Englisch BHS, Maturatraining mit Audio-CD

30 Reading Getting a start-up on a roll Read the text about a young company called Concrete Canvas. First decide whether the statements (1–7) are true (T) or false (F) and put a cross ( ) in the correct box. Then identify the sentence in the text which supports your decision. Write the first four words of this sentence in the spaces provided. There may be more than one answer; write down only one. The first one (0) has been done for you. 11 Getting a start-up on a roll A bright idea alone isn’t going to build a sustain- able company, as Peter Brewin knows all too well. A decade ago he and Will Crawford invented a new kind of concrete that would allow in£atable shelters to be easily transported and rapidly installed for disaster relief, refugee camps and war zones. Concrete Canvas was born during the couple’s time as students at the Royal College of Art, where they developed their invention. e shelters were based on an in£atable inner core surround- ed by a concrete material that hardens when water is applied. Coming up with this brand new type of concrete material was a lengthy process. To begin with, they experimented with the plaster-based composite used in the bandages that help to mend broken bones, before moving on to concrete. e material they –nally settled on is robust, light- weight, waterproof, –reproof and ready to use within 24 hours. It took the inventors more than two and a half years to re–ne it and develop a reliable manufacturing process. e idea won awards, investment and admiring press coverage all over the world – but not sales. ey had a ‘chicken and egg’ problem getting their venture, Concrete Canvas, o† the ground. To get the sales volume they needed, they had to bring the price down, and to do that they needed much bigger sales volumes. It is very diŒcult to win big contracts as a small business. Eventually, when there was still no break- through in sales, Messrs Brewin and Crawford realised that they needed to abandon the idea of relying on the sale of the in£atable shelters. Concrete Canvas switched its attentions to selling the same material on a roll, which made laying concrete as easy as ‘unrolling a carpet.’ Brewin claims that it is ten times faster than using normal concrete and that you need only 10% of the volume of the material to get the same result. eir breakthrough –nally came with a deal to supply Network Rail with the concrete rolls. “With railways you are in inaccessible places and work has to be done quickly because you don’t want to close the section of the track,” explains Mr Brewin. “A pallet-load of Concrete Canvas will go as far as two mixer lorries full of tradi- tional concrete. A typical job will be completed in under an hour instead of a day and a half.” Network Rail were amazed when they were shown the product. Being faster and simpler was a good reason for them to take a risk on the new technology. Since then the company has won orders from the construction, environmental, energy and mining sectors and is one of Britain’s fastest growing private manufacturers. Exports to 40 countries account for 80% of its £6 million turnover. e original in£atable shelters represent only 2% of sales, but Mr Brewin says they remain a ‘neglected’ opportunity. “We would like to return to the idea or license it. It is a viable product that has been side-lined. But you can’t have two product lines or you fall between two stools. As a fast growing company we need to focus.” Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv