NRMCA's celebration of the 100th anniversary of ready mixed concrete in the U.S. continues its submissions for November with one of the Association's newest Producer members and one of the oldest company's in its Associate member roster - see below for their respective Web site links. This week's industry milestone: In 1987 work began on a 65-story office tower in Chicago that at 959 feet would become the world’s tallest reinforced concrete building when completed in 1990. Continuous placement of high-strength concrete for the 8 foot thick mat foundation required delivery of at least 24 yards of concrete every four minutes!

To have your company featured in this space in the coming weeks, please contact 

NRMCA's Kathleen Carr Smith at kcarrsmith@nrmca.org or 301-587-1400, ext. 1145.

Buffalo Ridge Concrete - Buffalo Ridge Concrete, Inc. was formed in 2011 from the merger of two family-owned businesses (Bornhoft Concrete and Pronk Ready Mix) along with the purchase of Southwest Minnesota Concrete and Schuur Concrete. Current service area is the ready mixed concrete market in Southwest Minnesota, Northwest Iowa and Eastern South Dakota. Current owners are Jeff Pronk, Dan Scotting, Wes Carr, David L. Meulebroeck and John Bornhoft. Read more.

An NRMCA Producer member since 1991

St. Marys Cement - Since its founding in 1912 in St. Marys, Ontario, by John Lind and Alfred Rogers, St Marys Cement has been a major producer of cementitious materials in the Great Lakes Region. The company operates six plants that serve Canadian and U.S. customers and a production capacity of over five million metric tonnes. Read more.

An NRMCA Associate Member since 2002

E-NEWS continues to follow NRMCA Producer member Ozinga Bros.'s efforts to reduce its fuel bill with natural gas. The Illinois-based company, which has a large presence in Northwest Indiana, has opened its latest compressed natural gas station in Gary, a first for the region. Ozinga already has opened 24-hour stations near busy roads in its home base of Mokena, Chicago and Des Plaines. The company manages 30 percent of the natural gas fueling stations in Illinois, and is reducing its own fuel costs by 70 percent by converting its own from diesel to cheaper and cleaner-burning natural gas, said chief operating officer Ed Van Pouke.

The latest in a periodic series of concrete as art comes from Monterrey, Mexico, where what began as an experiment to relocate cement away from construction sites and into the home has become "an upscale product with big personality." Monterrey-based design studio SHIFT combined its love for local production and the abundance of concrete (one of the Monterrey's main products) to create a more humanistic use for the material.

Source: The Web site Core 77. View here.

The Cement Council of Texas (CCT) is holding its third RCC Pavement Design and Construction Symposium on November 20-21 at the Sheraton DFW Airport in Irving. The conference will feature international experts on RCC who will provide engineering and construction professionals with education in the basic fundamentals of RCC pavements and with emerging technologies that can make RCC even more cost-effective. The conference agenda is designed for professionals throughout the U.S. and will be located near DFW Airport so that national attendance is encouraged and simplified. Contractors, equipment/material suppliers and engineering firms will also highlight their products and expertise through symposium sponsorships.

NRMCA Vice President of Pavement Structures Brian Killingsworth will attend the symposium and participate in a roundtable discussion with representatives from the Portland Cement Association and the American Concrete Pavement Association. This discussion will highlight the initiatives that each association is undertaking to advance the use of RCC in transportation infrastructure.

A recent pavement overlay seminar in Little Rock, AR, covered all aspects of pavement rehabilitation using concrete overlays. Produced by the Arkansas Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Executive Director Rita Madison secured Brent Burwell with the Oklahoma/Arkansas American Concrete Pavement Association to present the many aspects of mainline and municipal concrete overlays. An online demonstration of the Bonded Concrete Overlay of Asphalt (BCOA) database was shown along with technical information in the Guide to Concrete Overlays. NRMCA Vice President, National Resources, Jon Hansen then presented information on concrete overlays of asphalt parking lots using the Guide to Concrete Overlays of Asphalt Parking Lots. Those attending represented consulting engineer firms, city engineers and public works officials.

For more information, contact Jon Hansen at jhansen@nrmca.org or Rita Madison at madison.rita@att.net. Click here to download a copy of the Guide to Concrete Overlays of Asphalt Parking Lots. Click here to download a copy of the Guide to Concrete Overlays for Mainline Paving.

As director of engineering services for NRMCA Producer member AVR, Inc., Josh Edwards knew he would have to be prepared for anything as he planned his Roller-Compacted Concrete (RCC) promotion seminar. Winter sometimes comes early in Apple Valley, MN, so he was not caught off-guard by a 34 degree day for his demonstration. 

Registrants for the event were undaunted as well, as 110 individuals (shown in part at right) braved the cold to learn about RCC and to see it first-hand, reports NRMCA Senior National Resource Director Phil Kresge.

Kresge presented a live version of the popular RCC: Another Choice for Pavement Webinar and fielded questions from the audience regarding design, durability and maintenance. Following the presentation, a demonstration placement was provided. Equipment and labor for the demo was donated by local equipment dealer Ziegler Caterpillar. Additionally, attendees had the opportunity to "kick the tires" on RCC that had been placed two days prior to the event.

Registrants included engineers and developers, as well as several local asphalt contractors who were curious about RCC and the possibilities it can provide them. Edwards said the program was a great success in spite of the weather, adding that there's considerable interest in RCC as a result.

For more information, contact Phil Kresge at pkresge@nrmca.org.

NRMCA has announced a new State Affiliate Promoter of the Year Award to recognize outstanding concrete promotion contributions by an employee of one of NRMCA’s State Affiliate partner organizations. Nominees must be a current employee of the Affiliate and have worked in the industry for at least five years. Existing NRMCA promotion awards are the Lifetime Achievement Award for Promotion and the Concrete Producer Promoter of the Year Award. 

