NRMCA's celebration of the 100th anniversary of ready mixed concrete in the U.S. begins its May offerings with the histories of two more of the Association's Producer and Associate members - see below for their respective Web site links. This week's industry milestone: In 1918, the slump test we are all familiar with, measuring the consistency of concrete, was developed in California.

Bard Materials - In 1946, Bill Mescher and Art Thier borrowed $10,000 for an end loader to excavate sand and gravel in Dyersville, IA, and the Dyersville Sand and Gravel Company is founded. In 1952, the company expands the sand and gravel business to include ready mixed concrete, including the purchase of its first ready mix truck. In 1971, the company's new locations begin adopting the name BARD Concrete. BARD is an acronym for Bill, Art, Roger and Dennis. And in 2009, BARD Concrete, Glendenning Ready Mix and Limestone, Kowalski-Kieler, GA Watson are combined and rebranded into the name BARD Materials. Read more.

An NRMCA Producer member since 1983

Putzmeister America - In 1958, Karl Schlecht founded the company KS-Maschinenbau for building plastering machines. A few years later, a new name - Putzmeister - was first used to note master plastering. The company entered the concrete pumping market in the mid-1960's, with its first concrete pump with water hydraulics introduced in 1967. Read more.

 

An NRMCA Associate Member since 2012

Transportation officials in California will choose concrete for construction tied to a train link to the Bob Hope Airport in greater Los Angeles. According to a May 26 article in the Los Angeles Times, "the remaining Measure R funds will probably be spent on other projects such as using more durable concrete, instead of asphalt, in the airport's regional transportation center under construction and improving the Ventura County Line Metrolink station south of the airport, airport officials said."

Researchers at the Illinois-based Argonne National Laboratory and the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute have developed a method for turning concrete into a liquid metal semiconductor. The process involves a laser beam that can heat materials to 3,632 degrees Fahrenheit - an integral part of how the concrete becomes semi-conducting metal.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are to blame for global warming since the 1970s and not carbon dioxide, according to new research from the University of Waterloo (Canada) published in the International Journal of Modern Physics B. CFCs are already known to deplete ozone, but in-depth statistical analysis now shows that CFCs are also the key driver in global climate change, rather than carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Back in late 2011 and early 2012, John Gallagher, with Lehigh Northeast Cement in Massachusetts noticed an increasing number of McDonald's properties that were being revamped to include double drive-thru lanes, reports NRMCA Senior Director, National Rsources Doug O'Neill. These lanes would include postage stamp concrete areas around speaker boxes usually surrounded by asphalt paving. He stopped by one local project under construction and asked a few questions and was told by one contractor that they, "use what they are told to use and concrete is too expensive".

Gallagher took it a step further and called the McDonald's regional office located in Westwood, MA, and asked for a contact name for someone in the construction division. To his surprise, he was connected to the regional construction manager who told him,  "if you can save us some money, we’ll listen".

 

He then elicited the help of Howie Burns and Michael Kane with the Massachusetts Concrete and Aggregate Producers Association (MaCAPA) and met with the construction group at the McDonald’s regional offices in March 2012. Kane used pictures of McDonald's concrete parking lots from across the country courtesy of NRMCA and its partners in those locations, along with the NRMCA’s Concrete Pavement Analyst software to compare concrete to asphalt costs, which opened up a lot of eyes. The reason for the change to the double drive-thru lanes is because McDonald’s was seeing a 40% increase in drive-thru sales when a second drive-thru lane was added. Noting that concrete parking lot decisions still come from McDonald's headquarters in Illinois,  the concrete promotion team focused on decisions that can be made from the regional level, which included drive-thrus. So they simply asked the question "would they consider concrete for full wrap around drive-thru lanes as a starting point?"

There have now been at least four new and reconstructed McDonald's in the New England area that have incorporated the suggestions from the promoters from Massachusetts. Now they are seeing projects that need 40+ yards of concrete instead of the 1-2 yards normally seen with the postage stamp sized drive-thru areas.

"This certainly wasn’t an overnight success," commented Burns from MaCAPA. "That’s why it’s so important to continue our collaborative promotion efforts, to see more successes like these."

"The effort it takes for our industry personnel, whether it’s a cement representative or a ready mixed concrete producer sales person to simply stop and ask the right questions is minimal," Gallagher added. "What about your parking lot? What about extending your drive-thru? Simple questions that we all could be asking that would significantly increase our business for both cement and concrete!"

