Louis Marais
Mr. Louis Marais is considered the father of modern concrete paving in South Africa. Louis joined the Portland Cement Institute (the forerunner of the Cement and Concrete Institute) in 1965 as a Roads Engineer and was responsible for introducing modern concrete pavements into South Africa. He purchased a small side-form paver, which was used to construct a number of demonstration projects to showcase modern technology to local engineers and contractors. His first success was the construction of 26 km of modern concrete freeway outside Cape Town in 1968. He worked tirelessly with engineers from the Department of Transport to develop design methods and specifications for concrete pavements and was responsible for the fact that a large number of freeway projects were constructed in concrete in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Louis was also involved in the development of design guides for the use of cement treatment of soils and was actively involved with early ground-breaking research into the development of concrete block paving using an early version of the South African heavy vehicle simulator. Mr. Marais was also responsible for promoting excellence in concrete industrial floor design and construction and was co-author of a book entitled Concrete Industrial Floors on the Ground, which has become the essential guide on the topic in South Africa.
Louis Marais was inducted into the ranks of ISCP Honorary Membership on Janurary 9, 2010. ISCP is proud to have Mr. Louis Marais an Honorary Member!
