Some pretty brainy folks can be found at the University of Pennsylvania, especially at the Ivy League's business school. According to three professors at the Wharton School, the outcome of the presidential election will have little effect on the economic outlook. "The notion in the political debate is that if you just do something a little bit differently, things will get much better," said finance professor Franklin Allen. "But it doesn't work like that." 

The Portland Cement Association (PCA) will hold an event in a Joplin, MO, park next month promoting the benefits of building with concrete. PCA's Think Harder — Concrete Ideas for a Safer Joplin from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, October 20, in the park. There is no cost to attend and a free lunch will be served. NRMCA members Monarch Cement Co. and Joplin Concrete Co. will be represented, said Donn Thompson, PCA director of market strategy and positioning for the trade group.

What is Halifax-based CarbonCure Technologies and why is it aiming to shake up the world's concrete industry? Chief Executive and Founder Robert Niven's explanation centers on concrete being responsible for roughly 5% of the world’s greenhouse-gas emissions, making it the second-largest industrial emitter behind coal. Niven says his company can help change that.

Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California are testing whether the cool roof concept could apply to parking lots. They're considering coatings in yellow, blue and green and will collect data over time to see how they fare. However, the researchers also note that concrete lots reduce the heat island effect, too, because of their naturally light color. 

In the June 13 edition of E-NEWS, NRMCA highlighted how persistence paid off for Jim Murray of Rowe Materials. Murray’s tireless efforts with Fredericksburg, VA - based Silver Co. resulted in the inclusion of pervious concrete for the parking areas of its Amelia Square commercial/residential mixed use development. Others may have been satisfied with those results. But not Murray, reports NRMCA Senior National Resource Director Phil Kresge.

Working with his concrete contractor, Matt Cockerham of North Star Foundations, Murray continued to espouse the benefits of concrete pavement to the developer. Applying the pervious concrete thickness guidelines recommended by NRMCA’s Design Assistance Program (DAP) to conventional concrete, Murray and Cockerham were able to convince the developer to include approximately 27,000 square feet of concrete pavement for streets throughout the development. In announcing the change in street design, Murray reports that it will result in an additional 500 cubic yards of concrete for the project. This will be the first all-concrete subdivision project in Virginia since completion of the Winchester development in 1985.

Murray credits his partnering with contractor Cockerham as well as the assistance from the Design Assistance Program. Additionally, the continual support and assistance from Hessam Nabavi and the Virginia Ready-Mixed Concrete Association played a key role.

"This is a perfect example of how important it is to have all the cylinders firing," Kresge said. "Utilizing all the tools available and building partnerships with the contractor resulted in a big win for concrete in general, as well as for Rowe Materials."

"Sometimes it is hard to do this job because it takes so long to make headway, but we have a promotion success in the city of Stevens Point, Wisconsin. It has taken 2-3 years to get them to build a concrete street and patience has paid off," said Kevin McMullen, president of NRMCA state affiliate member Wisconsin Concrete Pavement Association (WCPA).

"The city of Stevens Point had not constructed a concrete street in over 25 years, nor did it have any competitive bids for its asphalt paving the past 10 years, awarding all the work to a single bidder," continued McMullen.

All that has now changed with the efforts of the WCPA working with the mayor of Stevens Point, the city engineer and the director of public works. And the successful conclusion (or beginning as it might be) it is all captured on video about 1.5 minutes into or at Agenda Item #3, reports NRMCA Senior National Resource Director Jon Hansen (note the great comments the mayor makes in the video).

"The mayor, Andrew Halverson, introduced the motion and used the opportunity to praise the concrete bid and publicly commit to building more streets with concrete. Which makes me wonder if Mayor Halverson is someone your city mayor should be talking to if you are having trouble getting concrete SLR in your community," Hansen concluded.

NRMCA has worked with more than half a dozen states in the past year to advance concrete paving for streets and roads. In states starting with small market share it has become evident that gaining support of elected officials can move the process forward much faster than appealing exclusively to transportation department officials (see related E-NEWS item above).

