The founding history and the success of PCT are based on the daily hardship of a property developer. In the end, it was always the screed that caused headaches and endless discussions in the last third of the construction period. Ralf Waiblinger (the property developer mentioned above) could no longer accept this situation after more than ten years. Thanks to his expertise from his chemistry studies, a wealth of specialist literature and his unwavering determination, in 2001 he laid the groundwork for today's product range.

Mr Waiblinger, please tell us about the time when the idea of developing our own accelerator was born.

"Even while I was studying chemistry, it was clear to me from my work in the real estate industry that it would ultimately be the construction site rather than the laboratory. During my studies, I bought my first plot of land and built an apartment block there. From 1992 to 2006, we built flats and terraced houses as a property developer and general contractor. Time and again, it was the screed that jeopardised everything just before completion. Either the installation was carried out incorrectly or the screed was usually not dry at the required time. The cement screed was unpredictable in terms of drying time and if a site manager opted for an anhydrite screed, it was usually a complete disaster, because then it was not possible to "seal it off" with a resin. This meant that all we could do for the time being was wait. And we're not talking about a few days here, but several weeks.

It is important to know that every property developer gives a notarised guarantee of completion and must therefore deliver on day X. If he cannot do this, it will be expensive and the work will have been in vain in economic terms.

The time and costs involved were nerve-wracking and regularly gave rise to explosive discussions. Like everyone else, I regularly used existing products on the market, but unfortunately none of them worked reliably!"

As a result, it can be said that the screed trade decides whether a construction site wins or loses, and that about 8 weeks before the building is ready for occupancy.

Screed is a trade based on usage; if the strength or readiness for covering is not reached, that's it, with the use of the property."

And so you decided in favour of an in-house development? 

"Yes. In 2001, I decided from the emotional strain that I could definitely do better. I set up a laboratory in our administration building at the time and regularly carried out experiments after work. My experiments often went on late into the night, and the next morning I was back on our construction sites early. I needed many approaches, and there were often months between attempts if the new approach was not successful."

Do you remember which test it was in the end?

"Test 1,182 ultimately delivered a successful approach as "background noise". That was in 2003. It took another two years before we launched the first product on the market in 2005, Retanol® 511."  

Did you ever doubt that the product would not be successful?

"No, the test results were unambiguous. It was clear to me that the product would hit the construction industry like a bomb. The real challenge was the organisation of sales and the rapid and comprehensive market penetration."