Each year NRMCA Associate member St. Mary’s Cement holds its Concrete School at its Detroit plant, an intensive 4-day concrete training school where customers learn about cement and concrete technology. From cementitious materials to mix designs, to understanding testing methods, the course is extensive and well run, reports NRMCA Senior Director, National Resources, Doug O'Neill. This is the 51st year St. Mary's Cement has been offering this course to its customers and due to the higher than normal interest this year, it is holding the school in January and February. St. Mary's Technical Services Manager Bruce Moroz  and his colleagues invite experts from around the industry each year to present on the different topics covered at the school. They continue to see a very high approval rating among the attendees.

O’Neill has been a presenter at the school for the last three years, speaking on the environmental aspects of concrete. "The story of concrete’s sustainability is an exciting story of a material that offers durability and resilience. The attributes of concrete meet or exceed the criteria for what constitutes a green material, but the fact is, many in our industry and certainly outside our industry don’t realize the significant benefits associated with constructing with concrete," O’Neill said. "This seminar puts things into perspective and highlights our industry’s biggest strengths."

For more information, contact Doug O'Neill at doneill@nrmca.org.