NRMCA has developed a one-page model document for elected officials which makes the key points for concrete paving in simple but powerful terms. Click here to view or download a PDF version of the document which was tailored for North Carolina but can be adapted for use in any state, county or city. In the attached version, NRMCA worked with Bill Arent of the Carolinas Ready Mixed Concrete Association and Jerry Reece of the North Carolina Concrete Paving Association to deliver a summary of the benefits for the state and its citizens that can be realized through elected officials' support and implementation of a balanced paving program in the state. The flyer asks for support for equality in the bidding process and a requirement for Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) among other recommendations and cites MIT research results that confirm concrete sustainability and the concrete value proposition.

NRMCA's September lineup of promotion-focused Webinars comes to a close tomorrow with how and why ACI 330 has come to be known as the gold standard in concrete parking lot design. It's not too late to register, so click on the link below to learn more or contact NRMCA's Jessica Walgenbach at jwalgenbach@nrmca.org.

• Thursday, September 27 - ACI 330 R-08 - The Gold Standard of Concrete Parking Lot Design

The preliminary estimate of ready mixed concrete produced in July 2012 is 27 million cubic yards, 7.6% higher than July 2011. The U.S. ready mixed concrete production through July 2012 is estimated at 163 million cubic yards, 13.8% higher than during the same period in 2011. U.S. ready mixed concrete production is estimated from cement shipments reported by the U.S. Geological Survey. NRMCA members can view additional details here.

The next in our series of online feature stories in the latest issue of NRMCA's quarterly magazine, Concrete InFocus, is Variation in Concrete Performance Due to Testing - Part 11 of the NRMCA Concrete Quality Series. This article - available only online because it's not included in the magazine's most recent print edition - discusses variability due to acceptance testing and methods to improve the quality of acceptance testing, thereby reducing the overall variability of concrete strength. 

NRMCA Miami-based producer member Supermix has acquired Continental Florida Materials' ready mix assets in Southeast Florida. The acquisition took place in August and included Continental's 10 batch plants and 80 mixer trucks. Supermix began in 1989 with two plants and 20 trucks and now operates 14 locations from Fort Pierce, FL, to the Florida Keys, 17 ready mix batch plants, more than 200 mixer trucks, and a masonry concrete block and concrete paver production facility.

Chaney Enterprises recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. The Waldorf, MD-based NRMCA producer member dates to the early 1940’s when Eugene "Babe" Chaney, Sr., began a small contracting firm supplying gravel for Prince George’s County, MD, roads. Today Chaney Enterprises employs 287 staffers across several divisions, operates seven ready mix concrete plants and four sand and gravel facilities. Chaney also owns The Concrete Store (TCS), a 19,000-square-foot, contractor-grade construction materials supply store. It serves Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Charles, Prince George’s, Montgomery and St. Mary’s counties as well as Maryland’s Eastern Shore, metropolitan Washington, DC, Virginia’s Northern Neck and Fredericksburg.

Texas-based NRMCA producer member U.S. Concrete, Inc. announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Ingram Concrete, LLC, acquired certain assets of the ready mix operations of Colorado River Concrete, L.P., Cindy & Robin Concrete, L.P. and E&R Artecona Family Limited Partnership. The acquisition includes four ready mix plants located in Stephenville, Aledo, Glen Rose and Granbury, TX. This acquisition will add to the company's existing Ingram operations in west Texas as well as to its ready mix operations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. With this acquisition, the company has 99 fixed and 12 portable ready mix concrete plants, two precast concrete plants and seven producing aggregates facilities.

The RMC Research & Education Foundation thanks the more than 50 walkers who participated in our Walk for Wellness and the more than 60 walker and event supporters who helped us raise over $5,000 for the walk that took place last week. With their support, we were able to raise funds to benefit the Foundation and increase awareness of both the importance of wellness in life and of the Foundation’s important work. The walk was held the morning of Tuesday, September 18, on a route along the Potomac River in the National Harbor, MD, area where NRMCA’s ConcreteWorks conference was located. Mother Nature’s cooperation in holding off the rain was highly appreciated and all of the walkers enjoyed an invigorating start to the day.

The Foundation particularly thanks walkers Donna Johnson, Lenny Morris and Nicole Maher for their efforts in raising over $1,000 each for their participation in the walk. We also thank BASF Corporation and Allison Transmission for their sponsorship of the event. Thanks again to all those who supported the RMC Research & Education Foundation’s Walk for Wellness!

