Tired of poor overlayments for the polishing industry, George Lacker of GLC3 Inc. developed Concretetivity nearly 12 years ago as a thin alternative to tile and carpet in entryways. After years of success and popularity as a Lacker specialty, it’s for sale to the general public.
Concretetivity, sold by Lacker’s manufacturing company Couture Concrete Systems, is a topping that can be applied at 3/8-inch to 2-inch thicknesses. It can be troweled, burnished and polished. Over nearly one decade of use, the product has been applied in restaurants, retail stores, airports, offices and residential spaces.
“So many people were calling us up (to do installations),” says Cathye Rankin, who handles the marketing for Couture. “Local contractors were selling jobs, and we would come pour and polish it, and they would finish it.”
It was a natural progression to start selling the overlay to other contractors. However, the material will be only made available to those who become licensed. “We want to stand behind our product. We want to make sure the people who are installing it are doing it correctly and are properly trained,” Rankin says.
Concretetivity provides wonderful mottled looks, she says, and has compressive strength measured at 5,700 psi. It can be walked on within 24 hours and polished in 48 hours. Additionally, Rankin notes that during the last 12 years of use, there haven’t been any reported issues of poor bonding.
“We’re bringing back craftsmanship to these finishes,” Lacker says.
To keep costs low, the company has set up seven distribution locations across the United States, making it available to most major markets. It can be mixed in a batch small enough to cover just 12 square feet, so there isn’t a concern about wasted, unused material.
While its primary application is for floors, it can also be used on countertops and furniture. It is available in gray or white, works indoors or out, and can be colored for additional decorative effects.
“This particular mixture is almost like a one-stop shop,” says Rankin.
For Lacker, Concretetivity is about more than concrete. It’s about the feeling.
“People get tired of pouring plain, gray concrete,” he says. “Once they work with us and see the finished product it kind of revives them. When you see a polished floor, you have a good feeling coming home.”
www.coutureconcretesystems.com
