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Association & Industry News
The estimated ready mixed concrete produced in February 2018 is 21.4 million cubic yards, 3.6% lower than that in February 2017. The estimated production in the U.S. through February is 42.5 million cubic yards, 0.8% higher than that during the same period in 2017. Ready mixed concrete production is estimated from cement shipments reported by the U.S. Geological Survey. Members can access details here. NRMCA is looking for good men and women to serve on the Board of Directors. While serving on the Board requires both commitment and energy, it is a rewarding opportunity to give back to the industry. NRMCA represents a broad range of ready mixed concrete companies across the United States and our success is a direct result of the skills and expertise of our professional staff working in conjunction with our Board members. Director nominees must be committed to promoting NRMCA programs and working in the best interest of its membership and the industry at large. The Board provides strategic direction, fiduciary oversight and governance of the organization’s operations. Nominees are vetted by the Nominating Committee, which consists of the current chairman, immediate past chairman and past chairmen of the Board for the previous seven years who are still active in the industry. The selected slate of nominees is then presented to, and elected by, the general membership and will serve a three-year term that begins immediately following the Annual Convention in 2019. Please click here for more information that includes links to a list of current Board members, Board job description and nomination form. Nominations are due by Friday, July 20. You may also contact Heather Houck at hhouck@nrmca.org for more information. 
Engineering
About 180 attendees from state agencies and industry convened at the Spring National Concrete Consortium (NCC) meeting in Coeur d’Alene, ID, this past week. The NCC is a national forum for concrete pavement research and technology transfer initiatives and is supported through a FHWA Pooled Fund TPF-5(159). There are 33 participating state highway agencies. The primary theme of this meeting was on performance-engineered mixtures for concrete pavements with updates from the National Concrete Pavement Technology Center, the FHWA mobile trailer, FHWA and its Turner Fairbanks Research Center. Implementation initiatives by Michigan and Idaho were reported. Jason Weiss of Oregon State University discussed the evolution of new test methods for transport properties of concrete and resistance to freezing and thawing. Tyler Ley of Oklahoma State University presented research on a new method to measure water-cement ratio of concrete and on factors to consider for formwork removal. Other presentations included practices for latex modified concrete overlays in North Carolina and Missouri; reclaiming fly ash from legacy ponds by a burn-out process; alternative cementitious materials; fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforcement and various other state reports. The group ended the meeting with a technical tour of concrete pavement project at Lookout Pass-Montana state line. Presentations from this meeting will be posted here as are those from previous meetings. For more information, contact Colin Lobo at clobo@nrmca.org. The annual Professors’ Workshop organized by the Portland Cement Association and co-sponsored by several industry groups is scheduled for July 23 - 27 at the PCA Campus in Skokie, IL. The event is designed to provide faculty in engineering, architecture and construction management programs the tools to teach the latest developments in concrete design, construction and materials. The week-long event includes networking opportunities to facilitate exchange of ideas with professors from participating universities, software demonstrations and to collect classroom resource materials. Space is limited. A nominal registration fee is charged to cover expenses. Local groups are encouraged to sponsor professors from local universities to ensure that the latest knowledge on concrete is transferred to students. Click here for more information. NRMCA is offering its information-packed, one-day course, Handling Concrete Specifications, Low Strength Problems and Mixture Submittals, intended for concrete producers, contractors, engineers and testing labs on Wednesday, May 23 in Bozeman, MT, in association with the Montana Contractors Association. The course will discuss the latest changes to the code and specification requirements (ACI 318, 301, ASTM C94) governing ready mixed concrete. This course will address many topics, including answering the following questions:
Course instructors are Luke Snell, P.E., FACI, FASCE, Western Technologies and Karthik Obla, Ph.D., P.E., NRMCA vice president, technical services. Producers, contractors, engineers and testing labs will find the discussions on investigating low strength problems and specifications very helpful to address issues that impact partnering, project cost and schedule. Upon successful completion of the course, attendees will earn 8 professional development hours, a certificate of completion and credits toward NRMCA’s STEPS program. Click here for more information, registration options and staff contacts. SEO
Due to industry demand, NRMCA will hold an extra Plant Manager Certification class June 26-29 in Nashville, TN. Registration is not yet open, but NRMCA is taking a list of interested people. Once the details are set, we will contact those on the waiting list to register. The only other remaining Plant Manager Certification class in 2018 will be December 11-14 in Austin; registration is open for it. To place a name on the June Plant Manager Certification waiting list, send your request to meetings@nrmca.org. For more information, contact Karen Bean at kbean@nrmca.org. NRMCA’s Annual Safety Award acknowledges the significant contribution that safety work practices gives to the growth and success of individual companies and the ready mixed concrete industry as a whole. The NRMCA Annual Safety Award is presented to an individual or company whose actions represent the very highest in the advancement of safety in the ready mixed concrete industry. The award program is generously sponsored by the Truck Mixer Manufacturers Bureau (TMMB). 
NRMCA’s Commitment to Environmental Excellence Awards competition offers producers national recognition for outstanding contributions to protecting the environment and maintaining sound management practice in their operations. The program salutes companies that have not only met, but surpassed governmental compliance measures and demonstrated a commitment to environmental excellence through plant and staff investment. Any NRMCA member company producing ready mixed concrete from a fixed plant location in the U.S., its territories or Canada is eligible to enter. Awards will be determined upon individual plant merits. Winning entrants will be honored at the Awards Luncheon at NRMCA‘s ConcreteWorks this October in Washington, DC. Winners will also be featured in a 2018 edition of NRMCA’s Concrete InFocus magazine as well as Concrete Products magazine. Entries and photos must be e-mailed to Gary Mullings at gmullings@nrmca.org by Friday, July 27. Click here for more information, to download an entry form and staff contact. 
October 9 – 12, Silver Spring, MD October 17, Las Vegas, NV | Registration Information Forthcoming November 5 – 9, Silver Spring, MD November 13, Lansing, MI | Registration Information Forthcoming December 4 – 6, Silver Spring, MD December 11 – 14, Austin, TX 2019 January 15 – 17, Silver Spring, MD January 22 – 24, Kissimmee, FL March 19 – 21, Silver Spring, MD Learning & Development
It’s that time of the year again when NRMCA asks your help to find the appropriate person in your company to fill out the annual Mixer Driver Recruitment & Retention Survey. If you are not a producer, please forward the survey link to your clients. Please note: • All responses are confidential and anonymous; • Survey data collection is May 1 - June 30; and • To enhance data accuracy, if your company works in multiple regions, please complete one survey per region. Click here to begin the survey. The report will be released this fall at ConcreteWorks.Thanks in advance for helping our industry gain a better insight about current mixer driver workforce issues. Calendar
*Please note that e-mail and direct links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's Web site. May 10, Webinar May 15, Grapevine, TX (Open to former Developing Industy Leader Participants) May 17, Charlotte, NC May 22 – 24, Dallas May 23, Bozeman, MT August 21, Birmingham, AL | Registration Information Forthcoming Summer/Fall, Cheyenne/Casper, WY | Registration Information Forthcoming September 6, Phoenix | Registration Information Forthcoming Fall, Uncasville, CT | Registration Information Forthcoming Fall, Kansas City, KS | Registration Information Forthcoming
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