WisBusiness: New concrete additive provides cheaper, environmentally friendly solution to old problem

By Andy Daleiden

For WisBusiness.com

DE PERE – When people think of “green” products, they tend to think of things that carry a bigger price tag than their not-so environmentally friendly counterparts, such as wind power or organic grass-fed beef.

However, a product invented by CJ Schmidt, managing member of FiberMX LLC, proves it doesn’t always have to be this way.

He’s spent the last eight years developing a concrete crack reducer that uses fiber from recycled paper, recycled nylon carpet and recovered paper mill sludge. The latter two would otherwise go “straight to a landfill,” Schmidt said. “The carbon footprint of getting fiber from recycled products is also much smaller then making completely new fiber.”

It’s also less expensive. “We plan to sell our fiber for about 20 percent less than anything else that is currently on the market,” Schmidt said.

Fiber is commonly added to concrete to reduce the numbers of micro-cracks caused by water, salt and other chemicals during the first 24 hours after it is laid. The newest fiber to be added to cement is virgin cellulose, which has been in use for about five years. According to Schmidt, testing has revealed the cellulose fiber in recycled paper mill sludge is structurally the same as virgin cellulose fiber.

The fiber in recycled nylon carpet is equivalent to petroleum-based synthetic fiber, which has been in use for about 20 years and still represents the majority of the concrete fiber market.

Though Schmidt has used about $300,000 from government grants in the development of his crack reducer, along with large amounts of his own money, he is currently relying on loans to finance the project, which has been difficult in the current economy. “Lenders are more nervous than I’ve ever seen them in my 60 years of breathing,” Schmidt said. The use of concrete is down as well because of the recession.

Despite these challenges, Schmidt thinks his fiber will prove successful on the market, due to its lower price and environmentally friendly qualities.

Schmidt has also had a difficult time finding scientists and engineers with specific experience in the use of cellulose fibers in concretes to assist him in the research and testing of his product. He eventually settled on Dr. Nemy Banthia, a civil engineer at the University of British Columbia, a leading expert on fiber reinforced and eco-friendly concretes.

Though he does not yet have a patent on his concrete crack reducer, Schmidt is confident recent testing and research done by Banthia will help him secure one.

About 50 million pounds of fiber are sold annually, and FiberMX LLC aims to capture less than 1 percent of this market in its first year, growing to about $10 million in sales within five years. Initially he plans to sell about 75 percent of his product to those who use concrete for single family houses, and 25 percent to those who use it for commercial structures.

Schmidt’s concrete crack reducer is one of 21 finalists in the Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest, selected from 326 first-round entries.

— Daleiden is a student in the Department of Life Sciences Communication at the UW-Madison.