SoundSorb - Concrete Transportation Noise Abatement Solutions

Company

Concrete Solutions, Inc. (CSI), based in Austin, Texas, licenses and markets an innovative technology to produce a sound-absorbing cementitious product called SoundSorb®. CSI promotes SoundSorb® on an international basis, forming strategic alliances with each concrete precast manufacturer to provide a value-added approach to each relationship.

The company was founded in 1992 after the niche market for sound absorptive barriers was recognized as having the potential of developing into a full-fledged industry within the transportation sound barrier marketplace.

The growth of the company is directly related to the transportation and engineering authorities recognition that SoundSorb® can provide a low cost, high quality aesthetic solution to noise abatement to any precast or sound reflective wall system. The increased use of SoundSorb® may also be the result of the use of the new Traffic Noise Modeling Program by the DOTs. It has provided transportation engineers with an opportunity to discover that sound absorptive finishes (inputting NRC values) added to sound reflective walls can actually reduce the height in some cases, significantly reducing overall construction costs of their project. Additionally, there has been an increasing realization that eliminating noise rather than redirecting it back into the community is extremely important. California has experienced an overwhelming number of residential and commercial property owner complaints related to the reflected noise from the millions of square feet of previously installed masonry and precast noise reflective barriers. SoundSorb® provides the best all-around answer, as it’s a durable, acoustical and extremely low- cost textured/colorized finish for walls that absorbs (rather than reflects) all the noise that impacts it. Having the lifecycle of concrete, SoundSorb® is a very cost-efficient solution to noise abatement.

CSI has also been successful in attracting new business by completing not only the largest noise abatement project internationally and reducing the noise as requested by the specs, but also by completing many other large transportation noise attenuation projects worldwide. CSI regularly meets with the transportation authorities to assist with project design, attends the Transportation Research Board meetings, Noise Con meetings and International Noise Committee meetings in an effort to stay informed as to the noise abatement trends, influence those specifying projects, and to support all SoundSorb® manufactures with potential project leads. SoundSorb® manufacturers worldwide are provided with a turnkey approach to estimating and bidding SoundSorb® noise abatement projects.

CSI offers not only the highest quality sound absorptive finish, but also a low-cost architectural colorized texture. The company's unique approach in offering a sound-absorptive finishes to wall panel designs responds to the market dynamics of this rapidly growing industry. There are many cost-effective concrete precast wall designs worldwide that now have the capability of making their noise-reflective wall system sound absorptive, just by adding SoundSorb® acoustical tiles to existing walls.

The manufacturing technology is available from CSI through a variety of licenses, including on a project-by-project basis. The sound absorptive trend is quickly overtaking the sound reflective barrier specs as the common-sense solution to noise abatement. Manufacturers can contact CSI to explore the manufacturing opportunities. Specifiers can be confident that when using SoundSorb® the sound reduction required will absolutely be achieved.