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Learning & Development
The annual Workforce Development Committee meeting will take place April 25 - 26 in Chicago. HR professionals as well as those interested in working on industry workforce challenges are encouraged to attend. The meeting will start at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, April 25, followed by a networking dinner. On Wednesday, April 26, there will be a working breakfast and adjournment at noon. Click here to RSVP - you will also find information about meeting place, times and discounted-price hotel information. For those of you who fly into Chicago O’Hare, the hotel/meeting is attached to O’Hare airport, an easy walk from the terminal to the hotel. You can click here to make your hotel reservation. For further information, please e-mail Eileen Dickson at edickson@nrmca.org. NRMCA will be accepting nominations for the 2023 Developing Industry’s Leaders (DIL) program through Monday, May 1. Click here to download the application and further instructions. The DIL program is a premier career development tool. Participants are given the opportunity to advance their strategic-thinking skills and network with peers while being mentored by NRMCA’s senior staff. The DIL agenda differs from other leadership programs in that it exposes 25 selected participants to our industry’s big issues from an all-encompassing, national perspective. Once selected, DILs work over the summer via conference calls and webinars. They are then required to attend ConcreteWorks in Nashville from September 29 - October 3. The group will then continue to work via conference calls over the fall and winter. They will present their findings at the March 2024 NRMCA Annual Convention. During their second year, DILs attend a two-day, networking and leadership workshop facilitated by an executive coach. Finally, once their initial work is over, individuals are asked to make a long-term commitment to move their team’s initiative(s) forward by joining, and attending, the appropriate NRMCA committee’s meetings twice a year as well as participate in annual DIL alumni events. Additionally, they may attend NRMCA’s semi-annual Board Meetings to watch senior level executives deliberate and make both short- and long-term strategic decisions that impact the industry. For further information, contact Eileen Dickson at edickson@nrmca.org. Registration is open for NRMCA’s financial performance education course, Think Like an Owner, scheduled for April 24 - 25 in Nashville, TN. This course is intended to empower participants to understand the drivers of financial performance and improve their management with an eye to profitability of their business center. Participants will learn how to read financial statements, measure performance, examine elements of profit and loss, and think in terms of economic profit. This course is a must-attend for industry participants, from plant managers to company presidents, who want to run their operations profitably. Click here for more information and registration. The staff contact is Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. 
Association & Industry News
The estimated ready mixed concrete produced in December 2022 is 26.9 million cubic yards, 8.8% lower than that in December 2021. The estimated production in the U.S. in 2022 is 404 million cubic yards, approximately 2.4% higher than that in 2021. Fifteen states saw lower production in 2022 compared to 2021. Ready mixed concrete production is estimated from cement shipments reported by the U.S. Geological Survey. More detail, including production by state in 2022, is available for NRMCA members under Production Statistics.
Buildings
 NRMCA Senior Director, Building Innovations, Frank Mruk presented Decarbonizing Concrete Now-Reports from the Field at the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) North East and Mid Atlantic Regional Conference held earlier this month in Jersey City, NJ. He reports the conference was well attended with over 250 architects, specifiers and product reps. During the conference, Mruk was also elected to serve as secretary on the CSI NE Regional Board. The Boston Chapter was well represented at the conference; shown here, from left to right, are Jennie Lamoureux, Robert Blount, Cynie Linton, Tara Ikenouye, AIA, NCARB; Susan Borne, CSI; Bob McEachern, CSI; Heather Gillam, Len Anastasi and Mruk, FAIA, CSI. The Build With Strength program is a leader in supporting concrete promotion in the Northeast. For more information, contact Frank Mruk at fmruk@nrmca.org. The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) recently held its Project Management Training Forum in which nearly 300 members from the Office of Design and Construction advanced their knowledge on topics that included sustainability, resiliency and net zero buildings. Build With Strength Director, Building Innovations, Brandon Wray presented Concrete Decarbonization Strategies: A perspective from the NRMCA, while also participating on a panel discussion titled Sustainability Matters hosted by Hastings Architecture. The event generated great discussions in which Wray helped guide attendees through the benefits of concrete and the importance of collaborating with NRMCA Producer members while also considering a project’s carbon impacts from a wholistic, project-wide perspective. For more information regarding the event, contact Brandon Wray at bwray@nrmca.org. 
