NRMCA Vice President, Local Paving, Phil Kresge recently presented at a Lunch-and-Learn for the Harrisburg, PA, offices of BL Companies, a large architectural/engineering firm with offices throughout parts of the Mid-Atlantic and New England states along with Texas. The presentation, Concrete Specifications for the Real World, was a primer on ready mixed concrete, including an overview of the basics of concrete with a special focus on P2P: Prescriptive to Performance Specification. Kresge was invited to speak as a result of previous contacts with the civil engineering division of the firm.

"Sometimes we’re not as successful as we hope in our initial contacts," Kresge noted. "But we soften the blow by thinking, you never know, they might call us one day. This was one of those ‘you never know’ moments." According to Kresge, in 2014, NRMCA had provided a Design Assistance Program (DAP) pavement recommendation to BL Companies for a large project in the Lehigh Valley. Though unsuccessful in converting the project, the relationship led to this meeting. As a result of this meeting, Kresge reports there is considerable interest within BL Companies to learn more about proper design of concrete, as well as its many benefits, for both pavements and structures.

Historically listed in the Top 500 Design Firms in the country by Engineering News-Record, BL Companies has offices in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. It has provided architectural and civil engineering services for such national clients as FedEx, Home Depot and Costco.