The product is fitted with a side nut that acts as a valve, releasing the force acting on the formwork rod after concrete has dried. When the side nut is manoeuvred, the detensioning spacer unit is moved, thus releasing the pressure acting on the main nut. The main nut is then easier to unscrew, allowing faster and less strenuous form removal.
Product designers at France-based Sateco came up with the detensionsing spacer unit after noting how, after the pouring and drying of concrete in formwork, the pressure placed on the rod by the concrete makes it very difficult to extract.
Sateco, who provided the moulds for concrete used to build the Stade de France, had a turnover of €42million in 2011, and the company is hoping for a similar turnover in 2012.
