Void Former

The single-use void former was developed by Dayton Superior as a cost-effective, high-performance alternative to the standard urethane void former. The new product uses standard lifting hardware and is available for both 0.444-in. and 0.671-in. P75 utility anchors, allowing the company to meet nearly all precaster needs. It can be used in both utility and architectural precast projects, and may also contribute to LEED credits.

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Dust Collector

Besser’s DCS-270 Shaker Baghouse, a new model in its line of dust collectors, handles 550 cfm of air volume with a 2.1 air-to-cloth ratio. The model features a 43.5-in.-diameter housing with a unique center column design. The shaker mechanism utilizes a maintenance-free, turbine vibrator that shakes the bags in an elliptic rotation around the collector’s center column. Bags in the DCS-270 undergo automatic cleaning cycles at pre-set time intervals based on production. Consistently timed cleaning cycles controlled by programmable logic circuitry extends bag life and reduces maintenance costs, according to the manufacturer.

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Drop-in Anchor

The new Smart DI+ design reduces the amount of force required to set the anchor. What used to take about 20 hammer blows on a typical 3/8-in.-diameter part can now be accomplished in approximately five blows, thus reducing overall labor costs by approximately 50 percent, according to the manufacturer. The cylindrical plug design concentrates more expansion at the bottom of the anchor where it’s needed to maximize performance.

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Cat Vocational Trucks CT660 contest opens

Owners or operators of heavy-duty trucks—including mixer, dump and boom- or knuckle-crane bearing models—can enter the “Win a Cat Truck” contest, August 1–September 30, by submitting a video, essay or audio recording to www.DriveCat.com. Entries are to convey how participants in concrete and aggregate hauling, plus other vocations, use trucks and how a new Cat CT660 will make them more successful.

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Highway funding faces perfect storm

The slight, gradual rebound in projected 2011-12 concrete demand has given way to a nearly flat outlook for the period, after a downgraded forecast Portland Cement Association released late last month. Chief Economist Ed Sullivan attributed highway-funding legislation uncertainty in calling for a 0.6 percent 2011-12 cement consumption increase over a 2009-10 trough. A previous forecast that might have seen cement shipments this year and next combine for an 8–10 percent gain factored a 20 percent increase in federal highway funding, which PCA now sees will continue at its present level.

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Cemex nears $378 million Ready Mix USA buyout

Sources: Cemex, S.A.B. de C.V., Monterrey, Mexico; CP staff Pursuant to the exercise of a put option by Ready Mix USA, Cemex will assume full ownership in the two Cemex USA–Ready Mix USA joint ventures. Created in 2005, they span ready mixed, concrete block, cement and aggregate production and distribution operations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and five other Southeast states.…

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