Preliminary results show that producers want to increase their mixer driver workforce by a whopping 20% during 2015. Does that reflect your company? To make sure your company’s current challenges are represented in the first annual mixer driver recruitment and retention survey’s final results, please take this quick online survey. The last day to complete the survey is Sunday, May 31. Help NRMCA help you gain insight about the challenges of recruiting and retaining our industry’s front line! Companies will remain anonymous; findings will be released by area of the country.

With successful Concrete Parking Lot workshops already conducted in two cities in Tennessee with Alan Sparkman, executive director of the Tennessee Concrete Association, and one in Maryland with Tom Evans, executive director of the Maryland Ready Mix Concrete Association, plans to offer this program in other states continue to move forward, reports NRMCA Senior Director, National Resources, Doug O'Neill. Northern New England Concrete Promotion Association Executive Director Jon Kuell recently announced they would sponsor a Workshop on Wednesday, June 17, in Manchester, NH. Kuell's counterpart in New York, New York Concrete Promotion Council Executive Director Greg Novitzki, announced dates for upcoming Workshops in Syracuse and Buffalo on June 23 and 24, O'Neill added.
 

The NRMCA Concrete Parking Lot Workshop is a 3-hour seminar geared toward ready mixed concrete sales professionals, contractors and other industry promotion partners. The workshop gives a step-by-step analysis of opportunities, market awareness, importance of understanding ACI 330 and new market opportunities. The entire program is brought together with a firm understanding of what resources are currently out there for ready mixed concrete personnel.
 

NRMCA is pleased to announce the availability of three new promotional flyers to help you deliver the message of the benefits of concrete parking lots. "Each of these new flyers delivers a clear and concise message that concrete should be your first choice," says Senior Director, National Resources, Phil Kresge.

Concrete Parking Lots: A Better Reflection On Your Business! explains the benefits of concrete’s lighter color and the impact it can have on businesses, in terms of both customer perception and the "bottom line."

As might be expected by its title, Concrete Overlays for Existing Asphalt Parking Lots highlights the reasons why property owners and managers should choose a concrete overlay.

"They say that every picture tells a story," continues Kresge. "And what better way to tell the story of concrete’s durability than with photos of 20-plus year old concrete parking lots." Concrete Parking Lot Durability does just that, featuring parking lots that have been in service for years. Additionally, each of the flyers provides a referral to NRMCA’s Design Assistance Program (DAP).

The two-page flyers are available for free download at the Paving & Parking tab on NRMCA’s ConcretePromotion.org resource site. Multiple printed copies are available for purchase through NRMCA’s E-Store. For more information, contact Phil Kresge at pkresge@nrmca.org.

NRMCA will hold a free Webinar titled How to Become a Green-Star Auditor on Thursday, May 28, at 2 p.m. Eastern time. This is a required Webinar to be an Accredited Green-Star Auditor, explaining the educational and work experience needed along with the continuing educational requirements to keep the certification. The Accredited Green-Star Auditor certification is valid for three years at which time the auditor must reapply. A few handy templates are covered to assist the company in starting the Green-Star process. At the conclusion of the Webinar, the attendee will understand the requirements to be an accredited Green-Star Auditor and the expectations that accompany certification. This course earns 1 credit hour toward a CCPf certification.

This certification designation is the highest professional designation in the industry. For more information, visit www.nrmca.org/steps. Click here for a link to register, along with staff contact and more information.

Louisville, KY, is home to numerous Insulating Concrete Form (ICF) buildings, including schools, houses, retail buildings, student dormitories and now hotels, reports NRMCA Senior Director, Building Innovations, Gregg Lewis. Thanks in part to the ongoing promotion efforts of the Kentucky Ready-Mixed Concrete Association and local architect Jill Lewis Smith, AIA of Civic Consultants, Louisville continues to enjoy widespread adoption of ICFs in virtually every building category. Currently under construction is a new Drury Hotel (shown here) just a stone’s throw from the Gene Snyder Freeway. Drury Hotels has been taking advantage of ICF’s noise reduction qualities, speed of construction, and durability for years.

When cost is an issue, as it always is in the affordable housing sector, ICFs show additional benefits, noted Lewis. Smith’s firm, Civic Consultants, is showing that an ICF home can be built for less than a typical manufactured home while providing real long-term value to its owner. The energy cost savings were so significant on another Louisville ICF housing project that the tenants were reluctant to provide their utility data fearing there may have been a metering error!

