History of Decon
Prior to the introduction of Decon® Studrails®, stirrups were often used to enhance the punching shear capacity. However, testing has shown measurable anchorage slip at bends, reducing their effectiveness in thin-slab construction. As a result of anchorage slippage, the full capacity of the stirrups cannot be utilized in thin slabs. Each rebar stirrup cage takes several man-hours to fabricate and install, a significant factor in project scheduling and costs. Stirrup installations congest the slab-column connection, adding significant complications to the placement of longitudinal reinforcement and P/T tendons, hampering utility installations and driving up overall construction costs.
Other methods of enhancing the punching shear capacity included column capitals, I-beam shearheads, increasing the concrete strength in the slab, increasing the slab thickness, or increasing the column cross-section. Each of these methods had its inherent problems such as cost, labour time for installation, and/or violating architectural constraints.
Two professors at the University of Calgary, Dr. Amin Ghali and Dr. Walter Dilger, began testing in the 1970’s to find an efficient, economical and simple solution to enhance punching shear. This research led to the development of Studrails®. As you will learn as you continue through this website, Studrails® are a much superior solution than all of the previous methods.
Decon® was established in 1989 as a partnership between two firms with a vision: Continental Studwelding Ltd and Deha Ankersysteme GMBH & Co. KG. Continental Studwelding is the leading Canadian manufacturer and distributor of stud welding equipment and fasteners. Deha is a manufacturer of many specially engineered construction products including Studrails®, Detan Tension Rods, lifting anchors, and rebar couplers.
The premise behind the founding of Decon® was to combine the specialties of these two established firms to revolutionize the North American construction industry through the introduction of Studrails®. The combination of Deha’s experience with Studrails® in several European countries and Continental’s experience with studwelding led to a natural marriage for this unified goal. The goal was to simplify the design and construction of slab-column connections in flat plate construction.
Manufacturing and engineering support was set up in the Continental plant in Brampton, ON, Canada. A sales office was set up in York, PA. This office was subsequently moved to Medford, NJ in 1990.
In 1993, Decon changed from a Partnership to a privately held, stand alone North American operational entity. Significant growth has occurred since this date due to acceptance and promotion of Studrails by several of the largest, well-respected engineering and contracting firms across Canada and the United States.
In 2000, we opened sales offices in Fort Myers, FL and Ontario, CA.
In 2004, two new product lines were added; Quake-Tie, which is a tie-down system for multi-story wood frame buildings for bracing against earthquake and high winds, and MacAlloy Tension Rods.
Presently, our offices are located in Sonoma, CA, Palm Harbor, FL, Beaufort, SC, Medford, NJ, and Brampton, Ontario, Canada.
News
Decon® Studrails® featured in American Architectural Review:
Collavino Construction Co. used Decon® Studrails® for The Borgata Resort and Spa in Atlantic City, NJ. The Borgata is one of the larger projects under construction in the USA having a budget of $1 billion. To see this clip, click here.
Contact a Decon Sales Representative Today
E-mail: sales@decon.ca
Phone: (866) DECON-US