ReddiForm, Inc. was founded in 1990 to develop, manufacture and market the patented ReddiForm insulated concrete form wall system. ReddiForm is an expanded polystyrene stay-in-place concrete form used to build insulated concrete foundations and walls.

ReddiForm has been approved by BOCA, ICBO, FHA, HUD, Oregon DOE, and is engineered to meet or exceed building codes of SBCCI and CMHC. ReddiForm obtained Dade County approvals, which contain the most stringent hurricane requirements in the country. (ReddiForm passed the Dade County impact test in which eight 2x4's were fired at an eight foot ReddiForm wall. There was no penetration nor significant damage to the wall.)

Ron Ardres, President of ReddiForm, Inc. demonstrates stay-in-place, insulating concrete form systems to a capacity crowd at the World of Concrete in Las Vegas.

Our Chairman, Industry Expert

Ron Ardres Sr. started his own contracting company and began framing houses in northern New Jersey in 1961. By the early 1970’s, he began working for D.I.C. Construction, which, at that time, was the largest concrete form constructor in the United States. With D.I.C., Ron helped build multiple high-rise apartment buildings in New York City and such landmark structures as the World Trade Center, Lincoln Center and the Columbia Presbyterian and Yeshiva Medical Centers. Ron was promoted to foreman, then superintendent with D.I.C. and eventually moved on to constructing schools with Thomas Construction.

On the side, Ron continued to take independent projects and always kept his eye on new building technology. He was the first builder in New Jersey to use floor trusses and he constructed his first full development in 1982.
But a certain project in the late 80’s made Ron realize that ICFs represented the future of construction. He was contracted to build a support wall for a steep embankment, directly next to a one-lane road. The road could not be closed and the customer simply couldn’t afford the cost of the one-sided form that the job would require.

Ron mentioned that he had been reading about a new concept in the industry that promised to be less expensive, easier to construct and just as sturdy as traditional concrete walls. The customer was willing to try the new approach and Ron contacted a company in San Jose that was making the first expanded polystyrene (EPS) concrete forms. Their product was available in Delaware, where Ron picked it up.

In one day, Ron and another man put up a 100 ft. long wall of varying height, with steps. The next day they filled it with concrete. Ron was amazed at the quickness and adaptability of the product, and was impressed that the project’s cost was more than 30% less than it would have been using traditional methods. Ron saw the future of building. He knew that ICFs would revolutionize the industry.

Ron soon began developing his own form, based on simplicity and durability, while reducing waste. His breakthrough, and one of the elements that continues to make ReddiForm the leader in ICF construction, was his groundbreaking interlocking system and corner design. Using hard-earned concrete knowledge, Ron created the first ICF corner form. His visionary curved core design allows concrete to flow within the ReddiForm ICF, using 30% less concrete, while maintaining the strength of a conventional concrete wall. Ron patented his design in 1990 and, with his revolutionary product, started ReddiForm, Inc.

Like all cutting-edge inventions, people were hesitant to believe in this new wave of construction. Ron, who knew the structural soundness of ICFs through experience, and has since obtained all major Building Code approvals for Reddi Form and the product has undergone the most stringent testing in the industry. To date Reddi Form has been utilized in over a thousand projects worldwide to construct buildings, walls and homes that have withstood the test of time (and even hurricanes).
Recognizing great potential for industry growth, the Portland Cement Association (PCA) did extensive testing on ICF construction in the mid-90’s. Impressed with the results, PCA supported the creation of the Insulated Concrete Form Association, which ReddiForm founded with four other companies in 1995.

Ron Ardres Sr. sat as Chairman of the Board of ICFA for its first three years, immediately dealing with executives from CertainTeed, Owens Corning and LaFarge, as well as several other major industry manufacturers who recognized the significance of ICFs. He has since helped the PCA develop its Prescriptive Methods manual for ICF construction and has even sat on the president’s council for PATH, which expedites the process of certifying safe new materials for use in construction.

Ron’s status as an industry expert is undeniable. He maintains a passion for taking on diverse projects and fulfilling his customer’s needs in a faster, cheaper and better way. As he likes to put it, “At ReddiForm, we can do more for less.”