Reid’s new ReidBar™ TX Coupler, an advanced mechanical splice system, is promising to deliver improved installation times and constructibility while adhering to some of the nation’s strictest specifications, transforming delivery for bridge projects of all sizes.
The development of the ReidBar™ TX Coupler signals a strengthening of current services for the civil market from one of the industry’s biggest manufacturers of concrete lifting, reinforcing and fastening systems nationwide.
Reid has a proud history of servicing the civil infrastructure space, but until recent times, the majority of its services had been geared towards the commercial space, a footprint that remains firm to this day.
With specification changes bringing about an era of change in the infrastructure market, Reid looked to maximise an opportunity that it spotted in the market.
That was, a system that could improve on current solutions for inclusion in upcoming bridge and transport infrastructure projects.
“There was a period not so long ago where a lot of government funding went into civil infrastructure projects. During the COVID pandemic, commercial projects slowed slightly, but there was a real push into infrastructure. We saw that as a growth area and a clear opportunity for our business,” says Glen Taylor, Product Manager, ANZ, Reid.
With that opportunity came the acknowledgement that an evolution was required, necessitated by changes to the way that bridge projects were being delivered, as well as the nature of the components themselves.
As Brent Mills, Project Manager – Reid explains.
“Bridge projects are definitely evolving. We’re seeing bigger precast segments, more bars, bigger bars, just more reinforcement overall. That drives a need for heavier connections,” he says.
The ReidBar is Reid’s solution to this conundrum. A fully threaded reinforcing bar system, the ReidBar is designed around mechanical reinforcement connections, using couplers and engineered fittings instead of traditional lap splices to provide strong, reliable structural connections in both commercial and civil infrastructure.
A key differentiator of the system is that the ReidBar is supplied directly from the mill ‘coupler‑ready’, meaning it’s manufactured specifically to accept connection systems without needing extra processing, such as cutting or rolling threads onto the bar ends.
This approach avoids altering the material properties of the reinforcing steel, which is normally an area of concern for engineers.
Because the bar’s original properties remain intact, contractors can rely on the specified strength and performance of the steel, an important feature in demanding applications such as large bridge segments that include heavy reinforcement and complex connections.
The ReidBar also forms the backbone of the company’s reinforcement range.
“This range for Reid is all about reinforcement connections,” Taylor says. “We have a really strong offering in headed anchorage and core connections in commercial buildings, and we focus on using couplers and mechanical connections instead of lap splices.
“We’re seeing a lot of ‘super Ts’ in precast bridge manufacture, and that’s a big part of where we play. We already do a lot with precast across the Reid brand, so this was a natural area we needed to expand into.”
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Performance validated
To ensure a high level of performance, Reid undergoes a thorough testing process for each of its products, surpassing the requirements set out to achieve and satisfy national specifications.
As Taylor explains, testing on the ReidBar was no different.
“We put the system through the full ISO 15835 testing regime, which includes high cycle fatigue, low cycle fatigue, specified yield strength testing and more,” he says.
“Where we really see our strength is in high cycle fatigue. We run the system through two million push pull cycles to simulate vibration and fatigue in the connection.
“When you think about bridges – big open structures constantly seeing vibration from trucks, trains and wind – those cycles of movement are critical. At the joints and connections between large, stiff concrete elements, you really need that fatigue performance. That’s exactly what this testing is for.”
As well as ISO compliance, the product has been explicitly developed to satisfy the requirements of major state road authorities, particularly Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria, whose specifications drive practice nationally.
Transparency around testing and specification satisfaction also extends to Reid’s delivery process, with customers given access to essential information to not only stay in the loop but also aid final installation.
“Because it’s a fully threaded bar, we can turn it around relatively quickly, instead of having to get a bar, rework it and then put couplers on,” Mills says.
“We have a dedicated team that prepares the take-off, does the shop drawings and issues everything to the contractor for approval and ordering. From the customer’s point of view, it’s a seamless process.
“Everything has batch numbers and traceability from factory to installation. They know which bars go where, which assemblies go where – down to a few millimetres in some cases.”
Reid also utilises its vast and long-standing relationships with industry to spur innovation, incorporating feedback from the industry to drive potential product innovations.
Just one example was common occurrences of bars being misaligned when other systems in the market were deployed.
Reid addressed this with an internal stiffener plate in a recent product release to maintain alignment and reduce rework.
“For us, the best feedback is repeat business. If we do a good job from top to bottom, customers come back,” Mills says. “Reid has always made a high quality, engineered product that’s well recognised amongst the industry.”
This article was originally published in the May edition of our magazine. To read the magazine, click here
