Director of Sales at ART Heavy Equipment and Development Avery Lightbourne hopes to have the Ministry of Works add fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) to the list of viable materials to be used in construction where steel rebar is currently used.

Lightbourne, who made the remarks while a guest on Morning Blend Business on Guardian Radio 96.9 FM, is hosting a two-day seminar on FRPs to familiarize the general public on the steel rebar replacement, in an effort to speed up the use of the material in new construction.

FRP solves the issue of swelling and cracking concrete in walls and other structures caused by the normal process of steel corrosion.

Lightbourne is bringing experts in FRPs from Canada and the US to talk about the applications for the material during the free seminar.

While FRPs are slightly more expensive that steel rebar, Lightbourne explained that they are better for the environment and can extend the life of building projects far past the lifespan of steel.

“Steel is always gonna be with us, we try to get rid of it where we can, because we understand the dangers, we’ve seen it over the years,” said Lightbourne.

“And so our job is to give the option of here’s another product that is better. And whatever application wherever you can use it, use it, because it’s not only good for your pocket, it’s good for the environment overall.”

One of the seminar’s presenters Borna Hajimiragha explained that FRPs are currently being used in capital works projects in Florida, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts and Nevis, and many other places across the world. He pointed to the amount of money governments can save in maintenance costs over the years if they replaced steel in concrete projects and replace it with something that will not degrade inside the concrete and because of the concrete.

“We need to build stuff that would last long, that would save our environments with lower carbon footprints, without any extra money,” said Hajimiragha.

“Taxpayers are spending millions of dollars, the public would know, we’d know this better than anybody guys, this is the main reason that your money in your pocket is getting less and less because the governments, the owners, they need to spend those monies to repair…. By using proper material, you don’t need to replace them in first place.

“So it is 2023 and we need to think about efficiencies, laborers, injuries.

“The average rebar installer’s age in North America is 50 years. Guys, this is a scary. That means the younger generation does not want to do that heavy and dirty work.”

He said that because FRP is four times lighter than steel, it could attract younger workers to work with the material.