Interviews / 7/29/2025

Success in the UK market: how Cube System is leading the way

Ian Ellis, Head of Mapei Technical Services Admixtures in the UK and Ireland, talks about the technological strengths and sustainable potential of the Mapecube admixtures range as a catalyst for Mapei’s growing success in the UK concrete market

Interviewee

Ian Ellis

Head of Mapei Technical Services - Admixtures for concrete, UK & Ireland

In this interview, Ian Ellis highlights the key role of Mapecube admixtures (part of the CUBE System) in driving the company’s growth in the UK, where demand for low-carbon construction is accelerating. The system’s technical performance and its flexibility makes it suitable across the entire concrete industry. Backed by a skilled commercial team and recent changes to British standards, Mapecube is positioned not only as a sustainability solution but also as a symbol of Mapei’s innovation leadership in the UK.

What have been the benefits of the CUBE System solutions that have counted most in their success in the UK market?

We are seeing a genuine trend in the UK towards lower carbon construction and, therefore, lower carbon concrete: technologies such as our Mapecube range of admixtures are now of great interest to some of our customers. What’s most impressive is that the production results in some instances are better than the initial laboratory assessments indicated. We also have a commercial team that has a very good understanding of concrete technology and this team have been fundamental in promoting the benefits of Mapecube to the customers. The next step for us is to bring production of Mapecube 60W into the UK and further maximise our opportunities.

In which areas of the UK market can the technical performance of the CUBE products be most exploited?

There doesn’t seem to be any boundaries to where Mapecube can be utilised: anyone producing a cementitious based product is a viable opportunity for Mapecube. Although the move towards ternary cement blends is not moving at the pace we would like, the latest revisions to BS 8500 (the British Standard for specifying concrete) have highlighted the potential for these cement types and Mapecube is the perfect companion to further optimise both the cement content and the actual composition of the cementitious material being used.

In the UK we are fortunate that most of the concrete producers have separate storage for their cementitious materials and are not reliant on buying a pre-blended product from the cement producers. This gives real scope for mix optimisation and, again, Mapecube is the perfect tool to enable this.

What advantages in the technical area have been most appreciated by customers?

Mapecube is yet another demonstration of both the technological and sustainability focused developments that Mapei bring to the market. We are still seen as being a new brand in the UK, but our innovation and product development is now recognised as being comparable, if not better in some respects, than our more established peers. This is an aspect that both existing and potential customers see as being a critical factor when looking for an admixture partner. Customers want to see new products and technologies being brought to the market as it is the sign of a company that really invests in the future. Mapecube is a very good example of this, but we need to keep looking for the next step. It’s highly likely that the market will move towards a greater use of limestone powders and calcined clays: these two materials have their own challenges in concrete production and we need to be looking at extending the Mapecube range to cover both these and any other future material to ensure that we continue to be seen as an innovation leader.

The Mapei manufacturing plant in Speke (UK) is devoted to the production of concrete admixtures, including the Mapecube range (part of the CUBE System).

Interviewee

Ian Ellis

Head of Mapei Technical Services - Admixtures for concrete, UK & Ireland

Tag

#precast

Product Lines

Admixtures for concrete