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Association & Industry News
In today’s competitive marketplace even a small investment can lead to a big return through NRMCA’s targeted Sponsorship Program. Sponsoring NRMCA’s events, contest, surveys and more should be your company’s first choice for the most efficient ROI. With over 6,000 members and partners in the ready mixed concrete industry that rely on its training and education programs, NRMCA is a powerful force throughout the U.S. Click here to examine the numerous opportunities for reaching key buying influencers in the industry, including for NRMCA’s 2025 Annual Convention, ConcreteWorks 2025 and the National Mixer Driver Championship. Regardless of your budget, you’ll find options that can deliver to a powerful, receptive audience at an affordable cost. Sponsorship opportunities are limited and sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Please read the sponsorship guide to be a part of a precisely targeted media program that reaches the people you need to reach – your customers. It all adds up to a great investment with a great return. For more information, contact Jacques Jenkins at jjenkins@nrmca.org or 703-706-4865. 
Global climate tech accelerator Third Derivative's new Industrial Innovation Cohorts initiative will assemble a group of startups to decarbonize the cement and concrete industries. Companies working on innovative products to help decarbonate cement and concrete are encouraged to apply for support. Participating startups will gain access to:
Applications are being accepted through November 8; help spread the word and encourage all eligible startups to apply. Interested in getting involved? The Industrial Innovation Cohorts is bringing together the world's leading companies committed to driving real change to join our ecosystem. Cement and concrete companies interested in working with innovative startups to help bring these products to market are encouraged to inquire about partnership opportunities. For more information, contact Lionel Lemay at llemay@nrmca.org.
The Concrete Industry Management (CIM) program is seeking donations for its 2025 CIM Auction to be held at World of Concrete on Wednesday, January 22, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The silent auction will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the live auction begins at 1 p.m. “The proceeds from the 2025 CIM Auction will benefit the CIM National Steering Committee (NSC) and support the current CIM programs at Middle Tennessee State University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Texas State University, California State University – Chico, South Dakota State University, and the Executive MBA program, as well as help fund scholarships,” said Ben Robuck, chairman of the CIM Auction Committee. CIM Marketing Committee Chairman Brian Gallagher said the 2024 auction raised more than $1.8 million in gross revenue. Last year’s auction items included two concrete mixer trucks, a concrete pump, a laser screed and more. Other donated items included cement, fly ash, aggregate, concrete saws, drills, safety equipment, training sessions, reference books and software subscriptions, sports travel packages and golf and vacation travel packages. Those interested in donating to the auction should contact CIM Auction Committee Chairman Ben Robuck at ben.robuck@cemex.com or 404-456-6867. For more information about the CIM program, contact Brian Gallagher. 
NRMCA Member News
NRMCA Associate Member CarbonCure Technologies has announced a savings of more than 500,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) to date across 7.5 million truckloads of CarbonCure concrete. The company injects captured CO₂ into fresh concrete where it immediately mineralizes, becomes permanently stored and enables producers to use less cement while maintaining their concrete’s compressive strength. “Surpassing 500,000 metric tons of CO₂ savings illustrates the real progress CarbonCure has made in addressing the embodied carbon challenge of our built environment, forecast to double by 2060, equivalent to building a new New York City every month,” said CarbonCure Board chair Lisa Bate. “Corporations and governments are all seeking scalable solutions for lower carbon building materials, especially in the high growth data center and infrastructure segments. CarbonCure is meeting that demand and helping to pave the way for our net zero future.” Half a million metric tons of CO₂ saved is equivalent to the carbon annually sequestered by 583,000 acres of middle-aged forestland – a forest that would cover roughly half of Grand Canyon National Park. It’s also equivalent to removing 119,000 gas-powered cars from the road for a year. For more information, contact Daniel Beskar at info@carboncure.com. 
Buildings
NRMCA Concrete Innovations Learning Center brings practitioners, researchers and policy makers together to exchange the latest innovations for sustainable concrete design, construction and manufacturing. The awards program recognizes outstanding achievements in concrete performance and sustainability. By becoming a sponsor for the Learning Center (webinars and LIVE events) and award program you will enhance your visibility and demonstrate your dedication to concrete innovation and sustainability. Your organization will be promoted in event marketing materials, website, e-mails and social media. NEW CONCRETE INNOVATIONS LIVE will bring the same great content of the webinars to sites across the U.S. We are planning at least five LIVE events in 2025 and there are four choices of sponsorship:
Click here for additional details and to complete the sponsorship form. For more information, contact Lionel Lemay at llemay@nrmca.org.
