Alchatek Blog

We often get calls from spray foam insulation installers who are interested in adding slab lifting capability to their rig set up. If you're reading this article, you yourself may be looking for info on the matter. If so, we have good news for you. With just four additional pieces of equipment and one set of material, you can quickly and easily add slab lifting to your service offerings. Let’s take a look at exactly what additional equipment and material you'll need to get started...

Slab Lifting Equipment

MixMaster Pro Slab Lifting Gun
The MixMaster Pro is a two-component resin injection gun manufactured specifically for lifting concrete slabs, designed to handle back-pressure. 

Titan Impact 440 (Modified) Pump with Flush Hose
The Titan Impact 440 (Modified) pump is used for flushing the MixMaster Pro gun in between foam injections. (It's also used for pumping one-component material in soil stabilization and seawall repair applications.)

3/8” MixMaster Ports
These heavy duty ports create an airtight seal for injecting foam into drill holes. 

Dial Indicator Crane
This precision tool is used to measure the lift of the slab within 1/10” of an inch.

Polyurethane Slab Lifting Material

AP Lift 430, AP Lift 440, or AP Lift 475 (100 Gallon Unit)
Sunken concrete slabs can be lifted back into place with these two-component polymer foams designed to work in wet or dry conditions. The expansion force of these concrete leveling foams coupled with the pressure of a specialized pump generate enough controlled force to lift virtually any structure back into position with 1/8” precision.

AP Flush 125 (5 Gallon Unit)
Water based gun flush specifically used for flushing out the MixMaster Pro impingement gun. Also used to protect concrete from resin stains.

AP Lube 190 (5 Gallon Unit)
This product is a multi-purpose lubricant for use with both airless electric injection pumps and proportioner/reactor pumps.

Want more info on adding slab lifting to your rig setup?

On Episode 7 of The Injection Connection, host Jim Spiegel sits down with Ann Thaxton, from Concrete Titans, a marketing and advertising agency offering services to the concrete lifting, and residential foundation repair markets.  Ann offers great insights into the most current lead capture strategies, trends in the industry, and how marketing dollars are actually worth more in the current Covid-19 crisis.  (Jim Spiegel is Vice President of Alchemy-Spetec and a Board Member at the International Concrete Repair Institute.)

Listen to the episode in its entirety below, or check it out on TheInjectionConnection.com and the following platforms:

• Spotify
• iTunes/Apple Podcasts
• SoundCloud
• TuneIn
• Google Podcasts
• YouTube

Want info on Alchemy-Spetec slab lifting products & applications?

Jim and guest Jack Whitworth, 26-year chemical grouting sales professional, discuss the importance of education, mutual benefits of competitors working together, and driving our families crazy during the Covid-19 lockdown time. (Jim Spiegel is Vice President of Alchemy-Spetec and a Board Member at the International Concrete Repair Institute.)

Listen to the episode in its entirety below, or check it out on TheInjectionConnection.com and the following platforms:

• Spotify
• iTunes/Apple Podcasts
• SoundCloud
• TuneIn
• Google Podcasts
• YouTube

Want more information on Alchemy-Spetec products?

Polyurethane – Quality and Selection

Alchemy-Spetec offers one of the most technologically advanced grout product lines currently on the market, including our unique, highly-effective Spetec PUR HighFoamer. Known in the industry for its expansive properties, this product is the only one in its class that can shut down gushing leaks and fill voids as quickly and effectively as it does. We offer a wide variety of materials, including slab lifting foams, deep-soil lifting foams, soil stabilization foams, injection resins for crack leak seal, foams for curtain grouting leak seal, acrylic injection resins that penetrate thin cracks and saturate soil, epoxy resins for structural repair and preventative waterstop products. The superior quality of these materials guarantees fewer callbacks from your customers. Many of these products are also certified for contact with potable water, making them safer for the environment.

Equipment and Accessories Selection

We’re a one-stop shop for all things polyurethane concrete repair, with one of the most versatile equipment and accessory product lines in the industry. Once you’ve picked out the product that best fits your needs, we can provide it all: pumps, hoses, packers/ports, and specialty accessories.

