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 One
of Technical Finishes’ most successful products, Skimplaster, which
was developed shortly after the CEO, Mike Grose, founded the company 20
years ago, is enjoying almost unprecedented popularity at the moment as
a result of Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale’s ongoing programme
to improve some 40 000 houses countrywide.
Grose explained recently that Skimplaster, which is a conventional cement
based plaster supplied in a ready to mix form, to which are added certain
carefully selected ingredients, has two characteristics that make it ideal
for any refurbishment or, indeed, new plaster projects.
These are that it can be applied only 3 to 6 mm thick (by contrast, most
plasters are 12 to 15mm thick). It is also easy to apply (people can be
taught to apply it in less than a day). These two factors, said Grose,
make it far less expensive than other plasters.
While still being able to “breathe” Skimplaster is significantly
resistant to moisture penetration which makes it particularly well suited
to the slanting rain conditions of the Western Cape and the heavy summer
thunderstorm downpours of the Highveld.
Unlike many plasters, it can be applied easily onto old PVA painted surfaces.
Grose says that recently the orders for Skimplaster have been so big
that the Cape factory had to remain in operation throughout the builders’
break. Much of the Western Cape low cost housing refurbishment orders
have been complete but the Eastern Cape work is likely to be ongoing for
many months to come.
Asked if competitive products were available, Grose said that they were
mostly imported and prohibitively expensive.
Technical Finishes was founded by Grose, a physics and chemistry graduate
from UCT, in 1989. He has now had over 30 years’ experience in “finding
solutions for common problems in the building industry and, he says, been
involved with the development of over 150 construction related products,
the best known being Solidkote 2000, Hyseal 210, Smooth ‘n Patch
and Floorskim.
“We are always interested to hear from people in the construction
industry who have technical finishing problems,” says Grose. “Most
of our best products have come about as a result of being confronted by
a serious ongoing difficulty which affects many property owners or contractors.”
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Newsletter:
03 September 2010 to 10 September 2010 - Focus on Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa
