Nick Paris Leads Concrete Color Technology

It's not very often you meet someone with a background in marketing and advertising who's also adept at computer programming. In fact, it's almost an enigma. But for Nick Paris, Vice President-Marketing of Davis Colors, it's a way of life.

Paris joined Davis Colors by way of marriage after several years in advertising, but he says it makes perfect sense that he's both a marketer and a programmer for the company. "In marketing you always find yourself on the front line of new products...when I think of something I can actually go and do it--come up with an idea and walk into the plant and make it happen," he explains. "And since we were creating new things, and I knew a few things about computers, I just dug my feet in and started programming."

Both Paris and the company are very passionate about technology and Paris says he believes it's important that technology be used to enhance capabilities. "We use technically-advanced ideas to make jobs easier—to take as much human error out of jobs as possible. We're trying to make our products easier for the end-user," Paris says.

Those products include the Concrete Palette ™, the first computer-visualizing software tool that turns custom concrete colors viewed on a computer monitor into colors cast in concrete. With the ever-growing popularity of stamped concrete, the Concrete Palette gives a designer more color options for their stamped concrete or decorative concrete projects.

With the Concrete Palette, designers can view a "virtual sample tile" and then see what the color looks like in different sample paving or architectural concrete project photos. Designers can even enlarge photos to see the impact of small color changes using the "color tuner" button. After selecting a color, designers can request a sample concrete swatch or order a custom-made concrete tile sample by clicking the "Get Sample" button.

The Concrete Palette is specifically calibrated to work together with Davis Colors' Chameleon™ Ready-Mix Color Metering System and Hydrotint® liquid color pigments. The Chameleon system combines liquid color metering technology with the computing power of standard PC and the versatility of Windows® -based operating software. The Chameleon is efficient, accurate and easy-to-use for weighing, blending and conveying colors into a ready-mix truck.

The company also runs the ConcreteConnection, a concrete-related listing site with categories including accessories, additives, architects, colorants, contractors, materials, products, ready mix, services, tools and equipment.

As for how the team at Davis Colors dreams up these great ideas, Paris says the Concrete Palette came about after watching how a company in Germany developed concrete chips and made color samples for every color combination. "We took that idea and applied it to the video screen," he says.

As for the Chameleon, Paris says it was largely driven by customers. "We supply automatic color systems for color pavers and block, and it was natural to make a color system for ready mix," he explains.

"There are many components that were proven and had been in use in the industry, and we married those with technology," he adds. Paris says each new idea typically has a couple of prototypes that are tested in the plant before the final version is released for widespread use.

Paris is equally passionate about both technology and concrete. He says that he's both captivated and intrigued by concrete, adding, "It goes from something that's liquid to hard as rock, it's molded by hand yet sets to be permanent for a lifetime."

Paris sees concrete as a permanent fixture in building. "The industry in general will consume more concrete (because) it's environmentally renewable...as the expense of wood increases, concrete's permanence and benefits will make it even more popular to use," he says.

And Paris wants to be a big part of that, adding, "We're hopeful that the part we play will expand. We want to increase concrete's uses; we want to make it better."

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