Tech Support – Experience and Dedication

Do you need technical support? You’re in luck—we’re home to the industry’s premier technical support squad. Averaging decades of experience, we also pride ourselves in being incredibly responsive. For example, our team was recently called on to assist with a large metro project in the Western United States. The customer informed us at 4pm on Monday evening that assistance was needed at 9am the very next day! Our Technical Services Director Charlie Lerman, Vice President Jim Spiegel, and Western Regional Sales Manager (that's me!) traveled to the site Monday evening to help diagnose the location of the leaks and develop an action plan. Our Technical Services Manager Charlie remained on site for two more days to ensure that the project was successful. Depending on the size and scope of the project, response time and participating team members may vary, but this story serves to illustrate the lengths we will go to assist customers.

Training and Education

We offer the industry's most thorough training and education for both Leak Seal and Geotech polyurethane infrastructure repair. We conduct training workshops at distributor locations, consult with contractors on job sites, and hold intensive programs twice a year at our headquarters in Tucker, GA. We also offer in-depth online training videos to current customers.

Marketing Support

Our Marketing Department provides qualified customers with product application illustrations and photos for use on websites, customized brochure PDFs for printing, and truck signage graphics. We also offer the use of our educational videos and animations. Lastly, we’re available for guidance on everything from online lead capture strategies to internet advertising, and more.

We’re Committed to Your Success

The overriding theme here is our commitment to your success. Obviously, this is not totally altruistic in nature.  The more successful you are, the more materials and equipment you buy.  But it is 100% genuine.  Our entire team understands the relationship between YOUR success and OUR success.  This point of view is thoroughly ingrained in our company culture.

Want more information on Alchemy-Spetec products?

Please Note: This message is not intended as a sales tactic.  We are genuinely trying to educate the construction industry on the current state of hand sanitizer scarcity and to let them know that we are a source - as long as our current suppliers provide us with raw materials and packaging.

Alchemy-Spetec's FDA approved hand sanitizer will be available soon.  As you know, hand sanitizer helps reduce bacteria & viruses that potentially cause disease.  The risk of COVID-19 is still a factor.  As professionals in an essential industry, many of you are still out on jobsites, working at distribution centers, managing water treatment plants, etc.  Alchemy-Spetec Hand Sanitizer will be a critical accessory for all types of infrastructure repair work and beyond.

Advantages of Alchemy-Spetec Hand Sanitizer:

• Easy on skin - no harsh chemicals.
• Meets World Health Organization guidelines.
• FDA approved. NDC 74826-812 Isopropyl Grade.
• Sprayable for cleaning surfaces.

Want to order Alchemy-Spetec Hand Sanitizer online?

This post is part of the Alchemy-Spetec Contractor Lens series, featuring views, news & case studies written by our customers.  This sales article, written by J.R. Crowell of Helms Polyfoam, emphasizes the general importance of having a plan of some kind in place before calling on a prospect.  If you're an Alchemy-Spetec customer and you'd like to discuss writing content for our blog, please send an email to marketing@alchemy-spetec.com today!

I’ve not been formally trained in chess - but from what I’ve gathered in my limited time at the board, chess is very much a strategic game that requires a forward-thinking mindset. Each move could draw a certain action from the opponent and with each move, you the player need to be seeing five steps ahead. You need to have a follow-up play for each play your opponent could make and you need to be able to see the possible outcomes of all of those. That’s a lot of possible scenarios. Selling is no different.

Prior to walking through any door to visit any potential client (I’m assuming a cold call here), you need to have a clear reason for your visit and a clear outcome you intend to achieve with each visit. I once had a coworker who constantly said, “hope is not a plan”. How true is that? Walking in with only hope sounds like this; “I just wanted to come by and introduce myself as the rep for ABC Company…” You’re probably going to get a sideways shrug, maybe a “nice to meet you”, and a “see you later” shortly thereafter. Your actual intentions were to probably find the correct point of contact to discuss the needs of that business as they relate to your product or solution. At least that should have been your goal.

Don’t disguise your intentions with some backhanded intro because you think it eases the tension. Whomever you spoke to first is a professional at their role. They have duties just like you do. They are human and most humans want to be spoken to directly. They also subconsciously assume you are a professional in your field and assume that you know how to ask for what you want. As salespeople, we are typically natural leaders. It is our job to lead every discussion we have. That doesn’t always mean we lead by talking so don’t take that as an open invitation to dominate a conversation.

