NRMCA Celebrates 100 Years of Ready Mixed Concrete in the U.S.

NRMCA's celebration of the 100th anniversary of ready mixed concrete in the U.S. begins its May offerings with the histories of two more of the Association's Producer and Associate members - see below for their respective Web site links. This week's industry milestone: In 1918, the slump test we are all familiar with, measuring the consistency of concrete, was developed in California.

To have your company featured in this space in the coming weeks, please contact NRMCA's Kathleen Carr Smith at kcarrsmith@nrmca.org or 301-587-1400, ext. 1145.

Bard Materials - In 1946, Bill Mescher and Art Thier borrowed $10,000 for an end loader to excavate sand and gravel in Dyersville, IA, and the Dyersville Sand and Gravel Company is founded. In 1952, the company expands the sand and gravel business to include ready mixed concrete, including the purchase of its first ready mix truck. In 1971, the company's new locations begin adopting the name BARD Concrete. BARD is an acronym for Bill, Art, Roger and Dennis. And in 2009, BARD Concrete, Glendenning Ready Mix and Limestone, Kowalski-Kieler, GA Watson are combined and rebranded into the name BARD Materials. Read more.

Putzmeister America - In 1958, Karl Schlecht founded the company KS-Maschinenbau for building plastering machines. A few years later, a new name - Putzmeister - was first used to note master plastering. The company entered the concrete pumping market in the mid-1960's, with its first concrete pump with water hydraulics introduced in 1967. Read more.