The January 2021 opening of the Fabric Factory expanded the Nitori Furniture manufacturing complex in Ba Ria (Vũng Tàu province), Vietnam. PENETRON, a topically applied crystalline waterproofing material, was topically applied to ensure a durable and waterproof solution for the facility’s new wastewater treatment plant.
A global furniture manufacturer and retailer, Nitori maintains an expanding international network of over 600 furniture stores across Japan, Taiwan, USA, and China. Nitori manufactures a full range of residential furnishings in the company's sprawling factory complex in Ba Ria, Vietnam, just southeast of Ho Chi Minh City. Nitori employs around 2,200 people across all of its Vietnamese locations and generates annual sales of US$ 19.5 million.
“Penetron Vietnam was part of the initial phase of construction of the Nitori Furniture Factory in 2017,” adds Kim Khanh Ngo Xuan, CEO & Managing Director of Penetron Vietnam. “Our crystalline waterproofing solution was used to treat the facility’s below-grade concrete structures.”
For the second phase of expansion of Nitori’s fabric production facility in Ba Ria, the contractor asked Penetron Vietnam for a concrete waterproofing solution to address both the high water table encountered at the construction site and the aggressive chemical environment of the new wastewater treatment plant.
Field Proven Solution for Concrete
“At first, the engineers at Kajima Vietnam considered competitive solutions for concrete waterproofing,” explains Kim Khanh Ngo Xuan. “Thanks to the success of many previous projects Penetron has done with the Kajima team, we were asked to provide an alternative solution – which was approved.”
Applied by brush or spray to concrete surfaces from the positive or negative side, PENETRON is used for waterproofing and chemical protection of concrete at both above and below-grade levels.
Resistance to Chemical Attack
“Due to the corrosive environment created by the nature of the effluent and chemicals used to treat the effluent at the Nitori wastewater treatment plant, PENETRON’s ability to resist chemical attack was a key factor in the client’s choice to ensure a durable concrete structure,” adds Kim Khanh Ngo Xuan. “About 9,000 m2 of concrete was treated with a PENETRON coating.”
Once applied to a prepared concrete surface, the proprietary chemicals in Penetron crystalline products react to moisture in a catalytic reaction to generate a non-soluble crystalline formation throughout the pores and capillary tracts of the concrete. These crystals permanently seal micro-cracks, pores, and capillaries against the penetration of water or liquids from any direction – making the concrete impermeable. Impermeable concrete is not only waterproof, it stops the penetration of harmful elements into the concrete, which mitigates corrosion and provides enhanced concrete durability and overall service life of the structure.
Permanent protection: Brushed or sprayed on concrete surfaces from the positive or negative side, PENETRON is used for waterproofing and chemical protection of concrete.
Customer’s choice: PENETRON enables the Nitori wastewater treatment plant to withstand a corrosive environment of effluent and chemicals – ensuring a durable concrete structure.