NRMCA Senior National Resource Director Phil Kresge recently met with members of the Maryland Ready Mix Concrete Association’s Pavement Promotion Committee to discuss NRMCA’s Full-Loop Promotion (FLP) program. Kresge’s presentation explained the concept of Full-Loop Promotion and identified the roles that NRMCA and MRMCA members would play. The meeting was organized by MRMCA Executive Director Tom Evans. "I see FLP as the next generation of the Concrete Challenge," said Evans. "It is a challenge that will profit anyone who accepts it."

The concept of FLP calls for NRMCA’s national resource directors to collaborate with local promoters in developing supportive relationships with regional and local consultants in order to win projects. "FLP is not that different from what we’ve been doing for years," said Kresge. "The only difference is that FLP provides a vehicle and road map for the local promoter to make calls and report progress. The real goal is to get the local concrete industry players involved." 

"We are trying to increase the number of promotion calls and FLP streamlines the cold-call process to make promotion a bit less stressful," Evans added. "Additionally, through FLP we are educating the design and construction community and that provides us a better chance to get product on the ground. Ultimately, we have to get more people making more calls. Hopefully, FLP is the ‘A-Ha’ moment for our members."

As a follow-up to last week's E-NEWS item, NRMCA Senior National Resource Director Amy Miller has placed a list of 43 outlet mall projects being planned in the United States in NRMCA's Members Only section of the Web site. "Now is the time to begin the process for  those concrete parking lot opportunities," Miller said. "One projects represents thousands of yards!"

This Thursday, June 6, beginning at noon Eastern time, NRMCA has scheduled a free design assistance Webinar for state affiliates and paving associations that will detail the free services provided to these groups through NRMCA's Design Assistance Program. NRMCA's Amanda Hult and Brian Killingsworth will discuss in detail the information provided in the deliverables as well as how to use this information as a part of the promotional effort. Case studies of successful projects will be showcased along with testimonials from individuals that have utilized the program.

This Webinar is ideal for state affiliate and paving association representatives that are involved in the promotion of concrete parking lots and streets and local roads

Jack Petreikis, executive director of the Oklahoma Ready Mixed Concrete Association, has provided a form for anyone who wishes to contribute to the Oklahoma tornado relief efforts.

Following the strongest cement consumption gains in seven years in 2012, cement consumption growth will continue in 2013 with a 6.2 percent increase. According to the latest forecast from the Portland Cement Association (PCA), the majority of market recovery will occur in the second half of 2013.

"Recessions correct imbalances generated during boom periods," Ed Sullivan, PCA chief economist said. "Few economists doubt the generation of a large pent-up demand during the past several years. The question is, when the economy will unleash its potential for strong growth?"

The recession has created a pent-up demand not just for consumer products but also construction.  For example, PCA expects housing starts to reach nearly 1 million in 2013. Multifamily construction also continues to grow at a strong pace and this trend should continue as favorable fundamentals fuel the sector. Multifamily starts recorded a 55 percent gain in 2011 and 36 percent growth in 2012. PCA expects an additional growth of 29 percent in 2013 to 318,000 units.

"Although nonresidential and residential will be in full recovery in 2013, public construction will act as a drag on cement consumption this year," Sullivan said.  "However, as the economy gains momentum in 2014, job gains will strengthen states' fiscal conditions and support stronger construction spending."

The accelerated consumption predicted during the second half of 2013 should carry into the following year. PCA projects an increase of 9.2 percent for 2014. PCA also upwardly revised its long-range projections for 2015-2017.  Annual growth during that period is expected to be as high as 11.1 percent.   PCA predicts cement consumption levels will reach 120 million metric tons by 2017.

   

NRMCA is now accepting applications for its popular Excellence in Quality Awards contest. A company must be an NRMCA producer member in good standing to participate. Companies can enter as a company or a division. Applicants are asked to respond to a multiple-choice type application form that generates their scores. Companies or divisions that achieve a score of 75% or greater will be recognized at NRMCA's ConcreteWorks, scheduled for September 22-24 in Las Vegas. The deadline for receiving completed award applications is June 30.

