<div>With Žďár's 3D printing, a house and a cable car station were created from concrete; next in line is a church.</div>

church

Žďár nad Sázavou - The 3D concrete printing technology developed by ICE Industrial Services in Žďár nad Sázavou is starting to assert itself in the construction industry. Last year, a cable car station with a restaurant was built in Kopřivná in the Jeseníky Mountains from printed parts. This year, a Czech firm printed a house in Luxembourg, which is intended to serve as starter housing for young couples. The 3D printing of a church in Neratovice is in the preparatory phase, for which the first parts are already being tested in Žďár nad Sázavou. Tomáš Vránek, the chairman of the board, said this today to ČTK.

"This will be the building that should show the whole world that 3D printing of concrete has its place in conventional construction," Vránek stated. He noted that construction companies are logically skeptical about what it can bring. "In order to prove this, we need to realize the first pilot projects," he said. According to him, the construction of the first printed house in Luxembourg received a great response abroad.

ICE Industrial Services has been focusing on the development of 3D concrete printing for four years. Its connection with the construction group HSF System is expected to help establish its practical application. "Thanks to them, we have gained access to the first interesting projects where we are applying this technology," Vránek mentioned. Printed constructions will also be part of the Klokan shopping center in Žilina. In the joint company Coral Construction Technologies, focused on 3D printing of concrete structures, both parties hold a fifty percent share.

The company will utilize the resources of ICE, which develops and manufactures custom automated machines and lines for customers from various industries. In addition to selling, Coral will also offer construction companies the rental of 3D printers, including operation, which should help users overcome initial barriers, Vránek stated. Coral Construction Technologies also wants to build itself. "We have very ambitious plans. Within five years, we aim to achieve a turnover of one billion," he said.

According to Vránek, the advantages of 3D printing can be utilized in atypical projects on one hand. For example, in the construction of the church in Neratovice, printing will save tens of millions of crowns that would be needed for wooden formwork, he stated. On the other hand, there are repeated simple constructions. "It could be interesting, for instance, in social housing, where you can build hundreds or thousands of houses cheaply," Vránek said. He indicated that with full utilization of this technology, costs can be halved compared to conventional construction.

Even simple houses do not have to be the same."Our vision is that every construction company should have at least one printer. When they need a special part, they can create it in a few hours and will not have to make single-use formwork that is then discarded," Vránek stated.

The joint-stock company ICE Industrial Services employs 200 people and has an annual turnover of around 600 million crowns. Since 2018, it has been part of the MTX Group of Petr Otava. Founder Vránek holds a forty percent stake.