The NRMCA Concrete Durability Course was attended by 15 industry personnel earlier this month at Association headquarters in Silver Spring, MD. The course was taught by Michael Thomas of the University of New Brunswick, Kevin Folliard, University of Texas at Austin and Colin Lobo, NRMCA staff engineer. The two-day course covered an in-depth look at durability aspects of concrete including shrinkage and cracking, sulfate attack, alkali aggregate reactions, freezing and thawing distress, corrosion and protection strategies and miscellaneous topics. Codes and specifications addressing durability of concrete was covered. For a case study, attendees used the ConcreteWorks software program developed at the University of Texas to develop mixtures for mass concrete and corrosion protection for a 75-year service life.

The course completed with the NRMCA Level 4 certification exam – 11 individuals were successful with 10 being awarded the NRMCA Concrete Technologist Level 4 certification (pre-requisite is having a valid Level 3 certification). Congratulations to Matt Sherman with Simpson, Gumpertz and Heger from the Boston office for achieving 100% on the exam. Course evaluations were generally excellent. 

The NRMCA Research Engineering and Standards (RES) Committee annually selects an individual for the Richard D. Gaynor Award which recognizes dedication and commitment to advance technical initiatives that benefit the ready mixed concrete industry. For 2013 the committee selected Ken Rear for his considerable contributions in forwarding the NRMCA P2P Initiative and for his focus on education for industry members. 

Mr. Rear worked with Heidelberg Technical Center of Lehigh Cement when the P2P Steering Committee was formed in 2002. He co-chaired the committee and directed several of its initiatives. Mr. Rear emphasized the importance of evolving toward performance-based specification within the American Concrete Institute – recognized as an important initiative within the ACI Strategic Development Council; formation of Innovation Task Group 8 which he chaired and facilitated the development of the ITG-8 report; and supported the formation of ACI Technical Committee 329 that will focus on performance requirements for ready mixed concrete. While at Grace Construction Products, Mr. Rear was very active in facilitating educational programs for customers. Mr. Rear is now retired and spends his time between Florida and Maine.

The Alkali-Silica Reactivity Field Identification Handbook is now available from the Federal Highway Administration. This field identification handbook provides guidance in identifying alkali-silica reactivity (ASR) in concrete field structures, such as bridges and pavements. The handbook also provides fundamental information about ASR, including the requirements for ASR to take place and the chemical reaction that leads to the formation of ASR gel. It includes images to assist the reader in identifying ASR in the field under several scenarios, such as the effect of moisture on ASR-affected structures, ASR in combination with other concrete distresses and non-ASR related distresses as well as a  section on managing ASR-affected structures.

Two types of alkali-aggregate reaction are currently recognized; depending on the nature of the reactive mineral, these are ASR and alkali-carbonate reaction. Both types of reaction can result in expansion and cracking of concrete elements, leading to a reduction in the service life of concrete structures.

The popular Annual NRMCA Concrete Technology Training and Certification Program (Short Course) is scheduled for November 5 - 9 at the RMC Research Foundation Education Center in Silver Spring, MD. The course provides a fundamental understanding of concrete, aggregates and concrete making materials; requirements in industry codes and standards, and proportioning concrete mixtures. Attendees have the opportunity to obtain four industry-recognized certifications: ACI Grade I Field Testing Technician, ACI Flatwork Finisher Certification and NRMCA Level 2 and 3 Concrete Technologist certification. These industry certifications are essential for technical service personnel with suppliers of materials to the concrete industry and with concrete producers.

Mixer truck driver Trent Slavens of Frankfort, IN, became the first two-time champion of the NRMCA National Mixer Driver Championship when he earned top honors earlier this month at NRMCA's ConcreteWorks Conference & Expo in National Harbor, MD. Slavens of NRMCA producer member Irving Materials Inc. (IMI) earned the champion’s check of $2,500. He has been driving a ready mixed concrete truck for IMI for 10 years, is an NRMCA Certified Concrete Delivery Professional and currently drives a Terex Advance front discharge mixer truck. Slavens won his first NRMCA national title in 2010; is also a past winner of the Indiana Ready Mixed Concrete Association Championship and finished third twice in NRMCA’s contest.

