History of IPHA

Ancient Times

Early Use of Concrete

Buildings such as the Pantheon, built c. 126 AD by the Romans, show early use of concrete structures and their durability.

1824

Portland Cement

Joseph Aspdin (1778-1855) files patent for the world’s first Portland cement, named after its resemblance to Portland stone.

1853

Iron Reinforced Concrete

French engineer François Coignet (1814-1888) builds the first structure using iron-reinforced concrete, a four-story house near Paris, which still stands today.

1905

Early Prefabrication

City engineer of Liverpool, John Alexander Brodie (1858-1934) experiments with the use of prefabricated concrete wall panels as a solution for housing.

1919

Early Precast Flooring

Concrete Ltd. (later to be renamed Bison Concrete) is founded, and begins making reinforced precast floors at its factory in Stourton, Leeds.

1928

Prestressing

French structural and civil engineer, Eugène Freyssinet (1879-1962), files a patent for his prestressing techniques. He develops systems for anchorage and the use of high-strength steel wire.

1935

Hollowcore Slabs

Concrete Ltd. are producing hollowcore slabs in wet cast concrete moulds. This is revolutionised by the introduction of withdrawable pneumatic cores, used to form the voids.

1952

Machine Casting

Mechanisation and standardisation have revolutionised industry. A Hungarian, Henry Nagy, buys a hollowcore machine from a German inventor, and Spancrete begin long-line casting in the US.

1962

Spiroll Extrusion process Invented

Spiroll hollowcore extruder invented by Glen C. Booth, of Building Products and Coal Ltd., in Winnipeg, Canada.

1964

Spiroll International Office Opened

Spiroll open an office in London to facilitate the sale of machinery around the world.

1969

International Spiroll Producers Association (ISPA) Founded

Seven Spiroll producers from seven different countries found ISPA, in order to promote the exchange of knowledge.

1984

SPIROLL OPERATES ENTIRELY OUT OF UK

Spiroll International purchases manufacturing rights and trademark. Other extruder manufacturers such as Weiler (Germany) and Partek (Finland) continue development of the market.

1986

International Extruded concrete association (IECA)

The remit of the organisation is expanded to include manufacturers using other extruders. Meanwhile, other machines are developed using the slipform method, such as Prensoland (Spain), Nordimpianti (Italy) and Echo (Belgium).

1993

International Prestressed Hollowcore Association is Formed

At the 7th annual IECA conference in Malta, Terry Treanor and Tony Crane (Bison) deliver a presentation, and the decision is made to expand the organisation to include slipform manufacturers.

1994

The First IPHA Annual Conference is Held

Hosted by Bison Concrete in Stratford-upon-Avon, it coincides with Bison’s 75th anniversary.

2000

7th IPHA Annual Conference

IPHA’s annual conference is held in Florida, in cooperation with the Prestressed/Precast Concrete Institute of the USA.

2005

Inaugural Terry Treanor Award

Following the death of IPHA Chairman Terry Treanor in 2003, an award for innovations within hollowcore is inaugurated in his honour.

2006

IPHA Logo Redesign

2010

Rebranding and Website Development

2019

50th Anniversary

Marking 50 years from the formation of ISPA, IPHA commissions a written history of the organisation, and a new website is launched.

2022

HOLCOLODIS STUDY ANNOUNCED

IPHA announces funding of a research study into load distribution between hollowcore slabs. Running until 2025, HOLCOLODIS includes a series of tests on hollowcore floors, backed up by literature, FEM analyses and analytical analyses.

2024

IPHA VISION 2030 ANNOUNCED

At the annual conference in Newcastle, Northern Ireland, IPHA’s vision for the next 5 years is presented to the members. This includes further digitalisation, promotion of hollowcore as a sustainable construction product, continued improvement of the IPHA website and increased social media presence.