NRMCA e-news
National Ready Mixed Concrete Association
NRMCA's celebration of the 100th anniversary of ready mixed concrete in the U.S. continues its September offerings with two of the Association's most longstanding Producer and Associate members - see below for their respective Web site links. This week's industry milestone: At 564 feet in height, Montana’s Hungry Horse Dam was the third largest dam, and second highest concrete dam, in the world at the time of its completion in 1953 with a volume of 3.1 million cubic yards.
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.
Southern Concrete Materials - In the 1920′s Reed and Abee, Inc. started business in Asheville NC, as Oakley Construction Company; it was soon in the ready mixed concrete business along with the construction business. In 1958, it was acquired by the current company and Asheville Concrete was well on its way. Asheville Concrete Materials, Inc. expanded greatly in the next 25 years, from the one plant to 18 plants. In 1983, the name was changed to Southern Concrete Materials, Inc. to represent the larger geographical area served by the company. Currently, Southern Concrete has over 175 mixer trucks, 25 tractors, 300 employees and 30 locations in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Read more.
An NRMCA producer member since 1953
RexCon LLC - RexCon LLC was founded in 2003 through an acquisition of all assets, including all products, patents, drawing designs and trade names. The original company, Rex Chainbelt, was founded over 100 years ago and quickly established itself as a leading manufacturer of equipment for the paving and ready mixed concrete industry. Now, RexCon LLC continues to offer parts and service support for these legacy concrete plants, mixers and paving machinery, in addition to offering new, used and re-manufactured concrete equipment from its headquarters in Burlington, WI. Read more.
An NRMCA Associate Member since 1933
NEWS LINKS
A revision of the American Concrete Institute's 318-11 Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete has been made to address issues related to testing and the distribution of results, writes NRMCA Senior Vice President of Engineering Colin Lobo, who serves on two ACI committees. "Timely distribution of test results to all impacted parties will ensure that quality is maintained and will save time, money and prevent delays in project schedules," Lobo notes.
Source: The September 3 edition of Concrete SmartBrief which contained a link to this article from the September 2013 issue of Structure magazine.
NRMCA Producer member Schuster Concrete is known for its green mixer trucks, but there is one truck that stands out from the rest. That's because it's pink and is driven by Ginger Zirkle who is doing her job and raising awareness about something she has spent the past year fighting. Zirkle, who was diagnosed with breast cancer that is now in remission, was presented with a pink mixer truck last month with the words "Breast Cancer Awareness: Help Fight for the Cure" inscribed on the side. The company spent nearly $10,000 to custom-paint the mixer at a shop in Baltimore, said Robert Doody, plant manager at Schuster Concrete.
Source: An Associated Press article that was posted September 1 on The Washington Post Web site.
St. Augustine Beach, FL, resident Amy Kennedy spent more than a year planning her recent "cruises." Kennedy, a project engineer for the Flagler County Engineering Department, spent two days on the Atlantic on commercial barges, where she oversaw the dumping of more than 800 tons of concrete at designated areas 15 miles offshore east of Marineland. Late Wednesday, the dumping site became the area’s newest artificial reef as the second and final load was dumped.
Source: A September 3 posting by AggregateResearch.com. Read more.
NewsLinks now takes you to Denmark, where researchers at the University of Southern Denmark are using crushed concrete from demolition sites to prevent phosphorus from being discharged to aquatic environments. Usually we think of demolished concrete walls and floors as environmental contaminants, but in fact this material may turn out to be a valuable resource in nature protection work.
Source: An August 26 posting on the Web site Azom.com, The A to Z of Materials. Read more.
PROMOTIONS
We often hear our members say "jobs can’t be converted once they are designed with asphalt" as well as "the owner will NEVER pay more for concrete than asphalt." Recently, a team from CEMEX in South Florida proved both of these objections are mere hurdles, reports NRMCA Senior National Resource Director Amy Miller. Ryan Hobbie, CEMEX account manager; Dave Aiken, director business development; and Rafael Jimenez, market development manager, joined forces to pursue a very large project in South Florida.
