindset doesn’t stop at the skyline—it runs all the way down to the concrete we stand on. In our latest field test, our teams at Clayco and Concrete Strategies set out to answer a simple but important question: Can we reimagine the materials we use every day without slowing down the work?
The answer is yes.
We recently built and lifted three full-scale tilt-up panels using experimental concrete mixes. Each one was tested under real jobsite conditions and tight construction schedules. What we found shows just how far smart design and good planning can take us—and where new tools and materials are opening the door for better, faster ways to get the job done.
If you’ve ever been on a tilt-up jobsite, you know the pace. Panels don’t wait. They’re poured, cured, lifted, and braced within a matter of days—not weeks. That’s why traditional early-strength concrete has been the go-to for decades.
But we wanted to see if a smarter mix—one that uses different blends of cement and supplementary materials—could still hold up to those timeframes. And just as important, we wanted to know how it would handle out there in the field: under pumps, under trowels, and under boots.
So we put it to the test.
We didn’t just measure this test in pounds per square inch. We asked the folks who poured and finished the panels what it felt like to work with these mixes. Here’s what they told us:
That last point is key. Innovation on paper means nothing if it doesn’t translate to the crew on site. For us, any mix we use has to be practical, predictable, and buildable.
To help our teams make real-time decisions, we embedded Bluetooth-enabled maturity sensors into each panel. These devices tracked internal temperature and curing performance hour by hour, giving us the ability to verify when each panel was ready to be lifted. It’s one thing to say a mix is strong enough. It’s another to prove it, on site, with data you can trust. This is the kind of field-smart technology we’re bringing to more and more of our projects.
We’re not chasing buzzwords here. We’re looking at performance. These tests help us see which mixes work best under which conditions—and how we can build smarter in more regions, with more confidence.
Here’s what’s next:
Every project is a chance to raise the bar. This one gave us new tools, better data, and proof that innovation doesn’t have to mean compromise. At Clayco, we don’t sit back and wait for new standards to arrive. We build them. And with partners like Concrete Strategies, we’ll keep pushing for what’s next—grounded in craft, driven by data, and built to perform.
Let’s tilt the future forward!
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