Teeming rains, hail and sleet. Typhoons, tornadoes and gale force winds. And with it the seemingly unstoppable flow of water, top soil and refuse collected as it makes it way down slopes in myriad locations across the region.
Amid it all, we continue to cross streets, traverse slopes or simply navigate our way from the car into a building, but do we ever stop to think about the engineering marvels that allow us seemingly unrestricted access too all parts of the city and the ability to carry on life regardless, while still managing to remain clean, dry, and most importantly, healthy.
The region has recently witnessed catastrophic floods in numerous locations, from Thailand to the Philippines and as far south as Australia, where dams have burst, houses have been buried, livelihoods have been destroyed and health has been jeopardised as a result of inadequate and inefficient drainage systems.
ACO presence in Asia
Enter ACO, global drainage system experts and designers of technologically driven channels and innovative polymer concrete systems now widely recognised as leaders in the fields of environmental protection, and most importantly, the creation and maintenance of infrastructure guaranteeing safety in industry, commerce and transport. ACO’s Storm water management can provide a complete solution even after water has been caught in channels.
Founded in 1946 in Germany by Josef-Severin Ahlmann, ACO is the global market leader in surface drainage systems for internal and external applications providing intelligent solutions for more than 60 years for civil engineering, construction, building services, environmental technology, landscaping and sports grounds, as well as agricultural buildings.
ACO entered the Asia market in the 1970s, but it was in the early 80s under the visionary leadership of the founder’s nephew, Hans-Julius Ahlmann, that ACO experienced truly significant growth and diversification across four continents in numerous settings, such as in airports, sports grounds, industrial kitchens, bathrooms, pool areas and at major traffic intersections to name but few. Under his guidance and direction, the innovative polymer concrete system, ACO drain, was launched in the 70s.
“ACO is distributed under an agreement with Dextra, a French-owned manufacturing and trading company headquartered in Thailand and with a presence in Hong Kong and Macau for over 25 years,” stated ACO China Managing Director, Vaclev Tikalsky.
“In line with rapid development across the region, in particular in Hong Kong and Macau, ACO’s growth and resulting success has gone from strength to strength as developers and governments recognise the necessary requirement of installing reliable, technologically designed and capacity-focused drainage systems in order to eliminate runoff resulting from the adverse weather conditions experienced annually in this region of the world. Good drainage has also been a major requirement by developers and construction companies now building multi-million dollar complexes and structures in order to guarantee the safety of residents, employees and guests, as well as protecting the substantial investments they have made.”
“Such has been the growth of ACO drainage systems in recent years, that in 2012 the company generated revenues of Euro 615 million and through the provisions of sustainable solutions for people and the environment in many vulnerable areas of life, ACO product systems make an important contribution to environmental protection, the creation and maintenance of infrastructure, and safety in industry, commerce and transport.”
With the stated mission of creating solutions for tomorrow’s weather conditions, and global climate change causing more frequent extreme weather events, such as droughts and heavy rainfall, ACO develops innovative system solutions to minimise the damage of these events on infrastructure, roads and buildings.
In line with this, ACO provides hydraulic calculations to determine the required system, depth/width of channels, feasibility studies, design proposals and provides onsite installation training for contractors.
The ACO DRAIN programme is a genuine modular system allowing for individually, personalised solutions to be combined from a range of channels, gratings and system accessories, such ACO Slot Drain in external areas and shower and kitchen channels for internal areas.
Traditionally, point or cast-in situ drainage has been used to provide surface water removal for all types of applications. On face value, they often appear to be the cheapest methods around and certainly material costs can be low. However, when installation, labour and site preparation costs are taken into account, it is realized that significant savings can be made by using pre-cast channel drainage systems, such as ACO!
ACO is the world leader in the design and manufacture of polymer concrete surface drainage systems and pre-cast products ACO DRAIN surface drainage systems are designed to carry surface water and other liquids efficiently from a paved or hard-surface area to the underground drainage system and are precision moulded with a built-in slope and an ultra smooth finish which encourages efficient hydraulic flow.
The heart of the innovation is the V-profile. This new channel profile improves the drainage capacity and enhances the self-cleaning effect. The new side wall structure and the intelligent distribution of materials considerably increase the load-bearing strength and the overall stability and results in simpler installation even though the system has an extremely high load-bearing capacity, as well as a high load class. This system is available with all gradient types which can also be freely combined with one another.
ACO Academy
Such is the demand for sustainable drainage solutions that in 2007 ACO established the ACOAcademy at its German headquarters to provide hands-on experience and guidance to drainage system installers from around the world.
“Attendance at the ACOAcademy has proven most popular with company representatives from Asia, as they are keen to master the installation of our leading drainage solution systems as their region of the world continues to develop at breakneck speed,” states Tikalsky.
“The ACO Academy in Rendsburg is an ultra-modern convention center equipped to the highest standards and with its large glass surfaces ideal conditions for training. A particular focus of the seminars held at the ACOAcademy focus on the practical application of our products. In the showroom, the participants can see products related to construction, civil engineering and building services installation, and can touch and examine particular objects and, most importantly, can discuss installation techniques. This knowledge is imperative for the correct installation of our products in order to achieve maximum positive results, so enrolment is always booked out well in advance.”