 

Now in its seventh year, this year’s national contest "was an extremely close competition," according to NRMCA’s Senior Vice President of Operations and Compliance Gary Mullings. Twenty-eight drivers, including state rodeo champions as well as NRMCA member company champions from around the nation, competed to be the "Best of the Best". The champion was selected based on a cumulative score derived from competitions that included a driving challenge course, visual vehicle inspection, reaction-time-test, slump estimation and 2-hour written examination. Awards were presented for the top three finishers, with all other drivers tied for fourth. 

Second place and a check for $1,000 went to Chris Harrison of Morrilton, AR. He has been driving a mixer truck for more than 10 years, the past three for Mobley Construction Company Inc. He currently drives a Kenworth, four axle truck with a McNeilus rear discharge mixer. Harrison is an NRMCA Certified Concrete Delivery Professional and was also the runner up in the 2012 Arkansas Ready Mixed Concrete Association Rodeo. Third place and a check for $500 went to John Tesi of Ferrara Bros. Building Materials Corp., in New York City. He has been with Ferrara Bros. for 20 years and is currently driving a Kenworth four axle truck with McNeilus rear discharge mixer. Tesi is an NRMCA Certified Delivery Professional and is the reigning Ferrara Bros. Corporate Rodeo Champion.

NRMCA Chicago-based producer member Ozinga Brothers has unveiled last week the city’s first privately-owned compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station to service its new fleet of 30 CNG concrete mixer trucks. CNG is an abundant gas comprised mostly of methane and is produced domestically and extracted from underground reservoirs. It’s the same natural gas used for household furnaces. CNG trucks look and drive just like diesel trucks but are fitted with special fuel tanks and modified internal combustion engines. CNG is especially suited for short haul fleets since vehicles come back to the same place during and at the end of each working day for refueling.

The alternative-energy fueling station, located at Ozinga’s flagship plant in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, will serve the 84-year-old concrete company’s fleet of iconic red-and-white concrete mixing trucks. The station will also be open to local businesses and government agencies to fuel their fleets of medium to heavy-use trucks and buses. Its central location will prove an easy and convenient method for CNG-powered vehicles to refuel near downtown and just off Chicago’s busy Dan Ryan Expressway. The station has the capacity to fill more than 30 vehicles at one time.

The company has plans to replace or convert its entire fleet of more than 500 mixing trucks and support vehicles by 2020 in an effort to achieve energy independence and promote alternative energy. In addition, the company is planning to construct and operate additional fueling stations in Chicago and the Midwest to service its other locations. Just like Ozinga's first station, additional stations would be open to private and government fleets; as its network expands it is considering opening the fueling stations so the general public can fill personal CNG vehicles.

With gasoline prices rising and natural gas prices coming down, CNG-fueled vehicles make more sense for cost and environmentally conscious businesses and consumers.

Last week, NRMCA Senior Director of Sustainability, Codes and Standards Tien Peng discussed the growing interest in Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) before a diverse audience of engineers, architects and material suppliers at the USGBC Atlanta Chapter meeting. The program also featured Professor Gentry from Georgia Tech who summarized his research in LCA and its impact to the architectural profession. 

Approximately 30 participants attended the session on LCA, focusing on material transparency and the initiatives underway from the concrete industry, including the development of a concrete Product Category Rule and the establishment of NRMCA’s Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) Program. Findings of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSH) on LCA of concrete buildings and pavements were also presented.

Peng was invited to speak at the event by Chris Walker of NRMCA member Argos USA. Walker is an active participant in the USGBC Atlanta Chapter and worked with chapter members to arrange the education session. NRMCA encourages its members to participate in USGBC chapters and offer topics and speakers for education programs. For those who feel comfortable presenting, NRMCA has prepared presentations ranging from specifying sustainable concrete to LCA of concrete structures. For the most complex topics, NRMCA can also provide technical staff to present at USGBC chapters.

A host of publications have reported on presidential politics, transportation, infrastructure, regulation, heath care, taxes and other subjects, each of which relate to the ready mixed concrete industry. To access these articles for the week of September 17 - 21, please click here.