NRMCA promotion awards are presented at the Annual Convention every spring.  Any active participant in the ready mixed concrete industry (including suppliers and contractors) can help a promotion champion gain acknowledgement by nominating him or her for this prestigious award. The deadline for nominations for all three awards is Friday, December 20.

 

Please join the RMC Research & Education Foundation for a FREE informational Webinar on Monday, December 2, at 2 p.m. Eastern time. The Webinar will provide participants with a detailed update of the Foundation’s funded programs, including the exciting work taking place at the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSH), as well as information on newly-approved projects and upcoming releases.

Registration is open for the popular NRMCA Regional Concrete Technology Training and Certification Program (Short Course) scheduled for January 27-31, 2014 at the office of the Florida Concrete Products Association in Orlando. 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 industry-recognized NRMCA certifications: NRMCA Level 2 and 3 Concrete Technologist certification and an optional NRMCA Grade II Field Testing Technician. These industry certifications are essential for technical service personnel with suppliers of materials to the concrete industry and with concrete producers.

 

Registration for the course will close at a maximum of 40 people due to space restrictions. Interested persons should register early! (*Note that last week's Short Course in Silver Spring, MD, was sold out well before the first day of class.)

The new Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) from OSHA requires chemical manufacturers, distributors or importers (including ready mixed concrete producers) to make adjustments to their Hazard Communication Plan... is your company ready? Did you know that the new rule that went into effect in 2012 requires ready mixed concrete producers to change their Material Safety Data Sheets or MSDSs to a new 16-part format Safety Data Sheet (SDS)? There is a new criteria for labels on hazardous chemicals, including pictograms... do you know what they are? The labels must now include Chemical Hazard Classifications, Precautionary Statements and Signal Words... are your employees familiar with these? The new standard requires that your employees be trained about the various aspects of your new Hazardous Communication Plan by December 1... have they been trained? Do you know where to find ready mixed concrete industry specific training?

Another vital addition to NRMCA’s Safety Series, the Hazard Communication Standards Guide for the Ready Mixed Concrete Industry has the training and answers for all of these questions. This CD-based PowerPoint training guide provides the ready mixed concrete producer with the tools to train employees on OSHA’s new Hazard Communication Standard changes. The training guide includes a CD with training PowerPoint, trainer notes, attendee slides, sample SDS for ready mixed concrete, and OSHA QuickCards highlighting the new Hazard Communication Standard changes. Finally, a quiz and training documentation form are enclosed to help keep track of personnel training.

To obtain your guide please click here or call the NRMCA publications department at 240-485-1165. For more information, contact Gary Mullings at gmullings@nrmca.org.

NRMCA's Ready Mixed Concrete Delivery Professional Driver of the Year Award acknowledges the significant contribution of ready mixed concrete truck drivers to the growth and success of individual companies and the ready mixed concrete industry. As a salute to these key members of the concrete production and delivery team, the award recognizes the driver’s career achievement, safety, professionalism, competence and customer service skills in a manner that will enhance the industry and public image of the career Ready Mixed Concrete Delivery Professional. The 2014 Ready Mixed Concrete Truck Driver of the Year Award winner will be honored at an award presentation ceremony at the NRMCA’s Annual Convention in Las Vegas in March 2014. 

Click here to learn more, including a link to download an application form and staff contact for more information.

Lionel Lemay, NRMCA’s senior vice president of sustainability, was keynote speaker at last week’s at 19th annual concrete conference of IDIEM, a unit of the University of Chile in Santiago. The topic of the conference was concrete sustainability; Lemay presented twice, first on the business transition to environmental product declarations (EPD) and the second on the role of performance-based specifications on concrete sustainability.

IDIEM supports the construction industry in Chile through research, education and certifications and recently launched its own EPD program. Lemay met with key people within the organization to establish potential partnering opportunities with regard to NRMCA education and certification programs, including NRMCA's EPD program. IDIEM’s EPD program, operating as DAPCO, has recently verified a concrete EPD, making it the second concrete EPD in the world after the Central Concrete EPD verified earlier this year under the NRMCA EPD program.

Hotel discounts for those attending CCSP Module II, Understanding Your Concrete Contractor's Business, has been extended until Friday, November 15. As a result, registration for the December 3-5 in Silver Spring, MD, also remains open until Friday. 

The course content directly ties what a RMC sales rep should know that impacts business, including learning about contactors’ estimating methods, bidding, design, procurement, project planning and scheduling. Considering the current sales environment, the amount of time a sales rep spends on the job site and producers’ recovery goals for 2014, it has never been more timely for those in a sales capacity to seriously take the time to hone in on what a contractor expects, beyond price, to do business with a producer.

NRMCA's November Internet Spotlight are the ASTM Standards for Ready-Mixed Concrete, 5th Edition and the ASTM Standards for Concrete Technician Certification Manual. NRMCA Members only can purchase either or both publications BELOW the ASTM Retail Value!

• ASTM Standards for Ready-Mixed Concrete, 5th Edition -This compilation of 38 current ASTM standards related to ready mixed concrete includes the principal specifications and test methods that are referenced in ASTM C94/C94M Specification for Ready-Mixed Concrete. The compilation also includes the Manual of Aggregate and Concrete Testing.

Member price is $110 per copy, plus shipping. Member price for quantities of 10 or more is $110, plus shipping

• ASTM Standards for Concrete Technician Certification Manual - This publication includes 12 ASTM practices and test methods related to testing fresh and hardened concrete, including those required for ACI grade 1 field-testing and strength testing technician certification.

Member price is $42 per copy, plus shipping. Member price for quantities of 50 or more is $35, plus shipping