CSSA Roadshow: the conversations ready-mix has been missing
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16-09-2026
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The 2026 Ready-Mix Concrete (RMC) Seminar Roadshow brings together stakeholders from across the ready-mix value chain — consulting engineers, producers, contractors, technologists, laboratories, material suppliers, specifiers, academics and students — into one industry conversation. This is important because concrete quality does not begin when the truck arrives at the gate. It begins with decisions made much earlier, continuing through production, testing, transportation, specification and placement.
By gathering stakeholders who normally occupy different parts of the value chain in the same room, the roadshow creates space for the conversations that are often missing. The 2026 RMC Seminar Roadshow offers the industry an opportunity to examine those connections, share practical experience and confront the issues shaping ready-mix concrete in South Africa.
This is timely, as the ready-mix concrete industry operates under growing pressure on cost, quality and performance. Even small changes in materials, production, testing, transport or delivery can carry significant consequences. Understanding what happens before concrete reaches site has never been more relevant.
Under the theme “Three Cities. One Industry Conversation,” the Concrete Society of Southern Africa will take the discussion to Cape Town on 6 October at the Lagoon Beach Hotel, Durban on 8 October at Coastlands Umhlanga Hotel, and Johannesburg on 14 October at Birchwood Hotel & OR Tambo Conference Centre.
Going beyond the batching plant
Every load of ready-mix is the product of a sequence of choices and actions that stretch far beyond the batching plant. Material selection, mix design, production consistency, logistics, on-site sampling, laboratory interpretation and final placement all leave their mark. Because these steps are handled by different companies, any break in communication or alignment can introduce variability that only becomes visible once the concrete is in the structure. The result is often costly disputes, rejected loads or performance that falls short of the specification.
The roadshow addresses this full sequence. It covers the materials that make concrete work — cement, aggregates and admixtures — and the effect of developing standards on ready-mix production. The roadshow moves beyond the laboratory and mix-design environment to examine RMC truck operations and the practical realities of delivery. It gives close attention to the laboratory itself: sampling methods, testing procedures, variability and the interpretation of reliable results. In an industry where compliance frequently depends on test data, understanding how that information is generated and what it actually means is fundamental.
The programme also addresses durability, performance and appropriate concrete specification, together with modern RMC practices and the direction in which the industry is moving. Experienced specialists will share insights drawn from real projects, connecting technical knowledge to the conditions encountered on site.
Shared responsibility on the table
That shared responsibility is given explicit focus in the panel discussion “Whose Concrete Is It Anyway?” Industry participants will examine accountability, quality, compliance and the misunderstandings that can arise between specification and the finished structure. It is a natural expression of the central issue the roadshow seeks to address: namely, that concrete is the product of an interconnected process.
One conversation across the value chain
The seminar is deliberately positioned as an industry-focused programme that places practical knowledge at the centre. Topics are treated as linked elements of a single chain rather than isolated subjects. This approach is particularly relevant as the RMC sector responds to changing standards, evolving materials and increasing attention to durability and performance.
With three cities, a cross-section of specialists and a programme that spans the full value chain, the October roadshow places some of the most important questions firmly on the table.
Eligible delegates will also earn one ECSA CPD point.
For more information please contact:
David Poggiolini
Debbie Poggiolini
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