When you hear about someone building a canoe or a boat out of concrete, what is the first word that comes to mind? That is right, Innovation! Did you know that there are yearly competitions to see who can build the best concrete canoe?

The Concrete Canoe Competition is designed to provide civil engineering students with an opportunity to gain hands-on, practical experience and leadership skills by working with concrete mix designs and project management. Organizers, sponsors, and participants are dedicated to building awareness of concrete technology and application and the versatility and durability of concrete as a construction material among civil engineering students, educators, practitioners, the concrete industry, and the general public. They also strive to increase awareness among industry leaders, opinion makers and the general public of civil engineering as a dynamic and innovative profession essential to society.

We were thrilled and ecstatic when a team from the University of Florida asked for our help to supply them with the materials they needed to develop and build their concrete canoe to enter the 2021 competition.

As part of our donation, we provided the team with white portland cement. They were able to create a strong cementitious blend and create a beautiful light color in their final product that also helped them stand out from their competition. Most excitingly of all, the University of Florida team was able to win the competition! They were so thankful for our help in supporting them during this completion.

“Thank you so much for all the support and material donations that you have both provided to the UF Concrete Canoe Team!  I am sure you have heard, but we were the 2021 National Concrete Canoe Champions!  Our theme, “Polligator,” focused on highlighting the importance of pollinators, and thus, a big focus of our team throughout the year was on sustainability. Thanks to Argos’s generous donation of white portland cement, we were able to create a strong cementitious blend that was light in color.  As one of the only teams in the National Competition to utilize white portland cement, we were very grateful to have the privilege of getting to experiment with a premium product.”

Way to go, University of Florida Concrete Canoe Team!

Want to learn more about the team’s project? Review their technical proposal here!