During World Tunnel Congress Dubai UAE, Ruben Schmid, CEO of Rascor International, one of the pioneers in waterproofing talks to GineersNow TV about their latest technologies, product innovations and 2018 tunneling industry expectations.
About The Leader
Ruben Schmid was born on May 20 1972 in Switzerland. He has a family with two boys in primary school level. After his ordinary school, he made and advanced certificate of business administration with a strong focus on accounts. Nevertheless since he can remember, he spent a lot of time on construction site with his father. So after his initial Army career, when he was 20 years old he joined his father’s company, RASCOR, in 1992 and started in the accounts department. Later, he changed into the administration of the contracting division.
During the years 1994/1995, Ruben spent totally one year in the US for studying english as a foreign language. Two years later, he started in the marketing department. Meanwhile he started to take over some international sales activities. His dedication to marketing led him to register himself in 1999 for a four year eduction of a master’s degree in marketing. After the successful termination of this master, he was responsible for the entire marketing of the RASCOR group and international sales.
In 2011, Ruben was appointed for CEO of the RASCOR group.
About Rascor International
RASCOR was founded in 1965 as a contracting company offering remedial waterproofing service for leaking basements. As the existing products on the market at that time did not satisfy the demand of quality of the waterproofing, my father started to investigate for alternative solutions. So it happened that RASCOR invented the very first 2-component resin injection material in the waterproofing business. That resin was an acrylic based material with the capability of swelling once the liquid resin turned into a solid material (polymerization process). That innovation opened new fields in waterproofing so that RASCOR soon was seen as THE specialist in waterproofing. Today RASCOR is in control of the second generation.
With the expansion of the group into international business in the early 1970’s the idea was born to offer a preventive solution of waterproofing. To push this idea RASCOR established an own engineering company for planning preventive waterproofing concepts. It was a complete change in the market as contractors did not have to deal with leakages once they finished their projects as a standard practice. It was self speaking of the success that set in once the clients have realized their benefit.
In the mid 1980’s we have further more established the preventive waterproofing concept. It was the time when RASCOR first offered an complete waterproofing package for the dryness of an entire basemet with a lump sum fee. It was and still is called RASCOtank. Over the years the technical details have been continuously adjusted and enhanced. Especially the RASCOtec Injection System got a real boost in 1990’s.
Even when the market got more and more saturated by competition there is still enough room for further development. So RASCOR has been regularly innovating new injection materials. One of our key factor of success is that RASCOR is capable to produce efficiently project specific formulations. The reduction of environmental impact of any resin is a permanent motivator to seek for new possibilities.
Over more than 53 years RASCOR has waterproofed several ten thousands projects from a small basement of a villa up to a few hundred thousand square meters footprint projects. We have been working in the tunneling and mining industry as well as in hydropower plants including dams and centralized heating plants. RASCOR has faced water pressure of up to 60 bar, thermal water ingress of more than 70 degrees centigrade or exposed to Siberian winter during waterproofing work.