Pavement
NRMCA's Pave Ahead program hosted a booth at the NAIOP I.CON West 2023 conference held earlier this month in Long Beach, CA. NAIOP is the professional association representing commercial real estate developers in the U.S.; the meeting attracted a record 1,100 attendees from the commercial real estate sector from throughout the country. NRMCA directors of local paving Greg Halsted, PE, (seen here at left visiting with a NAIOP member) and Don Clem, PE, staffed the booth, meeting with prospective clients from all corners of the country. An assist goes to Senior Vice President, Local Paving, Phil Kresge who developed materials specifically for this event and arranged for their delivery and return. The NRMCA local paving team is following up on leads generated from the show. Click here to review the top 10 industrial insights from I.CON West 2023. For more information, contact Don Clem at dclem@nrmca.org. NRMCA was well represented at the recent 23rd Annual Maryland Concrete Conference, co-hosted by the Maryland Ready Mixed Concrete Association (MRMCA), Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). This year’s conference marked the first time that there were three learning tracks, with Private Sector Pavements added to the agenda, complementing the Public Infrastructure and Mid-Rise Buildings tracks.
Build With Strength Director, Building Innovations, Brandon Wray, recently presented The Top 10 Ways to Reduce Concrete’s Carbon Footprint alongside Lionel Lemay (seen here behind podium, addressing attendees), executive vice president, structures and sustainability, at the recently concluded CONEXPO-CON/AGG Show in Las Vegas. The flagship presentations were well attended with design-build contractors and architects on the opening day of education session. In partnership with the U.S. Resiliency Council’s Evan Reis, Wray also presented Resilience: What Does it Mean for Contractors? in a separate session. This presentation covered the importance of considering resilience in design as was evident in the USRC’s recently published report on the performance of various structural materials. Wray told his attendees that sustainability and resiliency are intricately intertwined with the most sustainable structure being one that you only have to build once and then will withstand the test of time. Both presentations are now available for CONEXPO-CON/AGG attendees here with a show login. For more information regarding the event or presentation slides, contact Brandon Wray at bwray@nrmca.org. 
Engineering
There is still space availalbe for the next NRMCA Concrete Durability Course scheduled for May 16 - 18 at the Tennessee Concrete Association office in Antioch, TN (Nashville area). The course is taught by Kevin Folliard, University of Texas at Austin; Anton Schindler of Auburn University and NRMCA Engineering Staff. The course provides a fundamental understanding of the nature of cement and concrete as they relate to durability of concrete in a wide range of exposures. Topics will cover cracking, alkali-aggregate reactions, sulfate attack, corrosion of reinforcing steel, freeze-thaw durability and other aspects.
Calendar
Please note that e-mail and direct registration links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's website. April 4 - 6, Orlando, FL April 11 - 13, Carmel, IN April 18 - 20, Nashville, TN April 18 - 20, Oklahoma City April 18 - 20, Los Angeles April 24 - 25, Antioch, TN Email: Jeffrey Bowers, 703-706-4835 April 25 - 27, Manchester, NH May 9 - 11, Orlando, FL May 16 - 19, Albany, OR May 16 - 18, Online Course May 16 - 18, Antioch, TN May 23 - 25, Manchester, NH June 6 - 8, Orlando, FL June 20 - 22, Manchester, NH September 29 - October 3, Nashville, TN October 11 - 13, Centennial, CO November 7 - 9, Charlotte, NC November 28 - 30, Orlando, FL December 12 - 15, Orlando, FL 
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