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Buildings
NRMCA, through its Build With Strength and Pave Ahead initiatives, is seeking nominations for the 2025 Concrete Innovations Awards. The award program recognizes outstanding achievement in concrete design and construction. Innovative projects are awarded for outstanding performance while lowering environmental impacts, including embodied and operational carbon footprint. Buildings and infrastructure projects substantially designed and built using concrete in the United States in the last five years are eligible. Projects must demonstrate improved performance and sustainability. An NRMCA member company must have been involved in supplying products or services to the project. Areas of excellence include advanced quality control, innovative cements, supplementary cementitious materials, admixtures, aggregates, recycling methods, carbon capture and sequestration technologies, measurement tools or innovative designs that improve performance and sustainability. Nominations are being accepted through Friday, January 31. Click here for more information and the nomination form. The staff contact is Lionel Lemay at llemay@nrmca.org or 847-922-7995. On January 9, NRMCA Senior Director, Building Innovations, Frank Mruk joined RMI Partners and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Environmental Group Manager Lindsay Byron for an informative webinar on RISE PA Industrial Decarbonization Grant application best practices, with a focus on the cement and concrete sector. RISE PA is a $396 million Pennsylvania statewide industrial decarbonization grant program funded through the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The webinar covered key steps in the grant process such as strategies for creating a strong application and meeting requirements; tips for incorporating community engagement and insights to making a project stand out. Whether you represent a small, medium or large facility, the webinar provided information to ensure firms understand the detailed grant requirements and how to effectively position a project for success. RMI can provide direct support on applications; contact bskinner@rmi.org if you have questions or are interested in pro bono assistance. Webinar slides are available here.
The Oregon Concrete & Aggregate Producers Association (OCAPA) 2025 Winter Workshop was held recently in Salem, OR, reports NRMCA Senior Director, Building Innovations, Patrick Matsche who attended the event. The workshop allowed OCAPA members to learn about a variety of issues affecting the ready mix industry, including the state of Oregon’s economy and upcoming legislative priorities to updates from key state and federal agencies.
NRMCA Senior Director, Building Innovations, Brandon Wray, continued Build With Strength’s (BWS) charge to bring resilient and sustainable concrete to the forefront of the design community in the shape of various meetings and lunch and learns to influential designers in the Southern California market. In the wake of the immeasurably disastrous Los Angeles fires, the message of resiliency and building back better is timely and necessary, Wray said. To support these efforts and maintain BWS’s position as trusted subject matter experts, Wray met with various designer stakeholders, most notably Langan, Arquitectonica and JCE Engineering (Wray is seen here, standing, during a presentation with Arquitectonica). Across these meetings, the message was the same: low carbon concrete and performance-based specifications are not only an opportunity, but a necessity that can result in a significant return on investment for all types of projects and firms. Navigating this topic can seem daunting at times, but NRMCA’s coalition of experts maintains the resources and expertise to build with strength. For questions regarding promotion in California, contact Brandon Wray at bwray@nmrca.org. 
The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), put into law in 1986, requires industries to report on the “storage, use and releases of hazardous chemicals (and materials) to federal, state, and local governments.” This specific reporting requirement under EPCRA is commonly referred to as Community Right-to-Know (CRTK) reporting, Tier II reporting and/or Section 311/312 reporting. The reporting deadline is Saturday, March 1. Click here to learn more about EPCRA, chemical/material thresholds and how to report. The NRMCA contact is Kevin Walgenbach. 
SEO
Remember, starting February 1 employers need to display their OSHA 300A log where employees have access to it. The summary log needs to stay posted until April 30. Click here for more information on OSHA recordkeeping requirements; here to access OSHA 300A forms and instructions, and here for more information on required electronic submissions by March 2. The NRMCA staff contact is Kevin Walgenbach. 
