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Praksys S.A., a subsidiary of Sidenor, was established in 2004 to develop, market and oversee the implementation of new technologies in the field of structural and concrete reinforcing steel. The company’s employees consist of specialised civil engineers that are involved in a wide range of activities:

 Market research to develop new technologies

  • Conceptual machinery design
  • Development of complete software packages (in-house and with external sub-contractors)
  • Operations coordination and optimization
  • Technical marketing and sales
  • Knowledge transfer to foreign markets

The Company combines its civil engineering experience, knowledge of the construction market, machinery design skills, plant operation experience and IT expertise to provide support to the Group’s products and downstream operations.

Praksys’ principal fields of research are into hollow structural sections and the industrial prefabrication of concrete reinforcing steel. The company initialised the latter in 2004 and identified Italian manufacturer AWM (now a steel group subsidiary) as an optimum partner. Praksys and AWM have since worked together to develop various versions of automatic prefabrication systems. The latest technology, patented under the Greek name Synthesis™, was an immediate success in the Greek reinforcing steel market following its launch in 2010. To further exploit the complexity and extensive options offered by this unique technology, Praksys went on to develop the Synthesis™ software package. Synthesis™ products, branded as Sidefor Plus in Greece, won the 2013 Award for Technological Excellence in the Made in Greece Awards, organized by the Greek Marketing Academy in November 2013.

In light of the success achieved in Greece, Praksys commenced global promotion of Synthesis™, aiming to sell or co-exploit the technology. After three commercial deals in Singapore, Praksys entered the Australian market, developing a business plan that ultimately led to Sidenor forming a joint venture with Thiess (a subsidiary of Leighton Holdings), one of the largest and most reputable construction companies in Australia. The newly-formed company is called SmartReo and provides prefabricated reinforcing steel for the Australian market utilizing Synthesis™ in a high-tech facility situated in Brisbane, QLD.

Praksys is currently evaluating more opportunities for Synthesis™ throughout the world and has also embarked on a new innovative project related to a special heavy-duty bending machine.