POLYCAST® was the first US designed and produced polymer concrete trench drain channel. Originally, polymer concrete technology came from Europe.  In the construction industry, polymer concrete channels were introduced as a time and labor saving “leave in trench form”. This new technology was distinctly European and was sold in one meter channel lengths. POLYCAST® channels, on the other hand, were sold in “good old” 4 foot sections which made it more acceptable in the marketplace.

POLYCAST® trench drain has been around since the late 1970’s. A construction company out of Fargo, ND developed the first POLYCAST® channels. They grew the business for a few years and eventually sold it to Shell Oil in the early 1980’s. At that time Shell was busy buying up all the polymer concrete business in North America in hopes to consolidate all the small operations into a large polymer concrete plant. After gathering a few processes, they began marketing the under the company called Quazite.

Once the price of oil fell to $12 per barrel, Shell sold the Quazite business to John Tickle, then acting president of Quazite. He changed the name from Quazite to Strongwell. The Quazite brand continued to represent the encloser business that had been developed under his direction. Mr. Tickle was successful at growing the POLYCAST® and Quazite product lines. In 2006, Hubbell Power Systems purchased the polymer concrete business from Strongwell and continued to expand the polymer concrete product offering to the construction industry.

Currently, Hubbell is the largest manufacturer of polymer concrete in the US. Their polymer concrete plant is located in Lenoir City, TN. Besides the POLYCAST® trench drain product line, they continue to make the Quazite boxes which are used in the underground utilities market.

Trench Drain Systems is one of the largest stocking distributors in the United States for POLYCAST® products and offers a wide selection of grating and accessories available beyond the standard OEM offering.