Carmans BT is a vibrant family business, with half a century of growth and innovation under its belt. What started as a road construction company has grown into a platform of complementary construction enterprises. After years of investing in the reuse of raw materials, their BLUEBLOCKS are now the first end product. The 'Blue Economy' calls for creative entrepreneurship.
You’re fully involved in the Blue Economy... What are the practical applications of your product?
Stefan Carmans: Our BLUEBLOCKS are super versatile and deliver both functional and aesthetic results. For example, we recently added the noise barriers at the brand new IKEA site in Hasselt to our portfolio. Our BLUEBLOCKS make it possible to build a noise barrier that also functions as a retaining wall. By using our BLUEBLOCKS in an inventive way, we can tackle two challenges at once: retaining wall and noise reduction. That’s what you call killing two birds with one stone...
What makes your BLUEBLOCKS so unique?
Stefan Carmans: Well, they’re top-quality concrete blocks with a unique design. They look a bit like Lego bricks, which means you can easily and securely stack them, forming a stable structure. They’re designed to attach gabions to them... which you can fill however you like. With stones, that gives you a stylish look. At the IKEA site, we used lava stones, which also have a sound-absorbing effect. A sound study by Ghent University showed that our noise barriers are highly effective.
Do the basic principles of the Dlue Economy work well in the construction sector?
Stefan Carmans: Absolutely. Even in our pioneering years, we noticed that road construction generated huge amounts of debris. By cleaning and certifying these raw materials, we ended up with the components we needed to develop our BLUEBLOCKS . Now, we’ve got a high-quality end product with an excellent price-quality ratio... both ecologically and economically responsible.