Are CarbonCast High Performance Insulated Wall Panels Right For Your Next Project?

CarbonCast High Performance Insulated Wall Panels are an innovative precast wall system that is lighter, better insulating, sustainable, and more resilient.

By AltusGroup

By using C-GRID carbon fiber grid as a shear connector between the inner and outer wythes of concrete, CarbonCast High Performance Insulated Wall Panels deliver an exterior wall panel with full composite action and continuous insulation.

Thermally Efficient
CarbonCast High Performance Insulated Wall Panels are composed of two concrete wythes separated by continuous insulation. With very low thermal conductivity, the high-strength C-GRID connectors help deliver a sandwich wall panel with insulation values up to R-37 depending on thickness and type of foam insulation.

Continuous insulation helps you meet ASHRAE 90.1 requirements and, more importantly, save energy to heat and cool the building.

Full Composite Action
Extensive research has proven the outstanding load-bearing performance of CarbonCast High Performance Insulated Wall Panels. The C-GRID shear trusses can render a panel with full structural composite action.

For example, a panel with a 4” (102mm) of insulation between two 2” (51mm) concrete wythes will behave structurally as if it were an 8” (203mm) solid panel.

Additional Features and Benefits

  • Energy efficient and lighter in weight. They use less concrete and more insulating foam to reduce energy use and lighten panels - and deliver superior insulation value for enhanced thermal efficiency.

  • Superior at load bearing. Load-bearing vertical panels can eliminate the cost of perimeter columns and increase usable floor space.

  • Dry, mold-free and non-combustible. CarbonCast panels have no voids or cavities where air or water can combine to support mold and mildew growth. The inherent fire resistance of concrete provides additional peace of mind.

  • Designed to deliver comfort. Very little sound is transmitted through the walls, limiting the intrusion of exterior noise. And the lack of cold spots provides a more comfortable environment.

  • Pre-finished on the inside wall. They can be ready for paint or wall covering and are ultra-durable.

  • Code compliant. They’ve received an evaluation report (ESR#2953) from ICC Evaluation Service (ICC-ES).

  • Aesthetically versatile. Select from hundreds of pigments, aggregates, textures, surface treatments, formliners and embedded finished like thin brick, medallions and tiles to meet nearly any design vision. Or create an iconic facade with our exclusive Graphic Concrete imaging technology.

With Gratitude During the Season of Giving

By Stephanie Kohl
Customer Experience Manager

It’s hard to believe Thanksgiving is already here. I have so much to be thankful for.

Thinking back over the past year, the thing I find myself most grateful for is that I am still here on this Earth to be grateful. Right after Thanksgiving 2022, I had a major health scare that could have killed me. Passing out at work and having quick thinking co-workers who got an ambulance on site in minutes probably saved my life. And while my life is mostly back to normal now, I will never forget how close I came to not being here.

And thank God for being here, because my greatest blessing of all and the biggest source of joy in my life, my son, needs me. Just shy of six-years-old, being his mom is both the most rewarding and most exhausting job I’ve ever had. I wouldn’t have it any other way. He is the kindest, sweetest, smartest, funniest, most handsome little boy I know, and he brings me endless happiness. He started kindergarten in the fall and nothing makes me laugh harder than hearing about his day, which usually starts with a “SO,” a couple “literally”s and at least one “O - M - G.” And I’m never more proud than when he speaks with authority about the things he has learned, and asks me “did you know that?”

I am grateful for the health and happiness of my family - my mother and father who offer endless support and help at the drop of a hat; my three brothers, their two wives and one fiancé, my three nephews, and one niece and the fun and laughter we share when we are together; an aunt who is a second mother and friend to me; my 93-year-old grandpa who still mows his own lawn and does his own yardwork; a cousin and her little ones who I don’t see nearly often enough, but fall back into our close childhood bond whenever we are together; and an amazing partner and his four kids, and his extended family, that have welcomed me and my son with open arms to be part of their family.

No list of blessings would be complete without bringing up my best girlfriends, their husbands and children, who add to my life in the best ways. Even though it is nearly impossible for all of us to get together at one time, it is like no time has passed when we do get together. And our phone calls are fantastic. That’s right, phone calls NOT just text messages.

With more than seven years behind me at Mid-States Concrete Industries, I’m grateful for a company that allows me to provide the things my son and I need, as well as opportunities to make fantastic memories. I’m thankful for team members who work hard and genuinely care about each other and our customers. We are lucky enough to get to build some really cool buildings that make a difference in the community. I am grateful for our customers who trust Mid-States to serve as partners on their projects. It is a blessing we don’t take lightly. A BIG THANK YOU to all of our customers - past, present, and future. We can’t wait to see what is up next!