Don't miss your chance to become a sponsor at the CONCRETEPAC Hollywood Under the Stars Dinner & Auction taking place March 6 in Tucson, AZ, in conjunction with NRMCA’s Annual Convention. This high-profile event provides a fantastic opportunity to showcase your brand to the industry's key decision-makers. The event consistently sells out, so act fast. Sponsorship Options are:
We are in need of auction item donations. Does your company have:
I can help create unique vacation packages tailored to your vision and budget. For more information on sponsorship opportunities, click here or sign up online. For more information, contact Heather Houck.
Pavement
NRMCA Senior Director, Local Paving, Greg Halsted has announced the completion of a major revision to the ACI document titled ACI PRC-327-24, Roller-Compacted Concrete Pavements – Guide. Extensive edits and rewrites by the ACI 327 RCC committee were necessary to update the document, as the last version was published in 2015. The guide provides owner-agencies, contractors, materials suppliers and others with a thorough introduction to RCC and its many paving applications.
Association & Industry News
The Concrete Advancement Foundation (CAF) has released a new report, Comparison of Cost & Energy Performance: Houses Built with ICF vs. Wood-Framed Houses. Conducted by Drs. Somik Ghosh and Ben Bigelow of the University of Oklahoma, the study examined five homes in a single Oklahoma neighborhood, focusing on material costs, installation and energy efficiency. The research highlights the need for alternative construction methods due to labor shortages and emphasizes benefits like energy savings and storm resilience in tornado-prone areas. This study provides valuable insights into the potential benefits of Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF) homes over conventional wood-framed houses. This research was funded by the Concrete Advancement Foundation. To learn more about the Foundation’s work, visit www.concreteadvancement.org or contact Julie Garbini at jgarbini@concreteadvancement.org. 
This week, NRMCA joined nearly 250 business groups in urging Congress to make the 20 percent deduction for pass-through entities permanent. A key part of the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act, the 199A small business deduction is critical to maintain a level playing field for pass-through entities which do not benefit from the reduction in the corporate tax rate and are instead taxed at personal rates. Read the letter here. The 199A small business deduction has been a key part of NRMCA’s tax advocacy and will continue to be a provision that NRMCA urges Congress to make permanent, along with preserving the higher thresholds for (or even eliminating) the estate tax; restoring the TCJA’s bonus depreciation schedule; and maintaining the research and development tax credit. If you are interested in engaging or weighing in specifically on tax policy, please consider joining NRMCA’s Tax Policy Task Force. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. Government Affairs
On Tuesday, January 21, NRMCA hosted a Meet and Greet for freshman Rep. Gabe Evans (R-CO-8). During the 2024 election, NRMCA hosted several events for Rep. Evans, including an event last October at NRMCA’s ConcreteWorks 2024 in Aurora, CO, attended by more than a dozen NRMCA members. Rep. Evans was seated with the 119th Congress on January 3 and was appointed to the prestigious Energy and Commerce Committee, a rare appointment for a freshman member of the House of Representatives. NRMCA, along with representatives from the Portland Cement Association, National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association, National Asphalt Pavement Association and several energy stakeholders, discussed a broad range of issues, including the use of alternative fuels at cement plants, the availability of supplemental cementitious materials, and issues related to the Clean Air Act and permitting. NRMCA previously hosted Meet and Greets for Reps. Dave Taylor (OH-2) and Tony Wied (WI-8). The Association is pleased to welcome Rep. Evans, and looks forward to working with him and his team on important issues facing the ready mixed concrete industry. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. 
Learning & Development
NRMCA’s Workforce Development Committee (WDC) convened virtually last Wednesday, January 15, with over 50 stakeholders in attendance. Members of the committee considered issues pertaining to career and leadership development, HR best practices and functional job certification programs. The committee continues to prioritize robust educational programs and the preparation of critical segments of the industry, such as mixer drivers, for success and growth.
Calendar
*Please click here to access Your 2025 NRMCA Course Calendar March 4 - 7, Tucson, AZ October 10 - 14, Orlando, FL |
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