There are several advantages to participating in this award program:

1. It provides recognition to the companies that maintain high quality standards.

2. The award criteria can serve as an excellent quality improvement tool for companies.

3. Companies have used the award criteria for conducting internal quality audits.

The deadline is fast approaching to submit the names of mixer drivers to participate in this year’s National Mixer Driver Championship. Applications for the 2013 NRMCA Mixer Driver Championship are due Monday, July 1. Entrants will be notified by Friday, July 19, and official invitations will be sent. Invitees must complete a registration form and return it to NRMCA, along with the entry fee, by Wednesday, July 31. In early August, contestants will receive final instructions, including a map of the Challenge Course and reference material(s) for the written exam.

Where: Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa, 11011 W Charleston Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89135 

When:  September 21 - 24. Course competition is Sunday, September 22, at 7 a.m.

1. Winners of state association mixer driver competitions. State driver competition runners-up are also encouraged to apply. (Drivers must be employed by NRMCA-member companies, see Note 3 below.)

2. At-large entrants. NRMCA recognizes that some states do not host driver competitions and other states that normally sponsor such events did not hold them in 2013 due to economic conditions. Intra-company driver competition winners are encouraged to apply. NRMCA will review and consider applications for any member’s applicant, based on testimony by the driver’s supervisor. The number of at-large entrants invited will be based on the need to fill out the field of contestants.

3. Entrants must be current employees of NRMCA member companies: If a state association champion is not a member, either his/her company can join mid-year allowing its employee to compete or the state association may forward application(s) for its second and/or third place winners.

4. Additional qualifications: Applicants must hold a valid commercial drivers license and current medical examiner’s certificate (aka DOT Medical Card). Managers applying on behalf of their drivers tacitly agree that their chosen representative to the national competition has a clean driving and safety record and represents the company and the concrete industry in an exemplary fashion.

5. No driver, regardless of qualifications is guaranteed eligibility: NRMCA reserves the right to qualify or disqualify applicants at the Eligibility Review Panel’s discretion.

Last Wednesday, NRMCA staff conducted a highly successful Webinar titled, Drivers’ Hours of Service in the Ready Mixed Concrete Industry. The nearly 400 attendees received background information on what HOS regulations are, why they exist, who oversees their enforcement, what parts of the regulations specifically affect the ready mixed concrete industry, how to be compliant and what changes to the HOS rules are scheduled.

The Webinar was not only meant to coincide with the upcoming July 1 HOS rule changes, including the much debated 30 minute break rule, but also with the publication of the updated NRMCA Drivers’ Hours of Service Regulations Compliance Guide 2013. All the information discussed on the Webinar is also contained in the updated compliance guide. To obtain a copy of the updated guide and/or the Webinar slides, click here.

NRMCA will host the Plant Manager Certification course August 13-16 in Silver Spring, MD (metro Washington, DC). Plant managers serve a vital function, with responsibilities that affect issues from regulatory compliance to product quality, safety and profitability. NRMCA’s certification program helps you make sure that they are up to speed on product knowledge, plant safety, environmental regulations, plant operations and ready mixed concrete industry business principles. This course establishes basic industry standards, measured through certification. Please note that batchmen are required to pass exams by the Army Corps of Engineers for federally awarded projects BEFORE work commences.

NRMCA will be presenting a free Webinar on Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) on Wednesday, June 19, at noon Eastern time. EPDs are third-party verified (certified) reports published by product manufacturers that provide quality assured and comparable information regarding environmental performance of their products. Well-established in other parts of the world, EPDs are starting to appear in the U.S. as the common methodology for assessing environmental performance of a product. The upcoming LEED v4 Rating System and Architecture 2030 Challenge for Products are starting the demand for EPDs. 

Join us for an informative 1-1/2 hour Webinar as we offer a brief overview of EPDs, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) that supports them and the Product Category Rules (PCRs) that sets the ground rules for them. In addition, the Webinar will discuss NRMCA’s EPD Program and present the first certified EPD for concrete in North America. 

A new organization that will help institutional buyers incorporate sustainability in procurement decisions will launch this summer. The Sustainable Purchasing Council (SPC) intends to help organizations "identify and reduce hidden costs associated with unnecessary waste and risk. It will also help organizations identify environmentally responsible actions that produce a return on investment by adding business value."