Mid-States Team Member is Also a Squirrel Rehabilitator

Mid-States Concrete’s Field Coordinator Eric Lewis knows more about squirrels than he ever thought he would.

It all started in August 2022, when a bad storm rolled through Loves Park, Illinois and the surrounding areas. After the storm cleared, Eric looked in the backyard and saw two very pink, small animals laying on the ground. Once he went outside to investigate, he discovered the animals were actually baby squirrels. Unfortunately, one of the squirrels landed in a puddle and had drowned. The other was moving around and breathing, but was ice cold. Lewis took that squirrel into the house, put it on a heating pad, and drove to the store for formula and supplies, using Google to figure out what he needed.

He and his wife’s Google searches led them to Lisa’s Little Rescues in Winnebago, which the couple called looking for a home for the squirrel. Unfortunately, the rescue was full and couldn’t offer a space for the four-day old animal. What they did offer was knowledge, experience and resources for raising squirrels, which Eric received when he visited the rescue.

Armed with information, specialty feeding syringes, and determination, Eric took the female squirrel - which the family named Mew - home and prepared to raise it. Similar to raising a newborn, Eric had to feed the squirrel 9-10 times each day for the first couple of weeks, including waking up two times throughout the night for night feedings. His two kids were very much into watching their dad feed and care for the squirrel. And, much like a newborn, baby squirrels can fall ill. In fact, Mew ended up getting an infection at just a couple of weeks old, which required she be put on antibiotics that had to be dispensed multiple times daily.

While hectic to suddenly be raising a squirrel, just as Eric was falling into a routine, Lisa’s Little Rescues called about three weeks into his adventure with a question. They had another female squirrel that needed a home and since squirrels are social animals that raise better together, they asked if Eric would be willing to take on another one - this one about a week older than Mew. His family named her Sandy Cheeks.

”I’ve always been an animal lover,” Eric said. “I’ve always tried to rescue things, mostly unsuccessfully. This time I had the knowledge and resources to do so.”

While the squirrels continued to grow and thrive, coming to work with Eric to ensure their feedings stayed on track, by the time winter came around the squirrels were still too young to be released back into nature. So, the two continued to live in their carrying case at the office, a large cage at home, and eventually in a large pre-release outdoor squirrel cage so they could get used to the outdoors. In January 2023, when we felt a couple weeks of warm weather, Eric put a squirrel box in the tree and the squirrels moved into nature. He continued to watch them in the yard, and continued to feed him.

”Even when I released them, they would run up my legs and race around my torso and would snuggle in my hoodie pocket and hood and eat out of my hand,” Eric said.

In March 2023, Sandy Cheeks left the Lewis’s tree and yard and Mew started acting kind of strange. Eric wasn’t sure why, but solved the mystery in June when he peaked out in the squirrel box and saw four babies that were about six weeks old. Unfortunately, a couple weeks after her babies left the nest, Mew passed away. Eric still has a connection to Mew though. Her babies still come back to his yard. He has watched them grow and occasionally hang out with what Eric suspects is the squirrel dad.

”It’s very rewarding,” Eric said. “I took a four-day old squirrel, raised it, released it into the wild where it thrived and had its own babies.”

Once his squirrels were released into the wild, Eric didn’t anticipate raising any more squirrels, but he did hang on to all of his squirrel-raising supplies. So when Lisa’s Little Rescues called again in September 2023, Eric was ready to go.

On September 12, Eric began raising Ronnie, a roughly five week old male squirrel. Then, on September 13, Eric helped out another squirrel rehabber by squirrel-sitting his four squirrels while he was out-of-town. He watched them for about nine days, spending four-to-five hours each day caring for the five squirrels. When the squirrel rehabber Eric was squirrel sitting for returned home, he left his youngest male squirrel with Eric, as he was close in age to Ronnie. They named him Coop because he was found in a chicken coop. These two will be released back into the wild in mid-November.

Of the four squirrels Eric has raised, Mew definitely has a special place in his heart. She was always sweet, would eat out of his had, was very laid back, and greeted Eric every morning by running down the tree and up his leg.

Sandy Cheeks is kind of the exact opposite of Mew, but still very sweet. She is a wanderer and free spirit. Eric hasn’t spotted her in the backyard since March.

Ronnie, while still growing, is very sweet, loves to sniff, and is very interested in what is going on.

And Coop, also still growing, is a little bit more standoffish and more skittish.

While Eric has no plans to raise more squirrels after the November release of Ronnie and Coop, he’ll still be holding on to his supplies and his phone is always on.