NRMCA e-news

NRMCA's celebration of the 100th anniversary of ready mixed concrete in the United States continues in E-NEWS this week as we highlight histories of another Producer and Associate member. See below for the two companies we've selected this week, along with a link to that company's respective Web site for more information. This week's industry milestone? By 1941, more than 700 ready mix plants were in operation in 442 U.S. communities. Ten years later, there were an estimated 1,700 ready mix plants in over 1,300 towns and cities.

The Silvi Group Companies - The Silvi Group Companies is a family owned business that was founded in 1948 by Larry Silvi, Sr. A grocer by trade, he accepted possession of a rundown block plant to satisfy a debt. Shortly thereafter, William J. Levitt began to construct one of his large and affordable communities next to Mr. Silvi’s block plant. Larry Sr. struck a deal to supply the project and was off to the races.Thirty five years later, his sons John and Larry, took the reins of the company and helped transform it into what it is today. The Silvi’s strategy is to build large central mix plants close enough to one another so that they complement each other. The plant located next to its corporate headquarters in Fairless Hills, PA, runs up to 40 trucks and can produce over 250 yards per hour. Read more.

Davis Colors - Frank Davis founded Davis Colors in 1952 by stating "Color is Light, Light is Life, Color is Life." Some 50+ years later, Davis Colors is part of Rockwood Pigments, the world’s second largest manufacturer and processor of inorganic color pigments. Rockwood manufacturers color pigments in factories around the world and installs and services automated pigment handling systems used by the leading manufacturers of concrete products, coatings, colorants, plastics, rubber, paper, vinyl, cosmetics, pet food, ink, toner and more. Read more.

Does your company produce a customer e-newsletter? Well, NRMCA Producer member Prairie Materials does and it has received strong reviews, including one by NRMCA Senior National Resource Analyst Jon Hansen who noted that the January 2013 issue has "a lot of good info," including a link in the upper right corner of your screen to check pouring conditions across the U.S. Note that works for any ZIP code, not just Prairie’s service area. And the "fiber switch" option at the bottom of the newsletter is really smart marketing, Hansen adds. Take a look.

Purdue University is enabling Indiana to make its bridges better with a new "internally cured" high-performance concrete. The Joint Transportation Research Program, a partnership between the Indiana Department of Transportation and Purdue, worked with INDOT to create specifications for implementing the internally cured high-performance concrete. "This material will reduce maintenance costs and allow bridge decks to last longer," said Jason Weiss, a professor of civil engineering and director of Purdue’s Pankow Materials Laboratory.

What's new Across the Pond, as they say? Well, we're glad you asked. It seems that the British Broadcasting Service (more commonly known by its acronym, the BBC) recently focused on concrete as a topic for its quiz show. One of the concrete nuggets "unearthed" in the column: The oldest ever found is a 12 million-year-old natural deposit found in Israel in the 1960s in which oil shale had combusted naturally near limestone, producing a natural layer of concrete.

Construction employment increased in 139 out of 337 metropolitan areas between December 2011 and December 2012, declined in 131 and was stagnant in 65, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released by AGC of America. "Private sector demand for energy, health care, higher education and residential construction is having a positive impact in a growing number of metro areas," said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. "Unfortunately, construction employment in almost as many metro areas appears to be suffering from declining public sector demand and a private sector market that is still well-below peak levels." 

Just recently, NRMCA's national resource team fielded inquiries regarding Bass Pro Shop, YUM! and Autozone, reports Senior National Resource Director Amy Miller. These are National Accounts, but are not named on NRMCA's official list of National Account clients. While Miller and her colleagues focus their efforts on a specific list of National Accounts, they encourage Producer members to always inquire about accounts on or off the list.

"There are many National Accounts that no longer fit the requirements of our focused, National Account list, but we still encourage members to reach out to any of the national resource directors if they need help or have questions," Miller explained. "Often times, accounts were formerly on our list or we have state affiliates or members who have worked with accounts, and we can connect people or offer valuable information that will further progress. If confidentiality is requested, we will respect that request. Utilizing the national resource team for National Account opportunities is a benefit afforded to members. We encourage all our members to capitalize on our relationships and account knowledge."

Senior Director of National Resources Doug O’Neill reports that the Central New York Chapter of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) recently hosted a seminar on ACI 330R-08. Most in the room had heard of ACI 330, but no one had yet used it on a project because Central New York is generally considered an asphalt market with very little concrete being specified for pavements. The few concrete pavements that have been designed in this area of the state have either used AASHTO guidelines or local DOT recommendations. Concrete has been historically overdesigned in this marketplace which is primarily why concrete is perceived as being so much more expensive than asphalt, O'Neill said.

O’Neill spoke to the group of 33 architects, engineers and concrete industry personnel, generating some lively questions and comments after the formal presentation ended, along with several invitations to bring the seminar to individual design firms in attendance.

