Concrete seems to have the image of being bulky, large and immovable.

It's the key ingredient of the most titanic structures in the world — towering skyscrapers, monuments and river dams.

But the building material is as versatile as steel and even wood, and it can be used to create intricate designs and beautiful facades.

"The limits are your imagination and what can be shipped on a truck," said High Concrete's positioning manager, David Nicholas. "The beauty of pre-cast concrete is it's highly plastic. You can make any size, shape or finish."

High Concrete's vice president of operations, Mark Aho, aptly describes his product as "giant tinker toys."

To build on those advantages, High Concrete has been taking steps recently to make the product more environmentally friendly.

Most of High Concrete's business involves making prefabricated concrete parts. In the construction of parking garages, the company builds a part they call a "double-T," which is essentially a long flat slab of concrete with two bottom prongs. The "double-T" is a basic building block for the company's parking garages.

High Concrete's headquarters is in Denver, Pa., but the company has established operations in Illinois, Ohio and New Jersey.

Currently, the company has been contracted to construct a seven-story parking garage for Lancaster Newspapers Inc., on the first block of South Prince Street, and is working on a garage for Lancaster General Hospital.

Concrete is the most commonly used building material in the world. In 2005, about 6 billion cubic meters of concrete was made worldwide.

Although about 70 percent of High Concrete's projects are parking garages, the company has branched out in recent years to do other projects as well.

So far, it has netted contracts for building parts of Citi Field, the new New York Mets stadium, in Flushing, N.Y., and the new Meadowlands stadium for the New York Giants.

Gone green
Although one of concrete's main ingredients, cement, is blamed for higher rates of carbon-dioxide emissions than produced by the aviation industry, High Concrete is trying to go green in an effort to make long-term cost and material reductions.

Cement accounts for about 5 percent of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. The material generally composes about 10 percent of a concrete mix.

But High executives say they've begun to use substitutes such as slag, ash and other recyclable materials.

"We're moving away from using as much cement," said Quality Assurance Manager Paul Ramsburg.

While cement is still a necessary ingredient, it can be used less when other materials are substituted.

"When used in conjunction with cement, they can produce better results," he said. "Sustainability makes more sense."

In addition to using more environmentally friendly material, the company has also began participating in the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.

As part of its participation, High Concrete has trained 40 of its employees for LEED-certification, which entails being knowledgeable about green building materials and more environmentally safe building techniques.

"General awareness is causing developers to pay more attention to LEED," Aho said, adding that now many government contracts mandate LEED-trained builders.

"The government has adopted LEED, and it's becoming more and more a requirement in projects," Nicholas said.

Part of High Concrete's efforts to recycle lies in its water reclamation program.

Waste left over in concrete mixers is filtered through large diatomaceous earth filters, something similar to a large swimming pool filter, said Kirby Wiest, High Concrete's area manager.

About 15,000 gallons of water are saved from the process daily, Wiest said. Although the process provides a good amount of water for making new concrete, the company still needs to draw supply from local wells.

The company has invested about $750,000 into the water program.

"We do believe we'll get a payback on it," Aho said.

Building for the future
Executives at High Concrete say there are many challenges ahead for them in their business.

"You don't want to be all the way out on the bleeding edge, but at least close to it," said Aho of the company's environmental policies. "It's a feel-good thing, but it's also protecting the 'long-termability' of the business."

Aho said supplies of natural sand and other basic ingredients in concrete are becoming scarce, especially water.

"Water and natural sand [are] running out," Ramsburg said.

In some instances, local governments will bar the use of concrete out of concern that natural water sources will be strained.

"As a business, it's not impossible to think there will be a time when a township just says 'no,' " Aho said.

Despite shortages, Aho said there are many opportunities for further growth.

In addition to its local ventures, the company is embarking on its largest parking garage project yet, a 12-story, $81-million structure with a capacity to park more than 7,500 cars at a casino owned by Revel Entertainment in Atlantic City, N.J.

"Pre-cast concrete has been a growth industry," Aho said. "We want to keep spreading out in terms of geography."

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Paul Franz is a Sunday News staff writer. Contact him at pfranz@lnpnews.com or at 295-5063.