Winners Overcome Hurdles

To develop a new product with clear advantages takes a lot of initiative, research aptitude and determination. This was true even 125 years ago, and the challenges remain the same. Consider, that today’s steel bars would not be what they are, without the history of overcoming so many doubts that were raised. When a pioneering architect and engineer proposed the twisting for the iron rebar, he was mocked at the meeting of the Technical Society of California where some engineers were of the view that the bar will get weakened through it. Nevertheless, E. L. Ransome went on to use such a twisted rebar in the first RCC bridge he designed in San Francisco. Even the ribs which are today an important feature in a TMT bar as they improve the grip with the concrete is an innovation. They became a standard with specifications for rib height and rib spacing for various bar sizes only by 1949-50.

AN INVENTOR’S MINDSET

Julius Kahn, an engineer whose elder brother was a famous industrial architect, came up with ideas for reinforcing concrete based on his experiences with the military engineers and developed a reinforced beam in 1903. This bar got him the first of 75 inventor patents in his life – it was called the Kahn bar. Julius Kahn also founded a well-known United Steel Company in America. His approach was to use a straight beam which was bent slightly at the edge so the stress was distributed better, and resulted in higher tensile strength. This became popular in following years in many countries.

PERFORMANCE PROVIDES THE PROOF

In 1906, however its strength was questioned because of failures in two building sites, one in California and the other in New York but the enquiry showed that the material or its design was not to receive blame for them. Claude Turner, a structural engineer who himself received thirty patents related to R.C.C. had opposed the Kahn bar arguing that there would not be adequate reinforcement at the ends of the beam. Yet the Kahn brothers became famous for creating the standard car factory buildings that were adopted by leading brands of the automotive industry.

DS 500 Suraksha TMT Bar – its forte is additional safety

Thus, any innovative product has to convince various people about its merits, build evidence through successful application, and gain the support of technical experts. It has to overcome any doubt or criticism, and deliver proof through performance.

At Icon Steel, we have the experience of working towards steady success, and are extremely glad at the favourable reception for DS 500 Suraksha TMT bar that we launched some months ago. We see it as a product that can set a trend of balancing ductility with tensile strength in this new decade. It contributes to higher safety, and can be used in quake-prone areas and also lowers building maintenance costs over the years.