Miller said that Aiken learned of this job through a very strong relationship with a local general contractor. When he learned the project only incorporated an asphalt design he created a plan with the contractor and colleagues Jimenez and Hobbie to pursue concrete in the pavement. Jimenez met with the engineer of record (EOR) and put together a concrete design for the engineer to review. While the EOR did not use Jimenez’s exact design, Jimenez was able to get the engineer to optimize the new design. Hobbie then helped pull CEMEX customer Cobra Construction, a concrete contractor, into the job. Hobbie also helped pursue the process through to fruition. Through established relationships and a team effort they were successfully able to convert the project even though concrete was more costly than asphalt (rumored $40k). The owners felt the additional cost was of value based on concrete’s long-term durability. Also, the owner was pursuing LEED accreditation and concrete’s ability to provide a point for heat island, non-roof credit was a bonus, allowing a cost-effective way to receive an additional LEED point. For more information, contact Amy Miller at amiller@nrmca.org. Recently, NRMCA Senior Director, National Resources, Doug O'Neill was reviewing specific project opportunities with Kerry Sutton, director of engineering at the Michigan Concrete Association. They then identified an engineering firm that was working on several National Account projects as a potential target. Ms. Sutton admitted to having a longtime associate within that firm and was willing to set up a meeting, O'Neill said.
"Due to Kerry's personal relationship with this engineer, we were welcomed into an office that would have otherwise been very difficult to get into and have them freely discuss with us how they go about designing pavements," related O'Neill. "Not only were they open to hearing our message, but the offer was made to provide us with contact information for their other offices across the country." The Michigan-based firm does work with many of NRMCA's National Account clients. In the meeting with Ms. Sutton's contact, the contact expressed confidence that the geo-technical engineers working on the firm's projects knew how to properly design concrete parking lots. Many of the firm's locations across the country are in markets where the geo-tech's are unfamiliar with ACI 330R-08. Hopefully, thanks to Ms. Sutton's help, the concrete industry will be able to make inroads at those locations as well. For more information, contact Doug O'Neill at doneill@nrmca.org. A large NRMCA Producer member is planning now for an all-out assault in its service area on parking lots and SLR for 2014, reports Senior National Resource Director Jon Hansen. Between now and January 2014, three training meetings are planned to assist the producer's sales and marketing team to become proficient in Concrete Pavement Analyst software (CPA), overlay applications using the Guide to Concrete Overlays of Asphalt Parking Areas and utilizing the Design Assistance Program (DAP) for both parking lots and streets and local roads (SLR). Another component of the program is a simple front and back prospecting sheet that sales people can drop off at a business when they notice a parking lot in need of repair.
Another element of this producer's program that sets it apart from others is the involvement of suppliers, Hansen said. The producer has enlisted the help of its cement, fly ash and admixture companies to facilitate in the training. In addition, each sales person is required to participate in NRMCA Webinars between now and December that related to parking lots, SLR, CPA and DAP.
For more information, contact Jon Hansen at jhansen@nrmca.org. The next topic in NRMCA's series of promotion-focused Webinars is Effectively Communicating Sustainability. But act fast - this Webinar is scheduled for tomorrow. Click on the link below to learn more and to register online.
ASSOCIATION & INDUSTRY NEWS
Please join us on the morning of Tuesday, September 24, for a Walk for Wellness to benefit the RMC Research & Education Foundation. The event will be held in conjunction with NRMCA’s ConcreteWorks Conference & Expo and Fall Board of Directors Meeting outside Las Vegas. Please join us in spreading awareness of how wellness is an important element of daily life, including at the workplace. Your participation is a tremendous opportunity to also support this initiative and the Foundation at the same time. Registration will be $25 per walker and will be complimentary for drivers participating in the 8th Annual Truck Mixer Driver Championship.
For more information and to register for the Walk, please click here. Sponsorship opportunities are also available for this event. Please click here to access the sponsorship form. For more information, contact Jennifer LeFevre at 240-485-1151 or at jlefevre@rmc-foundation.org.
ENGINEERING
The recent NRMCA Concrete Durability Course held in San Jose, CA, was highly praised by the 23 attendees. The course was hosted by Central Concrete – A US Concrete Company at its office in San Jose and co-sponsored by CalCIMA. Their support of the program is gratefully acknowledged. Twenty two individuals attempted the exam offered at the end of the course, of which 15 obtained a passing score and 13 obtained the NRMCA Concrete Technologist Level 4 certification. NRMCA Level 4 is obtained by persons who have the NRMCA Level 3 certification at the NRMCA Technical Short Course.