NRMCA is accepting applications for its Effective Supervisor Certification class to be held from October 23 - 25 at Association headquarters in Silver Spring, MD. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the most common business lawsuit filed is by employees against their employer - and the employees cite their direct supervisor as the cause. Therefore, the class audience is plant and area managers, operations, dispatch, fleet and driver supervisors, as well as QC supervisors. Content includes industry-specific, hands-on exercises to develop solid procedures to increase efficiency and profitability using better communication skills with front line employees. 

This class is scheduled for just once a year. Training reduces risk: No producer’s bottom line can afford an expensive internal attack!

As a tough year closes, now is the best time for sales reps to really concentrate on mastering how their customers' businesses work. No rock should be left unturned for possible quick orders or to tactically plan for 2013. To help, NRMCA will offer a hands-on, updated workshop, CCSP Module II, Understanding Your Concrete Contractor's Business, December 4-6 in Silver Spring, MD, at the RMC Research & Education Foundation Center.

 

Topics tie directly into what a sales rep should know that impacts business, including learning about contactors’ estimating methods, bidding, design, procurement, project planning and scheduling. Those that pass the optional exam receive credit toward CCSP Module II certification. This is a required class for STEPS recognition.

 

NRMCA's September Internet Spotlight, good through Tuesday, October 2, is the Pervious Concrete Construction Checklists. This publication provides forms and checklists that can be useful to the pervious concrete contractors and concrete suppliers on projects. Certified pervious concrete contractors or other individuals should use these forms and checklists and modify them as appropriate to local practice and to specific projects.  

September 27, Webinar

ACI 330 R-08 - The Gold Standard of Concrete Parking Lot Design

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

September, 27, Cambridge, MA

Annual MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub Research Progress Update

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

October 2-5, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module I: Concrete 101

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

October 4, Boise, ID

Northwest Regional Work Plan Meeting

Email: Nicole Maher, 888-84-NRMCA, x1158

 

October 9, Charlotte, NC

Lower Atlantic Regional Work Plan Meeting

Email: Nicole Maher, 888-84-NRMCA, x1158

 

October 19, Webinar

Effectively Communicating Sustainability

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

October 23-25, Silver Spring, MD

Effective RMC Supervisor Course

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

November 1, Webinar

Streets and Local Roads

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

November 2, Webinar

ACI 330 R-08 - The Gold Standard of Concrete Parking Lot Design

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

November 5-9, Silver Spring, MD

Technical Short Course

Email: Karen Bean, 888-84-NRMCA, x1168

 

November 7, Jackson, MS

Adopting Disaster Resilient Construction at the Local Level

Email: Tien Peng, 206-913-8535

 

November 8, Madison, WI

Great Lakes Regional Work Plan Meeting

Email: Nicole Maher, 888-84-NRMCA, x1158

 

November 14, Little Rock, AR

South Central Regional Work Plan Meeting

Email: Nicole Maher, 888-84-NRMCA, x1158

 

November 16, Webinar

Effectively Communicating Sustainability

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

November 27, Wilmington, NC

Adopting Disaster Resilient Construction at the Local Level

Email: Tien Peng, 206-913-8535

 

December 4-6, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module II: Customer Business Knowledge

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

December 4-6, Orlando, FL

Environmental Professional Certification Course for the Ready Mixed Concrete Industry

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

December 6, Las Vegas

Rocky Mountain Regional Work Plan Meeting

Email: Nicole Maher, 888-84-NRMCA, x1158

 

December 7, Webinar

ACI 330 R-08 - The Gold Standard of Concrete Parking Lot Design

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

December 11-14, Denver

Plant Manager Certification Course

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

October 4, Boise, ID

Northwest Regional Work Plan Meeting

Email: Nicole Maher, 888-84-NRMCA, x1158

 

December 12, Silver Spring, MD

Atlantic Regional Work Plan Meeting

Email: Nicole Maher, 888-84-NRMCA, x1158

 

December 12-13, Doha, Qatar

International Concrete Technology Forum

Email: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101

 

2013

 

February 19-21, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module III: General Business Knowledge

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

March 3-5, San Antonio, TX

NRMCA Annual Convention

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

March 19-21, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module IV: Sales Fundamentals

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

May 6-8, San Francisco

International Concrete Sustainability Conference

Email: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101

 

May 12-15, Chicago

Fifth North American Conference on Design and Use of Self-Consolidating Concrete