For more information, contact Gregg Lewis at glewis@nrmca.org.

Media articles on Congress, transportation infrastructure, regulation, taxes and other subjects, each of which relate to the ready mixed concrete industry, are updated each week by NRMCA's Government Affairs staff. To access the most recent compilation of articles for May 18 - 22, 2015, please click here.

An extension of highway and transit programs was passed over the weekend by voice vote in the Senate. The measure provides an additional two months of Highway Trust Fund (HTF) authority and expires on July 31. Immediately following its passage, Senate Environment & Public Works (EPW) Committee Chairman James Inhofe (R-OK) and Ranking Member Barbara Boxer (D-CA) called for lawmakers to pass a multi-year bill in order to shore up funding for the HTF. A six year bill is set to be marked up in the EPW Committee on June 24; however, a funding source has yet to be identified.

An estimated $90 billion is needed to adequately fund a multi-year highway bill. Chairman Inhofe also acknowledged that it is highly likely another patch will be needed in order to give tax writers additional time to find offsets and pass tax reform this year. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orin Hatch (R-UT)  has repeatedly stated that his committee needs until the end of the year to move tax reform through the Senate. Regardless, when Congress returns from Memorial Day Recess it will have seven weeks to pass a fully-funded, long-term transportation bill or another extension.

The NRMCA May Internet Spotlight, which will be good through Tuesday, June 2, is the ever popular Concrete In Practice (CIP) sets – CIP100 (20 collated sets) and CIP Single Sets. Concrete In Practice is a series of 43 one-page information sheets on important technical topics, written in a non-technical "What, Why and How?" format. Give them to contractors and they'll know that you deliver quality and value and make them a part of your promotion and education program. The CIPs are written in English (43 topics), and in Spanish (41 topics).

Use Discount Code: ISMAY15 and Order your CIPs online today and receive 20% off the member price.

• CIP100 - English (20 collated sets) Regular member price for is $230, Internet Special $184, plus shipping - order here.
• CIP100 - Spanish (20 collated sets) Regular member price for is $230, Internet Special $184, plus shipping - order here 
• CIP Single Set - English Regular member price for is $30, Internet Special $24, plus shipping - order here 
• CIP Single Set - Spanish Regular member price for is $30, Internet Special $24, plus shipping - order here

June 2 - 4, Nashville, TN

Concrete Durability Course

Email: Karen Bean, 240-485-1168

 

June 2 - 5, San Antonio, TX *sold out

Plant Manager Certification Course

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

 

June 16, Webinar

Designing and Specifying Pervious Concrete

Email: Brian Killingsworth, 830-438-2690

 

July 6, Free Webinar

Streets & Roads Promotion & Advocacy Overview

Email: Jacques Jenkins, 240-485-1165

 

July 13, Free Webinar

Streets & Roads Team Building & Situation Analysis

Email: Jacques Jenkins, 240-485-1165

 

July 20, Free Webinar

Streets & Roads Promotion for DOTs, Counties & Municipalities

Email: Jacques Jenkins, 240-485-1165

 

July 31, Free Webinar

Winning Initial Streets & Roads Projects in Counties & Municipalities

Email: Jacques Jenkins, 240-485-1165

 

August 14, Free Webinar

Streets & Roads Elected Official Advocacy

Email: Jacques Jenkins, 240-485-1165

 

September 20 - 22, San Antonio, TX

ConcreteWorks & Board of Directors' Meeting

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

 

October 13 - 16, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module I: Concrete 101

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

 

November 2 - 6, Silver Spring, MD

Annual Concrete Technologist Training and Certification Course "Short Course"

Email: Karen Bean, 240-485-1168

 

November 4, Free Webinar

STEPS A Long Term Career Tool for the RMC Industry

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

 

November 17 - 19, Silver Spring, MD

Effective RMC Supervisor Course

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

 

December 1 - 3, Orlando, FL

Environmental Course

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

 

December 1 - 3, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module II: Customer Business Knowledge

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

 

December 8 - 11, Orlando, FL

Plant Manager Certification Course

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

 

 

February 23 - 25, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module III: General Business Knowledge

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

March 15 - 17, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module IV: Professional Sales Skills

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

 

May 15 - 18, Washington, DC

International Concrete Sustainability & Self-Compacting Concrete Conference

Email: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101