How does this tie into chess and foreseeing possible outcomes? If all you have prepared is the “make an introduction comment”, what are you supposed to follow up with? Lack of preparation makes it difficult to get to where you really want to go. Once you've made an introduction without thinking through your follow up options, then you’ve done what you said you wanted to do, so you may as well say goodbye to a response with any meat on the bone…

You need to go in with a clear understanding of what you expect to get out of that call as it pertains to helping that customer solve a problem and growing your customer base. You need to be prepared for several possible outcomes, including but not limited to getting that two minutes with the decision-maker. Be confident, be prepared, be a leader, be an expert. Your customer expects and deserves that much.

Want more info on Alchemy-Spetec products?

I'd like to share a case study from a job that I recently consulted on with one of our contractor customers.

A concrete tank west of Rollinsville, Colorado began showing numerous, hairline cracks during construction. Previous attempts to seal the cracks using urethane grouts were unsuccessful due to the sheer tightness of the cracks and high amount of reinforcing steel. The tank was critical for a state infrastructure project, so Restruction Corporation was called in to get the job done.

Powerful Polymer

After a phone consultation, we determined the best course of action would be to use Spetec AG200, a super-thin acrylate grout that could penetrate the hairline cracks and even the ones previously injected with a urethane grout. This water-swelling hydrogel is based on low-viscous acrylic that cures into an elastic product with 500% elongation.

Painless Procedure

I trained a knowledgeable polyurethane grout crew how to handle Spetec AG200 and an acrylic pump. No other chemical grout manufacturer was willing to come out and provide field service for this application.

Rapid Result

After the grout was injected, the cracks sealed quickly. Both the customer and contractor were extremely happy with the results. Yet another successful job for one of our customers!

Want more information on Alchemy-Spetec leak seal solutions?

The northeastern region of the United States faces a wide variety of infrastructure issues, caused by unstable soil, that contractors and property owners should be aware of.  These issues include:

• Freeze/thaw cycles.
• New construction compromising soil under neighboring structures.
• Frequency of intense rainstorms, which cause flash flooding and erosion.
• On coastal areas, erosion and soil disruption are also caused by rising sea levels.

How Does Polyurethane Soil Repair Help?

• Strengthens the Soil
  Alchemy-Spetec soil stabilization foam allows contractors to strengthen soil for support of heavy structures.
• Reinforces Eroded Areas
  Polyurethane foam displaces water and cures into a solid mass to reverse the erosion process.
• Compacts the Soil
  The Deep Lift™ process compacts loose soil to create a strong substrate.
• Fills Voids
  Polyurethane foam fills voids as it expands and before it cures, making it a great solution for instances of soil consolidation or biological decay.

What Are the Results?

• Use of Surface and Surrounding Structures on Same Day as Repair
  Alchemy-Spetec soil stabilization foam cures to 90% full strength in 15 min­utes. In most cases the site is ready for traffic after clean up. 
• Support for Up to 14,000 lbs/Sq. Ft.
  The Alchemy-Spetec series of geotech foams improves soil to support structural loads up to 14,000 pounds per square foot.
• Stabilization Lasting Decades
  Alchemy-Spetec structural foams are a permanent fix.

Environmentally Safe

Alchemy-Spetec polyurethane soil stabilization polymer products have received the official NSF seal of approval for contact with drinking water (this also protects water-dwelling wildlife as well). This designation ensures compliance with the Safe Water Drinking Act (SDWA) and guarantees peace of mind for in-the-field stakeholders on construction projects of almost any scope and size.

Want more information on polyurethane soil stabilization?

Business owners owe it to themselves to get up to speed on the CARES Act. I've been talking with my bankers and my CPA to make sure we are in a position to apply for a loan if necessary. My philosophy at the moment is to fill out the application as soon as it is available. If you wait until you need it, it may be too late. Banks and the SBA are anticipating a tsunami of applications, so don't hesitate.

Check out the following webpages for everything you need to know about the CARES Act including the Paycheck Protection Program here:

• Small Business Administration - CARES Act Resources
• US Chamber of Commerce - CARES Act Guide

Stephen Barton
President & CEO
Alchemy-Spetec