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Pavement
NRMCA Senior Director, Local Paving, Ken Justice was a recent guest of the Concrete Council of St. Louis at its 2017 Municipal Pavements Seminar, sponsored by CRD & Associates, Inc. and Concrete Strategies. The seminar concentrated on local issues, including Alkali Carbonate Reactive (ACR), a rare cousin of the more common ASR, as well as Missouri Department of Transportation - MODOT’s update on aggregate acceptance and its alternate bidding and life cycle cost procedures for pavement selection. In addition, the municipalities in the region have formed the Eastern Missouri Pavement Consortium, where concrete mix designs, as well as aggregate sources, can be submitted for approval to one entity instead of to each municipality. This consortium will have standard specifications that can be used throughout the region, regardless of municipality boundary lines.
For more information, contact Ken Justice at kjustice@nrmca.org.
NRMCA’s Promoter of the Year – Pavements Award is presented for outstanding contributions in support of concrete promotion; this year Dave Gray, market manager for Producer member GCC Ready Mix has won the award. Mr. Gray has been in the cement and concrete industry for 26 years and with GCC Ready Mix since 2006. His first assignment with GCC focused on specialty products and he embraced it with enthusiasm, noted NRMCA Vice President, Local Paving, Phil Kresge. Gray's experimentation with special mix designs for expansive cement and rapid setting cement products resulted in an ACI Award for Innovation in Mix Designs.
During last month's World of Concrete expo in Las Vegas, the NRMCA/ASCC Joint Paving Committee met for 1.5 hours, lead by committee Chairman Paul Albanelli of Albanelli Contractors, Livonia, MI. The committee determined its top priority would be to develop a tool kit for contractors and producers to use in their local markets to promote, sell and install quality concrete parking lots.
Government Affairs
Media articles on Congress, transportation infrastructure, regulation, taxes and other subjects, each of which relate to the ready mixed concrete industry, are updated each week by NRMCA's Government Affairs staff. To access the most recent compilation of articles for February 6 - 10, 2017, please click here.
If you would like to receive this weekly updated link in a separate e-mail, or if you have questions or comments about the roundup, contact NRMCA’s Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is expected to begin confirmation hearings on Thursday, February 16, for Andy Puzder, President Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Labor. Mr. Puzder, CEO of CKE Restaurants, which owns Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr., has a solid track record as being a job creator, employing 75,000 workers through CKE Restaurants. Mr. Puzder has also been an outspoken critic of government regulation and a great advocate for the importance of the federal government getting out of the way to let private enterprise create jobs. When the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued their joint-employer ruling, Mr. Puzder took to the opinion page of The Wall Street Journal to criticize the NLRB decision.
Last week, NRMCA’s Government Affairs team hosted its first Webinar of 2017, discussing the outlook for the first year of the 115th Congress and President Trump’s term and how they could impact the ready mixed concrete industry. The Webinar looked at some of the biggest issues facing the ready mixed concrete industry, including the Supreme Court nominee, regulations and legislative proposals.
Buildings
Last week, the Payson, AZ, Town Council unanimously voted to adopt the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) fire code, which would impact construction of new homes and landscaping of existing homes. Citing government intrusion into individual rights, the previous Council thought the WUI code was too "heavy-handed" in telling residents how to manage their property. Rim Country residents live in an area ripe for a forest fire thanks to dense, dry forests, tons of dead fuels on every acre, hot summers and the second highest frequency of lightning strikes in the contiguous U.S.
Fox Blocks, one of several Insulating Concrete Form (ICF) manufacturers across North America, has joined the Insulating Concrete Forms Manufacturers Association (ICFMA) this month. That makes it the sixth primary member of the ICFMA, joining Nudura Corporation, Logix Insulated Concrete Forms Ltd., Quad-Lock Building Systems Ltd., Superform Products Ltd. and BuildBlock Building Systems.
OES
The last NRMCA Plant Manager Certification Class until December will be April 25-28 in Seattle. The class is half full. Do not wait – it should sell out like the previous classes to date. According to NRMCA’s Industry Data Survey, Operations and Production account for approximately 90%+ of producers’ expenses. Therefore, as a producer’s business increases, it is critical that plant operators are at the top of their game when it comes to efficiency and productivity. Whether your operations staff now manages more plants, is new to plant management and batching, or has unplanned down time, the curriculum intensely covers product knowledge, plant safety, environmental regulations, plant operations and ready mixed industry business principles. It’s a must to support your profit margin.
Click here for more information, registration options and staff contact.
Following President Trump’s executive order two weeks ago requiring that any new regulation be offset by repealing "at least two existing regulations," the Public Citizen, Natural Resources Defense Council and Communications Workers of America filed a lawsuit last week against the order. The groups filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia claiming the order "exceeds President Trump’s constitutional authority" and asks for an injunction.
Click here to view the executive order. Click here to view the lawsuit. For more information, contact Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org.
Education & Training
The NRMCA Educational Activities Committee (EAC) invites Association members to attend its next meeting, Saturday, March 4, from noon to 2 p.m. at the Wynn Encore Las Vegas Hotel, in Las Vegas, NV, as part of NRMCA’s 2017 Annual Convention. The main topics will be developing leadership opportunities within the industry as well as revision of the committee’s annual education award.
EAC welcomes your participation and comments. For more information, contact EAC liaison Eileen Dickson at edickson@nrmca.org.
NRMCA's Sales Skills, CCSP IV, is scheduled for March 21 – March 23, in Silver Spring, MD (metropolitan Washington, DC). This innovative three-day course provides a sales framework and toolkit that can immediately adapt to your organization’s strategies to drive revenue. Master the most up-to-date, industry-related, sales fundamentals through ready mix-specific simulations, role plays and case study analyses that include the challenges of selling concrete's sustainability attributes as well as applying tools for pervious and parking lot sales. Get results now: This course is recommended for professionals of all levels, so whether you deal with internal or external customers, these skills will make an immediate impact on your work:
• Volume and Value: Sell both for short and long term results;
• Secrets to Good Relationships: Solve problems and win loyalty;
• Who Calls the Shots?: Find and communicate with decision-makers;
• Role-playing is Serious Business: Learn how practice makes perfect; and
• Close Calls: Overcome obstacles and close the sale.
Click here for more information, registration options and staff contact.
Calendar
*Please note that e-mail and direct links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's Web site.
February 21 - 24, Atlanta *Sold Out
Plant Manager Certification Course
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
February 28, Harrisburg, PA
Improving Concrete Quality
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
March 4 - 6, Las Vegas, NV
Annual Convention
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
March 20 - 22, Atlanta
NRMCA Safety Course
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
March 21 - 23, Silver Spring, MD
CCSP Module IV: Professional Sales Skills
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
April 25 - 28, Seattle
Plant Manager Certification Course
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
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