"To some in the room, this was new information," O’Neill said. "Even though ACI 330R-08 recommends that when a pavement is jointed to form short panel lengths that will minimize intermediate cracking, distributed steel reinforcement is not necessary, many old timers have a hard time not putting welded wire mesh in all concrete, whether it’s a sidewalk, patio or parking lot. They have always spec’ed welded wire mesh and they have a hard time believing that, in most cases, it’s not necessary. So we have our work cut out for us, but the good news is that there are enough successful pavements in and around Western New York that we can point to."

The Portland Cement Association's (PCA) current advertising campaign for concrete paving focuses on the work of the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub on how pavement type affects the fuel efficiency of cars and trucks that use them. The ads are a continuation of the ongoing campaign and Think Harder imaging/branding initiative with attention-getting layouts and an aggressive presentation of the campaign themes of durability and economy. The ads appear in Better Roads, ENR, Public Works, and Roads & Bridges magazines.

The MIT study cited in the ad shows that using stiffer pavements on the nation’s roads could reduce vehicle fuel consumption by as much as 3 percent, adding up to 273 million barrels of crude oil per year, or $15.6 billion at today’s oil prices. This would result in an accompanying annual decrease in CO2 emissions of 46.5 million metric tons. 

The next scheduled promotion-focused Webinar is Introduction to Concrete Pavement Analyst (CPA) Software. CPA software is a flexible, market-specific and comprehensive sales and promotion tool that compares total ownership costs, giving specifiers and owners the information they need to make sound parking lot pavement decisions. This Webinar explains how the software works along with strategies for making effective use of this outstanding tool. Want to learn more? Just see the link below and register today. You can also contact NRMCA's Jacques Jenkins at jjenkins@nrmca.org.

• Tuesday, February 5 - Introduction to Concrete Pavement Analyst (CPA) Software

The members of NRMCA’s Materials Division are proud to present the fourth in a series of self-guided PowerPoint presentations designed to help producer members educate their workforce on everything In the Mix. Available now in the Members’ Only section of nrmca.org, In the Mix: Admixtures explains the basics of admixtures and their role In the Mix. Visit the Members’ Only section of nrmca.org to get started.

In addition to In the Mix: Admixtures, the series includes modules on fly ash, color and fibers. Stay tuned to E-NEWS to find out when the final In the Mix – Cement becomes available.

The American Shotcrete Association (ASA) has appointed Mark Campo as its new executive director. Campo previously served at the American Concrete Institute as technical manager of its certification programs. Founded 15 years ago, ASA is a non-profit organization of contractors, suppliers, manufacturers, designers, engineers, owners and others with a common interest in promoting the use of shotcrete.  For more information about ASA, visit www.shotcrete.org.

The deadline to submit forms for 2013 Fleet Benchmarking Survey is Monday, April 1. The Operations Task Group developed the survey in 1999. The survey is filled out by industry fleet managers and/or financial managers early each year, based on data gathered from the previous calendar year’s performance. Information gathered from the annual Fleet Benchmarking Survey is published in a full report in Concrete InFocus magazine each autumn. A shorter Executive Summary of the survey is also made available to all.

Speakers have been selected for the 8th annual International Concrete Sustainability Conference to be held May 6-8 in San Francisco. Over 60 world-renowned experts will present the latest developments related to design, specifying, manufacturing, testing, construction, maintenance and research of concrete as it relates to sustainability. Keynote speakers for the plenary sessions include:

• Dr. Michael Lepech, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University, will discuss how innovations in the area of Virtual Infrastructure Management are leveraging the benefits of concrete technologies to reduce the impact of building and infrastructure construction.

• Francesca Desmarais, director of the 2030 Challenge for Products, Architecture 2030, will present an update on the Architecture 2030 Challenge for Products.

• Suneel Vanikar, team leader, pavement design and analysis team, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), U.S. Department of Transportation, will provide an overview of FHWA sustainability initiatives and programs.

• Caspar Wagner, Google Green Team Design and Construction Lead, Google, Inc., will participate in a panel discussion titled Transparency and Material Ingredient Disclosure: What Google is Doing to Keep its Buildings Healthy.

Examples of topics and speakers presenting during technical sessions include:

• Dr. Arash Noshadravan, postdoctoral associate with the Material Systems Laboratory (MSL) at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), will present Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of Pavements Under Uncertainty and Variation.

• Dr. Liv Haselbach, associate professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Washington State University, will present Removal of High Levels of Dissolved Zinc and Copper in Pervious Concrete.

• Dr. Dev Millstein, postdoctoral fellow, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, will present Cool Communities: The Benefit of Cool Pavements in CA Cities.

