When Daniel Pszczonka worked in the residential building industry as a project manager 10 years ago, permanent formwork was just taking off.
The lightweight material was gaining ground as an appealing alternative to blockwork and other construction methods, delivering projects at record speed.
However, the challenges of shipping timeframes and the bulky nature of the material proved cost prohibitive.
“I could see the benefits of the product but just couldn’t get it cheap enough, the transport cost was 20 to 30 per cent extra on top of the purchase price,” Pszczonka said.
Using his frustration as a catalyst for invention, Pszczonka worked with industrial designers to engineer a new permanent formwork solution under his company, Rise Products.
Following years of extensive design, development and prototyping, an innovative hinge system was created, enabling the cumbersome PVC formwork be effectively “flat-packed” for shipping and storage on site.
This now internationally-patented mechanism has been built into Rise Wall Water Resistant and Rise Wall Super Finish permanent formwork. The layflat format also makes for easier cutting and faster installation.
“This has been a true passion project of mine, and it’s incredibly rewarding to see Rise Products being used so extensively,” Pszczonka said.
“It’s definitely struck a chord with builders and developers who have experienced the same site and project management challenges that effectively sparked this product development.”
The Rise Products Rise Wall permanent formwork lays flat, which enables it to be shipped at a 600 per cent reduction from its standing size, which in turn reduces space on site.
It also has very short lead times with delivery next day in Sydney and two days for other cities and regional Australia.
Rise Products chief executive Tim Pope has also seen the market respond positively.
“Traditional PVC formwork has its limitations, both from a transport cost and site logistics perspective,” Pope said.
“The lay-flat concept means we can provide fast access to serious volume on site without blocking valuable site space; we are replacing six truck deliveries and unloading times into one. The bulky nature of other formwork also makes it harder to cut, which the lay-flat design easily solves.
“With warehousing in every state, we’ve built our capability to deliver product to quickly to metropolitan centres and anywhere in Australia within two days.
Where previously existing formwork solutions were only able to ship within a short radius from the manufacturing site before impacting transport costs, Rise Wall can be shipped to any job site around the country up to 10 to 15 per cent more cost effectively.
These transport and logistics benefits are growing enquiry from customers worldwide, too. I’m looking forward to seeing this Australian product become a globally recognised innovation,” Pope said.
To find out more, contact Rise Products today.
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