By recognizing leadership in sustainable purchasing, the SPC is following on the heels of the US Green Building Council’s LEED v4 rating system (also due to release this summer) which will reward Responsible Sourcing of Raw Materials in its new Material and Resource credit. SPC’s steering committee includes representatives from Office Depot, World Resources Institute, Goodyear, American University, the National Association of State Procurement Officials, UL Environment and the U.S. Department of Energy. The goal is to leverage trillions of dollars spent in the construction industry to:

• Reduce the cost of promoting research;

• Share best practices and/or tools;

• Accelerate the market’s adoption of best practices;

• Improve outcomes by getting upstream of downstream impacts;

• Expand market reach through collaboration; and

• Develop new partnerships that support further groundbreaking work.

Launched three years ago, NRMCA’s industry initiative, the Sustainable Concrete Plant (SCP) Certification, offers these same outcomes through best practices for concrete facilities. The SPC certification is a performance-based program to allow ready mixed concrete producers to demonstrate excellence in sustainable sourcing and provide a quantitative metric to use for sustainable purchasers.

After a one-year delay, the US Green Building Council (USGBC) released its final version of the LEED v4 Rating System for member ballot. The voting period, which is open through Sunday, June 30, is the last step in the delivery process of the LEED update. The USGBC has provided a number of prerecorded Webcasts to help clarify the process and credits which the voter can view. NRMCA will provide follow-up recommendations to committee members regarding the final publication by Friday, June 21.

LEED v4 includes changes to all major LEED rating systems that affect new construction, existing construction, homes and neighborhoods. The major overhaul of the Material and Resource credit category focuses on manufacturer transparency. Many of the new credits from draft versions of the two-year long process such as Life Cycle Assessments, Type III Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), Responsible Sourcing of Raw Material, Health Product Declarations (HPDs) and Material Ingredients Disclosure remain and will have a significant effect on the materials industry.

NRMCA encourages industry members who are USGBC members in good standing to vote. Members enter their vote on the Web site with these choices:

• Affirmative, I approve.

• Affirmative, I approve, and would like to add the following comments.

• Abstain from casting a vote.

• Negative, I do not approve for the following reasons.

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 the Week of May 27 - 31, please click here.

NRMCA's June Internet Spotlight, good through Tuesday, July 2, is the Concrete In Practice (CIP) Package Set (contains 20 sets of each CIP 1 thru 42). Concrete In Practice is a series of 42 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.

June 3-5, Chicago

Concrete Durability Course

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

 

June 3, Webinar (Part I)

Designing and Specifying Pervious Concrete

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

 

June 6, Free Webinar

Design Assistance Webinar for State Affiliates, Paving Associations

Email: Amanda Hult

 

June 10, Webinar (Part II)

Designing and Specifying Pervious Concrete

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

 

June 11, Webinar

Concrete Overlays for Streets and Local Roads and Parking Lots

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

 

June 19, Free Webinar

Environmental Product Declarations

Email: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101

 

June 25, Webinar

Controlling Moisture in Concrete Slabs

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

 

July 8-11, Online Course

Design of Concrete Pavements

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

 

July 15–19, Skokie, IL

2013 Professors Workshop: Teaching Buildings, Bridges, Materials, and Pavements

Email: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101

 

July 18, Free Webinar

Urban Physics: City Texture Matters

Email: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101

 

August 11-15, Montreal

ISARC 2013: 30th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction, Mining & Petroleum Industries

Email: Chantal Murphy, 514-939-2710, ext. 1309

 

August 12-15 Online Course

Pervious Concrete: A Stormwater Solution

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

 

August 13-16, Silver Spring, MD 

Plant Manager Certification Course

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

 

August 15, Free Webinar

Quasi-Steady-State Equilibrium Estimation of Concrete Pavement CO2 Sequestration

Email: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101

 

August 27, Webinar 

Concrete Pavement Jointing Plans

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

 

August 30, Webinar

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

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

 

September 19, Free Webinar

Coal Ash Material Safety—A Health Risk-Based Evaluation of USGS Coal Ash Data from Five US Power Plants

Email: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101

 

September 22-24, Las Vegas

Concrete Works & Board of Directors' Meeting

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

 

November 8, Webinar

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

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

 

November 19-21, Silver Spring, MD

The Effective RMC Supervisor Course

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

 

October 1-4, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP I: Introduction to Concrete Fundamentals—Concrete 101

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

 

December 3-5, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP II: Customer Business Knowledge

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

 

December 4-6, Orlando, FL

Environmental Professional Certification Course

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

 

December 10-13, Orlando, FL 

Plant Manager Certification Course

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