All attendees and those who obtained certification are congratulated for their dedication to continuing education. The next Durability Course will be scheduled in the May/June 2014 time frame. The NRMCA Technical Short Course is scheduled for November 4-8 in Silver Spring, MD. Registration is limited to 40 attendees. Click here for information on the upcoming Technical Short Course, including registration options and NRMCA staff contact. GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
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 September 2 - 6, 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. Recently, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published in the Federal Register NRMCA’s application for an industry-wide exemption from the new Hours of Service 30-minute break provision (FR notice can be viewed here). FMCSA’s Federal Register notice requests comments on the exemption application by Thursday, September 19: It is very important to not only relay to FMCSA the burden the 30-minute break has on the industry, but also to show overwhelming and broad industry support for the exemption. To these points, NRMCA is urging individuals and companies to please submit comments to the Federal Register docket on the exemption application. While original and unique submissions are preferred, NRMCA has drafted template comments for your use (please click here to download).
Once your comments are finalized, they can be submitted electronically, by fax, mail or by hand (each detailed in the Federal Register notice). NRMCA suggests using the electronic delivery method to ensure that all comments are received by FMCSA, at the latest, close-of-business on September 19.
DIRECTIONS FOR ELECTRONIC SUBMITTAL: Please visit www.regulations.gov. In the field titled Search, enter FMCSA-2013-0317 and then click Search. Next to the listing titled Hours of Service of Drivers; Exemption Applications: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, click the button titled Comment Now! Then just follow the 3-step process to upload and finalize your comment submittal.
For more information, contact Kevin Walgenbach, Gary Mullings or Kerri Leininger. The September 2013 issue of Concrete Capitol Connection is now available online, with updates on legislation, regulation and case law from the previous month. If you would like to receive this monthly newsletter in a separate e-mail or if you have questions or comments, please contact NRMCA’s Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org.
EDUCATION &TRAINING
The registration portal closes Monday, September 16, for NRMCA's once-a-year Concrete 101 workshop: THE ready mixed concrete industry’s flag course. Its content assures your senior- to mid-level employees understand the ready mixed concrete technical and operations functions so they have a context to make decisions. Past attendees covered the full gamut of non-technical staff, including accountants, lawyers, HR executives, executive assistants, senior level dispatchers and new hires – as well as sales reps.
The workshop dates are October 1-3; It will be held at the RMC Research & Education Foundation Center in Silver Spring, MD. The optional exam on October 4 is for those earning their Certified Concrete Sales Professional (CCSP) certification. The discount hotel cutoff date is also Monday, September 16. Register Today! *Note that this class is a prerequisite for all STEPs track certifications except Sales and Marketing where it is a required course. Click here for registration options, more information and NRMCA staff contact.
CALENDAR
*Please note that e-mail and direct links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's Web site.
September 12, Webinar
Effectively Communicating Sustainability
Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154
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
ConcreteWorks & Board of Directors' Meeting
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
September 25-26, Cambridge, MA
MIT CSHUB Showcase 2013
Email: Donna Hudson, donnaon@mit.edu
September 26, Webinar
Sustainable Design with Concrete
Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154
October 1, Webinar
Designing and Specifying Pervious Concrete - Part 1 (*Part 2 on October 8)
Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154
October 1, Webinar
Roller Compacted Concrete: Another Choice for Pavement
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
October 1, Webinar
Roller Compacted Concrete: Another Choice for Pavement
Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154
November 4, Silver Spring, MD
Concrete Technologist Traning & Certification "Short Course"
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
November 5, Webinar
Introduction to Concrete Pavement Analyst Software
Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154
November 5, Webinar
The Quantifiable Advantages of Concrete Parking Lots
Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154
November 7, Webinar
Sustainable Design with Concrete
Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154
November 8, Webinar
ACI 330 R-08 – The Gold Standard of Concrete Parking Lot Design
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
November 12-14, Silver Spring, MD
The Effective RMC Supervisor Course
Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154
November 19, Webinar
Designing and Specifying Pervious Concrete - Part 1 (*Part 2 on November 26)
Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154
December 3, Webinar
Roller Compacted Concrete: Another Choice for Pavement
Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154
December 3, Sacramento, CA
Handling Concrete Specifications, Low Strength Problems and Mixture Submittals
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
December 4, Glendora, CA
Handling Concrete Specifications, Low Strength Problems and Mixture Submittals
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
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
December 23, Webinar
Designing and Specifying Pervious Concrete - Part 1 (*Part 2 on December 30)
Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154
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