NRMCA e-news - February 1, 2017

Association & Industry News

NRMCA 2017 Annual Convention Early Bird Deadline Ends Friday, February 3

The $100 early bird registration discount deadline for NRMCA’s 2017 Annual Convention and the CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2017 Show ends Friday, February 3. The convention is scheduled for March 4-6 at the Encore at Wynn Las Vegas hotel. You can access event registration by clicking here.

NRMCA has also contracted a block of rooms at the Encore at Wynn Las Vegas starting at discounted rates of $299/night plus applicable taxes and up, depending on single or double occupancy. There is an optional daily resort fee of $29/night plus applicable taxes. This fee will cover several in room amenities. Hotel reservations can be made by calling the Encore at Wynn Las Vegas directly at 888-320-9966 and asking for block code 6NRM 0317 or the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association rate. You can also make your hotel reservations online by clicking here. The hotel reservations cut-off date is Thursday, February 9 or whenever the room block sells out, whichever occurs first. If you're unable to make reservations for the NRMCA room block or you are receiving a higher rate, it may be that you are booking your reservation over a date that the block is sold out. In this case, you may have better luck securing a lower rate by calling the hotel directly or booking through the CONEXPO-CON/AGG Show room block (you must be a registered attendee of CONEXPO-CON/AGG to receive their room rate). The Encore Las Vegas room block is reserved for attendees of the NRMCA 2017 Annual Convention.

Click here for convention information or contact Senior Director of Meetings Jessica Walgenbach at jwalgenbach@nrmca.org or 240-485-1152.

New Athena Impact Estimator Software Incorporates Latest Environmental Data for Concrete

The Athena Sustainable Materials Institute has released an update of the Impact Estimator (IE) for Buildings, the popular and free software tool that simplifies life cycle assessment (LCA) for building designers and sustainability consultants. The new version includes the most current environmental impact data from the recently-published NRMCA Industry Wide Environmental Product Declaration (IW-EPD) and Industry Benchmark report.

IE for Buildings is often used to demonstrate compliance for impact reduction in LEED v4. The process involves conducting an LCA to measure the environmental impacts for a "reference building" and then conducting an LCA on the "proposed building" to compare impacts. If the impacts for the proposed building are lower than those of the reference building by specified percentages, the design is credited toward green building certification. The reference building is analyzed using industry average data provided in the NRMCA Industry Benchmark report and then compared to data from the NRMCA IW-EPD or a Product Specific EPD provided by a concrete company. Generally, concrete products designed to have lower environmental impacts, including global warming potential and smog formation, among several others, can readily meet the impact reduction targets specified in LEED v4 and other standards.

The Athena software can be downloaded for free here. The NRMCA EPD and Benchmark reports can be downloaded for free here. As part of the Build with Strength campaign, NRMCA promotes Strength Through Transparency for member and industry competitiveness in the green building marketplace and the trends toward product and company transparency.

For more information, contact James Bogdan at jbogdan@nrmca.org or 412-420-4138.

Government Affairs

NRMCA Advocacy News Roundup Updated Through January 27, 2017

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 January 23-27, 2017, please click here.

If you would like to receive this weekly updated link in a separate e-mail, or if you have questions or comments about the roundup, contact NRMCA’s Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org.

NRMCA Supports Push for Infrastructure Spending

During the campaign, President Trump pledged to seek a $1 trillion infrastructure investment that will rely heavily on tax incentives and public-private partnerships. In his inaugural address, he reiterated his commitment to rebuilding America’s infrastructure. In an attempt to upstage the President, Senate Democrats last week unveiled a 10-year, $1 trillion infrastructure plan. The plan focused primarily on government investment in building roads, mass transit construction and public works projects. Where the President and Senate Democrats disagree, however, is in paying for the projects. While Democrats’ plan calls for massive government spending, the President’s plan relies less on government spending and more on private investment. President Trump has promised that infrastructure spending will be revenue neutral and that any government spending will not increase the deficit.

That is not to say, however, that there will be no government spending. For several years, infrastructure conversations on Capitol Hill have included the idea that infrastructure investments could be funded in part by a tax reform package. The proposal centers on "repatriation" of U.S. companies’ earnings that are currently held in accounts outside the nation’s borders. By giving these companies the opportunity to bring this money back the U.S. at a relatively low tax rate, the federal government could generate hundreds of billions of dollars in tax revenue. Proponents of infrastructure investment advocate for using these funds to pay for some of the infrastructure package.

While Senate Democrats and President Trump differ on how to fund the infrastructure package and are unlikely to agree to a plan based on Senate Democrats’ proposal, Bloomberg News reported earlier this week that the President’s big plans for infrastructure "will stay big." Bloomberg detailed four likely scenarios, including both the Democrats plan and a plan closer to the President’s proposal that includes new revenue through corporate tax reform.

Last week, NRMCA joined a broad coalition in support of a comprehensive infrastructure investment package, including addressing issues like the Highway Trust Fund’s perennial shortfall and supporting a state of the art infrastructure system. In a letter to the Trump Administration, NRMCA asked for a balanced infrastructure investment plan addressing all types of infrastructure throughout the country. As the administration proceeds in formulating its plans for an infrastructure package, NRMCA will continue to engage and advocate on behalf of the ready mixed concrete industry.

