NRMCA e-news

NRMCA's celebration of the 100th anniversary of ready mixed concrete in the United States continues in E-NEWS this week with the 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? In 1970, the construction teams working on the Atlanta airport placed 326,000 cubic yards of concrete in just 40 days!

Carroll Concrete - NRMCA Producer Member Carroll Concrete Company and Newport Sand & Gravel Co., Inc., was originally incorporated in New Hampshire in 1959 as the Eaton Jones Sand and Gravel Co., Inc. The name was changed in 1973, when it was acquired by Shaun P. Carroll. At that time, the operation consisted of a single sand and gravel crushing plant in Newport, New Hampshire. In 1979, the company entered the ready mix business with the acquisition of a batch plant and three ready mix trucks that were set up at the Newport sand and gravel pit. Acquisition and opening of other locations and operations followed. Read more.

An NRMCA Producer member since 1987

Schwing America - In 1934, Fredrich Schwing Sr. started Schwing GmbH, a manufacturing firm in West Germany, to translate his more than 1,200 patents into productive machinery. From drum mixers to the first modern concrete pump, the Schwing name has been on innovative concrete machinery for more than 75 years. Read more.

An NRMCA Associate member since 1983

Winter weather, as long as it doesn’t get too extreme, doesn’t stop activity, but it does challenge workers as they try to stay warm. A February 7 article by The Columbus (OH) Dispatch interviewed construction workers on the site of project at The Ohio State University who offered tips on staying warm along with discussing the challenges of working with concrete in cold weather. Read more.

In the upper Midwest, road crews this time of year have more than their share of potholes to fill. A February 16 article posted on postcrescent.com, a Web site that covers the Appleton and Fox Cities communities of Wisconsin, discusses how highway workers approach the problem. Street superintendent Pat Vanden Heuvel said it takes a two-man crew about three days to repair potholes throughout the city. "As we continue to upgrade streets to concrete we have fewer needs for pothole repair each year," he said. Read more.

What's up in the Big Apple? Well, how about three multi-billion construction projects - all underground - to expand what's already the nation's biggest mass transit system. Estimated completion time is 2019. Meantime, the good news is that more than a fair amount of ready mixed concrete is being placed through much of underground Manhattan.

"I look at it and I'm in wonder, I'm in awe," says engineer Michael Horodniceanu, president of capital construction for the state Metropolitan Transportation Authority. "I feel like when I went to Rome and entered St. Peter's Basilica for the first time. ... I looked at it and said, 'Wow, how did they do that?'"

NRMCA announced this week that the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award for Promotion is being awarded to Mike Shydlowski. Whether advancing the use of new concrete technologies or helping reshape the industry to function more professionally, Mike’s career was dedicated to advancing concrete within the construction industry. Continuing through to retirement in 2006, with his own unique profile among the great concrete promoters, no one has had more influence in the growth of both substance and image of our industry. Mike embodies the purest notion of promotion, which is to advance by making personal and company contributions that benefit the entire industry.

One of Mike’s greatest contributions was as a "founding father" of RMC 2000, an effort established during a special forum held at the 1993 NRMCA convention in San Antonio. Guiding principles of RMC 2000 were to protect concrete's stake in the construction market through industry modernization and to focus on marketing and promotion. The goals and objectives of RMC 2000 helped set the future direction of NRMCA and have been incorporated into the association’s strategic plan.

Beyond RMC 2000, Mike continued as an industry leader, including serving at NRMCA as a member of the Board of Directors and chairman of the NRMCA Materials Division. He received the RMC 2000 Visionary Leadership Award and was awarded the NRMCA Chairman’s Award for his "extraordinary dedication to the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association." Mike was also the founding chairman of the Strategic Development Council and served as a trustee and past vice-chairman of the RMC Research & Education Foundation.

"This is a fascinating industry," Shydlowski says. "I can honestly say that I can't remember five days in my entire career when I woke up and didn't want to go to work. It's always been exciting and there have always been new opportunities and new challenges. It's been a wonderful ride."

Beyond traditional promotional avenues, some ready mixed concrete producer members are advocating for concrete in nonconventional manners. Providing a voice for concrete in broad channels to drive awareness is an innovative way to incite change that isn’t overtly pro-concrete, advises NRMCA Senior National Resource Director Amy Miller.

