The National Concrete Masonry Association's annual convention and Masonry Expo trade show later this month offers us a good opportunity to feature block as the main theme for the first of two issues this year. Sustained strength in school construction and other volume concrete masonry markets, coupled with the flourish in landscape products, promises to foster an upbeat mood as NCMA producers and associate members convene January 25-27 in San Antonio.

This year, the convention is perhaps more timely from a sentimental perspective. Incoming NCMA chairman Rick Roach hails from Barnes & Cone, Inc., an old-line, independent producer based in Syracuse, N.Y. He will be installed in the post 50 years and a few days after Barnes & Cone founder Glen Barnes handled presiding-officer duties at NCMA's 1951 convention. Looking 50 years ahead from the January 22-25, 1951 convention, Mr. Barnes would no doubt see positive and negative developments in concrete masonry. Without too much speculation on how he or his colleagues might view conditions now, we can at least see a few entertaining contrasts and similarities comparing coverage Concrete Products offered readers in its January and March 1951 editions against the Masonry Expo 2001 agenda and the 2001 chairman's report.

Market conditions. In the March 1951 follow-up report on January's convention, we noted: "In his address calling the convention to order, Glen Barnes stressed particularly the competitive situation confronting the concrete masonry industry and the need for intensified cooperative effort to meet the challenge . . . The main competition is coming from plywood, steel and cored, clay block."

None of those products appear to be hampering block producers today. While continuing a tradition of cooperative promotional efforts with national and local contractor groups, many NCMA producers must instead decide how to best deploy plant capacity across gray units and two higher margin, growth categories that their 1950s counterparts could not enjoy: architectural and landscape units.

Concrete Products did not profile Mr. Barnes' business, but if he could read Roach's local-market reflections this month, he would likely be very pleased to see how 1) how Barnes & Cone and its competitors have secured the residential foundation business in central New York, and 2) his company remains in the hands of a guy who, even with other options for his machinery, can turn a resptable profit by staking a good portion of his block business on gray product.

Labor. Continuing from March 1951's convention coverage . . . "It is Mr. Barnes' opinion that the availability of labor may be the determining factor as to the survival and prosperity of the industry." In recent years, NCMA has made promotion of grassroots mason-training initiatives a top priority. Roach notes that Barnes & Cone will devote more resources this year than at any time in the past to supporting groups involved in vocational training.

Trade show. In 1951, Mr. Barnes presided over the NCMA's 31st Annual Convention and the 7th Concrete Industries Exposition at the Cleveland Auditorium. NCMA retained the Concrete Industries theme up until Masonry Expo in 1990. This month, Rick Roach discusses NCMA's plan to merge Masonry Expo and the National Precast Concrete Association's Manufactured Concrete Exposition (MCX). The meeting merger is long overdue and adds MCX to the list of positive developments we hope to still be covering - along with other NCMA and NPCA functions, plus producers like Barnes & Cone - in 2051.