Sources: Martin Marietta Materials, Raleigh, N.C.; CP staff
By Don Marsh
A stock-for-stock takeover Martin Marietta launched December 12 for Vulcan Materials Co. would create a heavy building materials powerhouse with aggregate shipments (2010 combined: 278 million tons) more than double those of its closest peers, Oldcastle Materials (118 million tons) and Lehigh Hanson Inc. (116 million tons), but limited additional scale in ready mixed concrete and asphalt production.
Read MoreSources: Concrete Industry Management, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff
The signature item for the seventh annual CIM auction at World of Concrete in Las Vegas is a Mack Truck model GU 813 equipped with a McNeilus 11-cu.-yd. concrete mixer donated by Mack Trucks, Inc. and McNeilus Co., a division of Oshkosh Truck.
Read MoreSource: Women in Concrete Alliance, Dublin, Ohio
Entries are currently being accepted through January 6 for the second annual Woman of Distinction award, presented by the Women in Concrete Alliance. According to Kari Moosman, co-founder of WICA, the award was created to celebrate women in the industry. “We are excited to see a woman in the industry honored by her peers,” said Moosmann. “This award will reinforce that women are a valued resource in the concrete construction industry.”
Read MoreSource: Princeton Architectural Press, New York
Available on December 15, No Nails, No Lumber: The Bubble Houses of Wallace Neff examines the architect’s development of Airform construction as a solution to the global housing crisis in the 1940s. Better known for his elegant Spanish Colonial-revival estates in Southern California, Neff had a passion for his dome-shaped “bubble houses” made of reinforced concrete cast over a balloon.
Read MoreSources: Belgard Hardscapes, Atlanta; CP staff
Belgard officials report that permeable concrete pavers may help qualify projects for the Environmental Protection Agency’s new Urban Waters Small Grants program, awarding $1.8 million–$3.8 million for research, training and demonstration efforts. EPA is accepting grant applications through January 23, noting the program’s goal of improving water quality, in turn supporting community revitalization and local public health, economic and livability priorities.
Read MoreSource: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.
In a recently issued final rule, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration greatly restricts commercial vehicle drivers’ use of hand-held mobile phones, and exposes a) violators to maximum $2,750 fines and/or commercial driver’s license disqualification; and, b) vehicle-owning employers to maximum fines of $11,000 per violation.
Read MoreSource: Maxon Industries, Milwaukee
With an eye toward 2012 World of Concrete (January 24–27, Las Vegas) roll out, Maxon is billing its 10-yd. Techcrete as the first truck-mounted concrete mixer to offer a continuous component weighing system with load cells and exclusive on-board batch controls.
Read MoreSources: Hanson Pipe & Precast, Irving, Texas; CP staff
Hanson Pipe has acquired the Sherman-Dixie Concrete precast operation in Dayton, Ohio, adding the property to an East Region portfolio that includes Sidney and Columbus, Ohio, sites.
Read MoreSource: Dana Holding Corp., Maumee, Ohio
Dana Holding and Eaton Corp. will end their alliance behind Roadranger by mid-2012, opting to sell, market, and service truck powertrain products independently of each other.
Read MoreSource: Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, Chicago
PCI announced that Level I and Level II Quality Control Schools now test from the third edition of TM-101, which launched in mid-October.
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