Reaching those who can influence material choice in design and policy spreads the industry’s message and improves market position. One Producer member that understands the power of this approach is Titan America. Titan America’s Florida business unit rolled out its Advocacy Initiative in 2012. The group consists of three members responsible for regional geographies in Florida to drive awareness to the economic, societal and environmental benefits of cement/concrete construction and paving. The group does not sell, rather it advocates on behalf of the industry, focusing on more of a pull strategy versus the typical push approach. The ultimate goal is  marketplace growth that is targeted through a variety of influencers.

"Having progressive Producer members that understand substantial changes in the marketplace take significant time and investment, and perhaps a different approach to the industry’s traditional approach is needed and refreshing," Miller said. "We naturally create symbiotic relationships with our Producer members that take aggressive approaches in the marketplace as we find their efforts supplement ours and vice-versa. We appreciate our members like Titan America that understand expecting different results often requires a new approach. Titan America has put forth its own resources that will not only aid in the company’s growth, but also the concrete industry."

Last week in E-NEWS, we noted a report on the oil production boom in North Dakota and the resulting boom in employment and construction. Well this week, NRMCA Senior National Resource Director Jon Hansen reports that his recent 3-day trip throughout the state has uncovered a wealth of opportunity. Along with Dave Sethre, executive director of the North Dakota Ready Mixed and Concrete Paving associations who coordinated the trip, Hansen conducted a seminar on concrete streets, local roads, and parking lots in Dickenson for local city officials and consultants. The seminar was hosted by NRMCA producer member Dickenson Ready Mix and Concrete Products.  

The next leg of the trip was to Watford City, where NRMCA producer member Strata Corporation arranged a meeting with the county engineering department, Hansen said. Watford City, in the heart of oil boom country, is heavily tasked with keeping roads in serviceable condition with the increased construction activity.

 

The next scheduled promotion-focused Webinar is Roller Compacted Concrete: Your Third Choice for Pavement. This Webinar will introduce specifiers to Roller Compacted Concrete. Having characteristics of both asphalt and concrete pavements, RCC is best described as a third pavement choice. Attendees will learn the basics of RCC design and construction. Additionally, they will better understand the benefits of RCC, in terms of both construction and performance. Frequently asked questions regarding reinforcement, maintenance and freeze-thaw durability will also be addressed. 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, March 5 - Roller Compacted Concrete

The preliminary estimate of ready mixed concrete produced in December 2012 is 17.3 million cubic yards, 1.3% lower than in December 2011. The estimated ready mixed concrete production in 2012 is 290.3 million cubic yards, 9.1% higher than in 2011. Eleven states had a lower level of production in 2012 compared to 2011.

Ready mixed concrete production is estimated from cement shipments reported by the U.S. Geological Survey. The data reported are preliminary. NRMCA will update this information on its Web site in March for access by member companies.

The next NRMCA Dispatcher Training Forum is scheduled for March 12-14 in Silver Spring, MD, adjacent to NRMCA headquarters. Dispatchers work under pressure, juggling competing demands at a fast pace. New dispatchers often learn unevenly while under fire, and even seasoned veterans can find it difficult to step back and find ways to improve. Put learning to work: Attendees return ready to perform even more efficiently in core skill areas:

• Putting Orders in Order: Mastering technical, practical and customer-service issues.

• Scheduling Success: Juggling priority customers, advance notices, callbacks and

more.

• Technically Speaking: Knowing ASTM-C94 is vital to success.

• People Professionalism: Managing stress, phone skills and peers.

• Details, details, details: Dealing with clean-ups, small load charges... the list goes

on.

The next NRMCA Plant Manager Certification class is scheduled for March 19 - 22 in Houston. 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.

A free Webinar titled Sustainable Concrete-The Role of Performance-based Specifications is scheduled for Wednesday, April 24 from noon to 1:30 p.m. Eastern time.