For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org.

Congress Moves to Repeal Estate Tax

Earlier this week, Senator John Thune (R-SD) introduced legislation to repeal the federal estate tax. Rep. Kristi Noem (R-SD) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives. The estate tax, better known as the death tax, is a tax on the right to transfer property at the time of death, and it hits small businesses and family farms particularly hard. Repealing the estate tax was a significant tenant of the President’s tax relief plan and likely to be included as part of a broader tax reform package.

On Monday, in support of Sen. Thune and Rep. Noem, NRMCA and an array of groups and organizations representing small businesses and advocating for tax reform sent letters to both of them thanking them for sponsoring the legislation and supporting small and family-owned businesses and farms across America. Over the weekend, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) proposed a 200-day plan that included many of the President’s legislative priorities, including repealing and replacing Obamacare and passing a tax reform package. NRMCA will continue to support the repeal of the estate tax and advocate on behalf of its members for the elimination of this burdensome and anti-growth policy.

For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org.

Buildings

Fire Destroys Wood-Based State Apartment Complex in Washington State

In the early morning hours of Wednesday, January 26, in the city of Lynnwood, WA, fire crews battled a three-alarm fire at an apartment complex that is currently under construction. Luckily, the building was unoccupied, however two firefighters were injured battling the blaze. The building collapsed completely and is a total loss; it was 5-6 stories in height and built with light-framed, combustible wood construction, reports NRMCA Vice President, State and Government Affairs, John Loyer. More than 100 residents of two nearby apartment complexes had to be evacuated as the power was cut off to the area, out of concern to fire damage of the power lines and as one of the nearby buildings sustained damage from heat and flame.

"There are several pieces of legislation in New Jersey and Maryland that address this very issue and, most importantly, come from the logical construct that most of us have come to realize: wood burns and we need to find ways to control the fire or prevent it from ever happening by building with safer, fire-resistant materials, such as concrete or steel," said Loyer.

Build with Strength is a first-of-its-kind program for the concrete industry, designed not only to support our members, their businesses and the hard-working men and women of the concrete industry, but also to change the way people think about concrete construction versus direct competitors like soft-wood lumber. NRMCA has resources to help members and state affiliates advocate for resilient and safer construction including model legislation, talking points, public relations, and other key strategies.

To learn more about how NRMCA can assist in state advocacy, please contact John Loyer 703-675-7603 or jloyer@nrmca.org.

OES

Space Still Available for Final Two Spring 2017 Operations Classes

• NRMCA Safety Course, March 20 - 22, Atlanta - No operations manager should launch into the busy season without a firm handle on the safety aspects, rules and regulations of the business. Timing is right too - NRMCA’s Safety Class has seats. Please note this class will NOT be offered again for at least six months.

• Plant Manager Certification, April 25 - 28 in Seattle - This class is expected to fill and though early, do not delay registering. Why? The previous four classes, including the upcoming February class in Atlanta, have sold out.

For more information, contact Jessica Walgenbach at 301-587-1400, ext. 1152 or jwalgenbach@nrmca.org.

Federal Regulatory Relief, Balance On the Horizon

On the heels of his announcement last week freezing any new regulations, President Trump on Monday signed an executive order requiring that any new regulation be offset by repealing "at least two existing regulations." Before signing the order President Trump noted, "this will be the biggest such act that our country has ever seen. There will be regulation, there will be control, but it will be a normalized control where you can open your business and expand your business very easily. And that's what our country has been all about." As well, the order also directs the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to set a regulatory cost cap requiring that all new regulations, including the offsetting regulations, have a budget increase of "no greater than zero" dollars.

President Trump’s order is welcome news to the ready mixed concrete industry. The industry for years has been pushing the notion of equitable enforcement to the individual regulatory agencies, stressing that continual movement of regulations without any focus on consolidation or repeal of obsolete rules is unsustainable, impinging small business and economic growth. Over the last eight years, according to The American Action Forum, there have been 3,074 regulations finalized, totaling over $900 billion and adding nearly 560 million paperwork hours.

Click here to view the executive order. For more information, contact Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org.

Education & Training

Sales Skills, CCSP IV, Set for March in Maryland

NRMCA's Sales Skills, CCSP IV, is scheduled March 21-23 in Silver Spring, MD (metropolitan Washington, DC). This innovative three-day course provides a sales framework and toolkit that can immediately adapt to your organization’s strategies to drive revenue. Master the most up-to-date, industry-related, sales fundamentals through ready mix-specific simulations, role plays and case study analyses that include the challenges of selling concrete's sustainability attributes as well as applying tools for pervious and parking lot sales.

Get Results Now: This course is recommended for professionals of all levels, so whether you deal with internal or external customers, these skills will make an immediate impact on your work.

• Volume and Value: Sell both for short- and long-term results.

• Secrets to Good Relationships: Solve problems and win loyalty.

• Who Calls the Shots?: Find and communicate with decision-makers.

• Role-playing is Serious Business: Learn how practice makes perfect.

• Close Calls: Overcome obstacles and close the sale.

Click here for more information, registration options and staff contact.