First-Up™ is a proprietary, ready-mix concrete engineered to deliver accelerated early strength so you can strip forms sooner and keep construction moving. Different formulations allow you to match early strength performance to your schedule for industrial, commercial, and residential projects while still meeting demanding specifications.
First-Up™ is designed to reach approximately 75 percent of the specified 28-day strength within the first 24, 36, 48, or 72 hours, enabling earlier form removal and earlier loading than conventional concrete. This accelerated strength gain can cut days or even weeks from project schedules, helping reduce financing costs and bring spaces into revenue-generating use sooner.
Accelerated project schedules with earlier form stripping and construction loading.
Reduced carrying and financing charges due to shorter timelines.
Faster occupancy and income generation from completed structures.
Reliable early strength performance tailored to your required timeframe.
Mixes that conform to applicable CSA and ASTM standards for quality and compliance.
Our CBM Concrete Solutions product line covers a wide range of project needs – from self-consolidating and high-workability flatwork mixes to fibre-reinforced, accelerated strength, extended workability, and durability-focused formulations. All mixes are performance-based and CSA-compliant. Our technical team can also develop custom mix designs for projects with specific structural or environmental requirements.
We work directly with engineers and contractors before the first truck arrives – reviewing exposure class, strength development, pumping distances, and workability windows to build a concrete program around your project, not around a standard product. The Gordie Howe International Bridge, the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, and 141 Bay are examples of that process at work.
Yes. Every customer has access to the same ready mix concrete solutions and quality-controlled mixes that go into our largest builds. Get in touch with your local CBM representative to discuss your requirements.
CBM is proud to be part of Votorantim Cimentos, one of the largest building materials companies in the world. Our VC Way is the operating philosophy that runs across the entire Votorantim Cimentos family – and it shapes how our teams work every day. For our customers, that means decisions made close to the job, clear communication from order to delivery, and accountability that does not stop once the truck leaves the plant. The work we did at Ripley’s Aquarium, the Gordie Howe International Bridge, and other countless projects reflects exactly that – sustained technical collaboration, dependable execution, and a standard of care that holds across the full life of a project.
Strength gain depends on temperature, cement type, and concrete maturity. First-Up™ formulations are optimized to accelerate hydration kinetics without compromising long-term strength or durability. Field performance should always be verified through site-specific maturity testing or cylinder breaks to confirm that form stripping or loading criteria are met under actual curing conditions.
Unlike standard accelerators added at the plant or on-site, First-Up™ is a fully engineered mix where the cement chemistry, admixture dosage, and aggregate proportions are balanced for controlled early hydration. This integrated design delivers predictable strength curves and reduces the risk of flash set, shrinkage cracking, or inconsistent performance between batches—issues that can arise when accelerators are dosed independently
Yes. The accelerated hydration profile makes First-Up™ well-suited for cold-weather placements and precast production cycles, where maintaining schedule is critical. When used at lower ambient temperatures, standard cold-weather concreting practices, such as protecting fresh concrete from rapid heat loss, should still be followed to ensure the intended early-strength performance is achieved.
If you are planning a time-sensitive project, connect with our team to review whether First-Up™ is the right choice for your schedule and specifications.