• Chris Erickson, CEO, Climate Earth, will present EPDs:  An Inside Look at the Keys to Successful Implementation.

• Ben Tymann, attorney, Greenberg Traurig, will present Navigating the Legal Obstacles on Your Road to Sustainability: Recent Developments in the Law.

• David Shook, associate structural engineer, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, will present Mapping a Structure’s Impact on the Environment: Case Studies.

Lionel Lemay, NRMCA’s senior vice president of sustainability, will present at the first annual Residential Building Design and Construction Conference, February 20-21, in Bethlehem, PA. The conference is organized by the Pennsylvania Housing Research Center (PHRC) at Penn State University and provides a forum for researchers, design professionals, manufacturers, builders and code officials to present the latest advancements, innovations and projects related to residential buildings. 

Lemay will present a paper titled Concrete Building Systems: Disaster Resilient Solutions for Safer Communities he co-authored with Tien Peng of NRMCA and Bruce Cody of the Pennsylvania Aggregates and Concrete Association. The paper, which was one of only 40 accepted by the conference technical committee, presents a four-step process for resilient construction, including adopting a basic building code, promoting market driven resilience programs, adopting more robust resilience standards and building with more robust materials such as concrete. It provides an overview of concrete building systems that have the mass and hardness to resist high winds and flying debris of tornadoes and the devastating effects of flood, fire and earthquakes.

Media articles on Congress, transportation infrastructure, regulation, heath care, 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 January 21 - 25, 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 Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org.

February 5, Webinar

Introduction to Concrete Pavement Analyst (CPA) Software

Email: Jacques Jenkins, 888-84-NRMCA, x1165

 

February 5, Webinar

Designing and Specifying Pervious Concrete Part I

Email: Jacques Jenkins, 888-84-NRMCA, x1165

 

February 12, Webinar

Designing and Specifying Pervious Concrete Part II

Email: Jacques Jenkins, 888-84-NRMCA, x1165

 

February 14, Webinar

Effectively Communicating Sustainability

Email: Jacques Jenkins, 888-84-NRMCA, x1165

 

February 18-22, Sacramento, CA

Technical Short Course

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

 

February 19-21, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module III: General Business Knowledge

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

 

February 20, Cleveland

Adopting Disaster Resilient Construction at the Local Level

Email: Tien Peng, 206-913-8535

 

February 21, Webinar

Soils 101

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

 

February 25, Webinar

Controlling Moisture in Concrete Slabs

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

 

February 26, Webinar

Biodiversity at Ready Mixed Concrete Plants

Email: Tien Peng, 206-913-8535

 

February 28, Orlando, FL

Adopting Disaster Resilient Construction at the Local Level

Email: Tien Peng, 206-913-8535

 

March 3-5, San Antonio, TX

NRMCA Annual Convention

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

 

March 5, Webinar

Roller Compacted Concrete: Your Third Choice for Pavement

Email: Jacques Jenkins, 888-84-NRMCA, x1165

 

March 7, Webinar

RCC: Intro to Design and Construction

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

 

March 11-14, Online Course

Building Green with Concrete

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

 

March 12, Webinar

The Quantifiable Advantages of Concrete Parking Lots

Email: Jacques Jenkins, 888-84-NRMCA, x1165

 

March 12-14, Silver Spring, MD

Dispatcher Training Forum

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

 

March 15, Webinar

Effectively Communicating Sustainability

Email: Jacques Jenkins, 888-84-NRMCA, x1165

 

March 19, Webinar 

Concrete Pavement Jointing Plans

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

 

March 19-21, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module IV: Sales Fundamentals

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

 

March 19-22, Houston

Plant Manager Certification Course

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

 

March 20, Charlotte, NC

Handling Concrete Specifications, Low Strength Problems & Mixture Submittals

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

 

March 26, Webinar

Green-Star Auditor Certification

Email: Jacques Jenkins, 888-84-NRMCA, x1165

 

April 4, Baton Rouge, LA

Handling Concrete Specifications, Low Strength Problems & Mixture Submittals

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

 

April 8-11, Online Course

LCA of Concrete Structures

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

 

April 19, Webinar

Effectively Communicating Sustainability

Email: Jacques Jenkins, 888-84-NRMCA, x1165

 

April 23, Webinar

Using a Sales Customer Relationship Management System

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

 

May 20-23 Online Course

Pervious Concrete: A Stormwater Solution

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

 

June 11, Webinar

Concrete Overlays for Streets and Local Roads and Parking Lots

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

 

June 25, Webinar

Controlling Moisture in Concrete Slabs

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

 

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 13-16, Silver Spring, MD 

Plant Manager Certification Course

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

 

August 27, Webinar 

Concrete Pavement Jointing Plans

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

 

September 22-24, Las Vegas

Concrete Works & Board of Directors' Meeting

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

 

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