Concrete is used in nearly every structure we build today, including buildings, bridges, homes and infrastructure. With greater emphasis placed on sustainability in recent years, engineers, architects, contractors and concrete producers are faced with the challenge of meeting traditional design criteria in addition to evolving criteria that support sustainable construction. Performance-based specifications for concrete can substantially help meet this new challenge. Prescriptive requirements such as minimum cement content or maximum water to cement ratio are among many common specification requirements that can increase the environmental footprint of concrete.  This Webinar outlines how concrete performance can be improved while lowering environmental footprint by implementing performance-based specifications.

Chris Erickson, CEO of Climate Earth, will present EPDs:  An Inside Look at the Keys to Successful Implementation at the 2013 International Concrete Sustainability Conference, May 6-8, in San Francisco. Erickson’s career spans nearly 25 years in large scale systems and data management and seven years in life cycle analysis. He founded Climate Earth in 2008 to bring automation, scalability, efficiency and a focus on business value to life cycle analysis. 

Climate Earth customers include  Central Concrete, Webcor Builders, PG&E and Del Monte Foods as well as numerous Fortune 100 companies. Erickson is a former Fortune 500 executive and entrepreneur. He has built three successful start-up companies, including growing one into a public company. Erickson holds a BA in economics from UC Santa Barbara and an MBA from UC Berkeley. He also serves as chairman of ICEsoft Technologies, a leader in commercial open source software. His presentation is an inside look from the implementer of a concrete company’s EPD. The presentation covers a plain English overview of the standards and methods for developing EPDs. It also covers what you need to know about the standards and the process, and what you should ask and do to have a successful EPD program.

Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Researcher to Discuss Cool Communities. Dev Millstein, a postdoctoral fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s (LBNL) Heat Island Group, will present Cool Communities: The Benefit of Cool Pavements in CA Cities at the 2013 International Concrete Sustainability Conference, May 6-8, in San Francisco. LBNL’s Heat Island Group researches the benefits of cool community strategies – cool roofs, cool pavements, urban vegetation – to save energy, reduce urban ambient air temperatures and improve air quality and health. 

Specifically, the group has analyzed potential temperature reductions due to the adoption of cool pavements in Bakersfield, CA. Potential temperature reductions from cool pavement deployment were compared to potential temperature reductions from cool residential and commercial roof deployment. A state of the art meteorological model was used to estimate the temperature reductions expected throughout the year given various levels of cool pavement and roof deployment. In addition to this research, NBNL is beginning a new project to understand the full lifecycle impacts of cool pavements in California cities. The research will be synthesized into a decision tool that cities can use to evaluate where cool pavement adoption is most beneficial.

Enhance your brand and community reputation! On Tuesday, February 26, from noon to 1:30 p.m. Eastern time, NRMCA will host a Webinar on the Biodiversity at Ready Mixed Concrete Plants. In an effort to aid in the development of sustainable environmental initiatives at ready mixed concrete facilities, the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) developed an approach to sustainability tailored to NRMCA members. The partnership between the two organizations provides guidance to implement on-the-ground biodiversity projects as well as link the successes of the initiatives to community outreach. This unique approach serves the specific needs and potential of ready mixed concrete production facilities to demonstrate environmental stewardship and obtain recognition for voluntary initiatives. It is also compatible with the Sustainable Plant Certification and the WHC Accreditations.

This 1-1/2 hour Webinar will present the Biodiversity Toolkit specifically designed for the ready mixed concrete industry to engage in habitat projects and environmental education to further its sustainability mission. This toolkit is designed to introduce employees to potential projects and the benefits they can bring to the production facilities as well as the environment. Case studies of successful projects will be offered by industry leaders as well as practices that can be readily adopted by any concrete production facility to demonstrate their commitment to the community and environment.

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 February 11 - 15, please click here.

NRMCA's February Internet Spotlight, good through Tuesday, March 5, is the Guideline Manual for Quality Assurance Quality Control. This publication describes the basic requirements of a ready mix producer's quality plan, including a reprint of ACI 121R-04 Quality Management System for Concrete Construction and a section on statistical concepts for quality control purposes. The publication includes a variety of standard reports that the industry can use.

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 3-5, Chicago

Concrete Durability Course

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

 

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, NV

Concrete Works & Board of Directors' Meeting

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

 

November 19-21, Silver Spring

The Effective RMC Supervisor Course

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