The British High Commission to India selected 12 companies for a presentation of innovative British technologies to the Indian public. The introduction of the use of processed fly ash as partial cement replacement in to India by DIRK India was considered as one of those technologies. The Duke of York commented that Britain is at the forefront of innovation just second to the US contribution in this field.
Georg Dirk established DIRK India Private Ltd on the findings of recommendations of a study he had commissioned from the British Deputy High Commission, Mumbai in the year 2000. At that time only a few asbestos sheet makers were using fly ash in their process. The use of Fly Ash in structural concrete was tried in India earlier on in the 7o-ties but ended in a failure as at that time no processed Fly Ash was available. Consequently for nearly 15 years the use of Fly Ash in this application was banned.
DIRK India made efforts to inform the Indian construction fraternity that quality assured and processed Fly Ash was safe to use and provided technical and economical benefits. A number of international renowned scientists in the field of "concrete", like Prof. Ravindra Dhir, OBE, of Dundee University, were lecturing on behalf of DIRK India to turn this negative image of Fly Ash in concrete into a positive one.
Also the cement producers realized this development and the percentage of Pozzolan Portland Cement (PPC-containing approx. 25% Fly Ash) - of the total cement production- rose from 5% in 2000 to nearly 70% now. PPC is promoted by the cement industry as the material providing increased concrete durability.
As quality assured and processed Fly Ash is available at roughly 40% of the current cement price, the construction industry could reduce the cost of one cubic meter of concrete by approx 20% compared with the sane cubic meter of concrete produced using OPC only.
As the construction industry all over India was finally listening to the quality arguments provided by DIRK India, a saving potential for India of 6m USD Dollars per year became reality as the result of the work of a British Innovative Company in India.