On October 18, NRMCA Senior Director, Building Innovations, Frank Mruk, (shown here at left with American Institute of Architects (AIA) Affiliate Director and Alabama Concrete Industries Association Executive Director John Worrell), presented Leveraging the Properties of Concrete in Net Zero Buildings at the 2024 AIA Annual 2024 State Conference in Orange Beach, AL. The Alabama Council of AIA represents a membership of approximately 600 licensed architects, interns and affiliates. Its primary goal is to promote the quality and practice of architecture. Chartered in 1916, the Alabama Council is a non-profit association. The Build With Strength program is a leader in supporting architects and high-performance, energy-efficient concrete buildings. For more information, contact Frank Mruk at fmruk@nrmca.org.
Last week, NRMCA participated in the International Code Council (ICC) 2024 Annual Conference and Expo held in Long Beach, CA. Director, Energy Codes and Standards, Darryl Dixon and Senior Vice President, Codes and Standards, Shamim Rashid-Sumar (seen here with Rashid-Sumar at left) discussed resilience and sustainability in the built environment with conference attendees, showcasing NRMCA’s selection for an EPA grant aimed at reducing embodied greenhouse gases as well as NRMCA’s status and offerings as an ICC Preferred Education Provider. NRMCA’s booth also included information on NRMCA’s Concrete Design Center, 2024 Survey of Insurance Costs and the Carbon Calculator tool. The ICC Annual Conference and Expo brings together building safety professionals, including building and fire code officials, architects, engineers, designers and code experts for education and committee meetings. Following the conference, Rashid-Sumar and Dixon participated in the second round of the ICC’s Group A Committee Action Hearings. NRMCA successfully defended the position of concrete in the International Building Code’s (IBC) fire safety provisions and provided testimony on topics including but not limited to restrained conditions for concrete structural members, fire wall construction and fire testing provisions for concrete. For more information on NRMCA’s codes and standards advocacy activities, contact Shamim Rashid-Sumar at ssumar@nrmca.org.
Lionel Lemay of NRMCA presented EPA Grant and Developing Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) at the Texas Aggregates and Concrete Association (TACA) Environmental, Sustainability and Safety Seminar last week in San Antonio. The seminar included details on meeting environmental regulations and sustainability requirements through life cycle assessment and EPDs. Austin city officials detailed their Buy Clean regulations that will require EPDs and set limits on concrete carbon footprint. Another speaker from structural engineer Walter P Moore provided detail on how the firm is using EPDs to reduce the carbon footprint of concrete structures. Lemay will repeat a similar presentation titled NRMCA's EPA Grant - How Will Concrete Producers Get Reimbursed for Producing EPDs? during a webinar on December 18 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern time. The presentation will be part of NRMCA’s Concrete Innovations webinar series. Click here to register or visit www.ConcreteInnovations.com for more details. For more information, contact Lionel Lemay at llemay@nrmca.org.
Last week, Build With Strength (BWS) hosted industry influencers at a roundtable event titled Oregon Celebrating Concrete’s Future & 200 Years of Portland Cement held under the shadow of the famous Spruce Goose at the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville to commemorate the 200th anniversary of portland cement. The education summit attracted over 80 local industry specifiers, governmental officials, AEC firms, venture capitalists/investors and contractors/end users interested in learning how NRMCA, Build With Strength and Pave Ahead are bringing low carbon concrete to market and what the future holds. McMinnville native and mayor Remy Drabkin was the keynote speaker, reports NRMCA Senior Director, Building Innovations, Patrick Matsche (seen here, from left to right, are Matsche, Drabkin and John Mead of Solid Carbon). Build With Strength’s industry partners included Wilsonville Concrete Products, Solid Carbon, HolcimUS, the Oregon Concrete and Aggregates Producers Association, Northwest Cement Council, CRSI, Euclid Chemical and the Portland Seed Fund. Innovative materials being brought to market were highlighted by Heidelberg Materials, Solid Carbon, Colorado School of Mines, Euclid Chemical, HolcimUS, and Shelterworks, LTD. A reenactment of the October 21, 1824, King George IV issuance of the patent for portland cement was provided by a local theater troupe. Matsche also thanked NRMCA members Knife River and CHR America for additional event support. BWS is recognized as a leading industry advocate, spearheading the effort to reduce and eliminate embodied carbon in buildings, roads and infrastructure. The Oregon event represents NRMCA’s ongoing efforts to build safe, sustainable and resilient communities across America. BWS is also a leader in supporting structural engineers, architects, end users and specifiers in achieving low carbon, high-performance concrete. For more information, contact Patrick Matsche at pmatsche@nrmca.org or 415-672-5275. 
