Anyone learning the ABCs of concrete production and practice is bound to encounter two 100-year-old Michigan institutions: American Concrete Institute and Besser Co. In upcoming issues, Concrete Products will track centennial activities of our friends at ACI. Here in our Block & Paver issue, we'll focus on a company that has grown from a 1904 purveyor of hand tamp, 20 block/hour machines, to a global force in concrete plant equipment.

Besser has set the June 18-20 weekend for a formal 100th anniversary celebration, capping off observances at the industry's largest gatherings thus far in 2004 — the MCPX (Atlanta), World of Concrete (Orlando) and Bauma (Munich) trade exhibits. The opening day will see a ceremony at its Alpena headquarters and a celebration dinner on the Lake Huron shore. Besser officials anticipate a cross section of a guests from around North America and overseas to join company staff and families. The event will follow an agenda similar to a three-day, May 1954 gathering to mark the 50th anniversary. It coincided with the 72nd birthday of company president Jesse Besser, whose father Herman sought to support his Alpena Portland Cement business by tooling block machinery.

A July 1954 Concrete Products report, “Besser Celebrates Golden Anniversary,” reflected on the festivities, which included a birthday banquet with lake trout as the main course, plus a giant cake whose five layers symbolized important developments Besser Co. had brought to block machinery. Among them were the power tamper, automatic plain pallet stripper tamper, and vibration-under-pressure compaction. The latter debuted in 1939 with the Vibrapac, a machine also known for front pallet feed and electrically-controlled height and block density.

The report viewed the industry within the post-war building boom, hinting what the future might hold for cement and concrete producers. Paul Townsend, president of Alpena's Huron Portland Cement Co., told the 700-plus banquet guests that his company operated the world's largest cement plant, and 17 percent of its output was used in concrete masonry unit production. Huron Superintendent William MacDonald then chimed in on the need for quality control in block making akin to what cement companies exercised in milling powder, concluding: “It is much more difficult to maintain high standards and keep a straight course in concrete block because of far-flung and widely scattered ownership.”

What would he say about cement and concrete today? Huron Portland emerged in the 1980s as the Great Lakes platform of Lafarge North America, whose parent company is the world's largest cement player. One of Townsend's fellow banquet speakers was none other than M.E. Rinker, an up and coming Florida operator whose legacy remains one of quality control, operational excellence, and — as an alternative to “far-flung ownership” — consolidation. As 1954 National Concrete Masonry Association president, Doc Rinker was on hand to present Jesse Besser a bronze plaque commemorating block machine advancements.

Choosing business over birthday, Mr. Besser took to the banquet podium to discuss what the industry would need to do to realize an annual shipment target of 6 billion block, or three times the 1954 level. He underscored the need for rigid manufacturing control; continuous production improvement; greater understanding of product end uses and potential applications; more owner and architect involvement in selection; and, more effective promotion and field support.

Mr. Besser put his money where his mouth was, setting a standard for industry reinvestment his successors have embraced. The 1954 celebration saw groundbreaking on a facility for the company's Blockmakers Workshop series, which will have golden anniversary recognition this month. Blockmakers courses now meet in the World Center for Concrete Technology. Besser Co., Lafarge, Huron Portland heir W.P. Harris II, and other leaders dedicated the Alpena facility four years ago to offer an industry-specific, two-year college degree program, plus Blockmakers and other continuing education courses for plant, sales and management staff.

A little history is bound to be repeated this month in Alpena — fun, festivities, and discourse warranting reflection 50 years from now. To the Besser team behind it all, we say “Hat's off!”

e-mail: dmarsh@primediabusiness.com