Spotlight - The Latest on Sonotube Products

Sonotube form with RainGuard™ technology

The industry’s leading water-resistant fiber concrete column form

Patent-pending technology minimizes a frequent contributor to construction
delay – inclement weather

Sonoco’s new Sonotube brand forms incorporate a proprietary, high-strength, water-resistant paper that allows contractors to set them in wet weather and pour concrete the next day. This gives contractor’s added scheduling flexibility to complete construction projects on time.  

Over the past 12 months, Sonoco has conducted extensive market research to understand the unmet needs and issues facing contractors who use fiber concrete forms. Out of a list of 14 issues, contractors most frequently mentioned rain or inclement weather as the top issue that inhibits their ability to complete a job within the committed timeframe. The forms are used for a wide variety of applications, including light poles, outdoor signposts and columns for residential and commercial buildings.

“The inability to predict the weather is a constant challenge for contractors,” said Greg Dixon, construction manager of Strand Construction. “Being able to set fiber concrete forms, even with inclement weather in the forecast, then pour the next day, is a huge advantage because of the significant cost savings fiber forms provide compared to other types of column forms.”

Sonoco has leveraged over a century of paper making experience to re-engineer its Sonotube concrete column forms. The outcome is a proprietary fiber form with improved strength, toughness and durability in wet conditions that has resulted in superior strength-to-weight properties and the virtual elimination of “blowouts” – the most frequent mode of failure of wet fiber concrete forms.

“In the construction industry, time is money, and the uncertainty of weather has always been problematic for contractors. Until now, a contractor’s column-pouring schedule has been at the mercy of the weather forecast,” said Myles Cohen, division vice president of sales and marketing for Sonoco’s Industrial Products division. “With the introduction of Sonotube forms with RainGuard™ technology, contractors now have an increased probability of completing their jobs on time, because Sonotube® forms will stand strong in wet weather.”

Sonotube forms with RainGuard™ technology are available across Europe through authorized Sonotube distributors. The new RainGuard™ technology has been incorporated into all existing types and sizes of Sonotube brand forms, including both round and square forms, as well as Sonotube Premium® concrete forms.