Recently, NRMCA Senior Vice President, Learning and Development, Jeannette Munroe and Senior Director, Building Innovations, Patrick Matsche toured the training center of Associate member Knifer River located in Albany, OR. Munroe and Matsche credited Knife River's Dan Abbott, learning services director, and Training Coordinator Hope Koch for an "amazing" day. "The training center truly is a facility like no other," Matsche said. "The 80,000 square foot dome, the training rooms, classroom/conference rooms, “Sim Town,” outdoor dirt arenas and event center is a must see. The design of the facility, the training and learning programs are creative, interactive and inspiring. Knife River’s leadership and commitment to its employees, the industry and communities it serves through sustainable and resilient construction practices is a prime example of the industry partners needed by Build With Strength in order to engage with industry stakeholders." Matsche and Munroe also thanked Scott Perrine, Tony Spilde, Melissa Verwest, Shaun Snow and Brian Gray for making the day possible. Without the support and collaboration of organizations such as Knife River Corp. Build With Strength's efforts to educate and promote concrete's benefits and sustainability in the built environment would not possible. (Seen here, left to right, are Dan Abbott, Jeannette Munroe, Hope Koch, Will Crowe, Shaun Snow and Scott Perrine.) Due to the generous support of the ready mixed concrete industry, Build With Strength is spearheading the effort to reduce and eliminate embodied carbon in buildings, roads and infrastructure. The Build With Strength platform is a leader in supporting structural engineers, architects, end users and specifiers in achieving low carbon, high-performance concrete. For more information, contact Patrick Matsche at pmatsche@nrmca.org or 415-672-5275. 
Pavement
NRMCA Senior Director, Local Paving, Greg Halsted recently participated in a Low Carbon Concrete Initiative meeting with officials from Portland, OR. This meeting came about through the efforts of the Northwest Cement Council (NCC) Executive Director Diane Warner to continue discussions between the city and the cement and concrete industry regarding the current state and future direction of Portland's recommendations for concrete embodied carbon thresholds and how to implement strategies to reduce the carbon intensity of concrete used on city projects. Portland Sustainable Procurement Program Manager Cary Watters noted that discussions between the city and industry had slowed over the past couple of years and asked those in attendance (eight from the city and seven from industry) their thoughts on joint interaction moving forward. Halsted presented an overview of the current state of NRMCA’s Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) program and how the recently received $9.6 million grant by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would increase both the quantity and quality of ready mixed concrete EPDs by providing monetary assistance to producers to create EPDs. This overview kicked off a lively and productive discussion regarding new concrete mixes with Type IL cement; higher percentages of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), ternary concrete mixes and how these should be implemented. Joining Halsted and NCC at the meeting were representatives from NRMCA members Knife River, Wilsonville Concrete Products, Euclid Chemical Company, CalPortland and Heidelberg Materials. The consensus from the group was that it would be a great idea to “get the band back together” and continue discussions on a more regular basis, Halsted said. 
Learning & Development
NRMCA prioritizes the continued development of the concrete industry’s skilled workforce of dispatchers. To this effect, the Association encourages members to consider registering for the Dispatcher Course offered in November. This training event is an ideal educational offering for dispatchers looking to improve their own competencies and for companies looking to improve their customer support and logistical capacities. Because dispatchers who are new to their roles may not have had many opportunities for formal training due to the demanding and time-sensitive nature of their daily work routines, this course provides learners with a chance to develop a complete understanding of the fundamentals of dispatching. Additionally, experienced dispatchers will benefit greatly from the small class sizes and interaction with expert instructor Ron M. Robertson, director of customer success in North America, for NRMCA Associate member Command Alkon, Inc. The subject matter of this course includes best practices for managing and scheduling orders; strategies for effective communication with clients and ready mix professionals and other topics such as compliance with industry standards and regulations. This training session will be held in Dallas on November 21 - 22. Click here to learn more or register for this course. Calendar
Please note that links for more information and registration for each entry can be accessed here. November 20 - 22, Oklahoma City November 21 - 22, Dallas December 3 - 5, Orlando, FL *Sold Out December 10 - 12, Denver 2025 January 28 - 31, Albuquerque, NM February 11 - 13, Antioch, TN *Sold Out March 4 - 7, Tucson, AZ March 18 - 20, Denver March 18 - 21, Oklahoma City April 8 - 11, Orlando, FL October 10 - 14, Orlando, FL 
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