A new Buddhist temple, under construction in Chounbri province in Thailand, is a showcase of structures built to last. The builders aim at the longest possible service life, in an effort to fulfill the local community's wish to have the temple serve over a thousand years.

To achieve the goal, the most critical concrete structures are built with duplex stainless steel reinforcement bar from Outokumpu. On scheduled project conclusion in 2012, the temple will be complete with the integral parts of a Buddhist temple, the bell shaped Chedi and the main hall.

The project's engineering team chose stainless rebar, rather than traditional carbon steel rebar, for the groundwork and the super structure of the Chedi, as stainless can meet the requirement for longevity. On the recommendation of Outokumpu's stainless rebar specialists, the team chose lean duplex LDX 2101® as the rebar grade. Duplex LDX 2101®, a proprietary stainless steel grade from Outokumpu, proved to be the best match for the project in terms of both required corrosion resistance and cost optimization.

In addition to technical advice, the project has enjoyed good support and a high level of service from Outokumpu to overcome many complexities.

Mr Nick Tan, Outokumpu's Singapore based specialist for the construction industry, explains that the rebar delivery involved more than 90 different diameter and length combinations, numbers in excess of 22,300 pieces, a very tight length tolerance, and an exacting delivery schedule. He said that "Nevertheless, our Rebar Finishing team achieved 100% on time delivery."

Duplex LDX 2101® is gaining growing popularity in concrete reinforcement built to last. One example is the major Gateway Bridge in Brisbane, Australia: LDX 2101® rebar is embedded in the most critical sections of this bridge, which is designed to serve for 300 years.