Source: Oldcastle Architectural, Atlanta; CP staff
InsulTech, a completely insulated concrete masonry unit (ICMU) wall assembly offering energy efficiency and moisture management performance benefits, coupled with standard installation assurances, leads new offerings Oldcastle Architectural will bring to the American Institute of Architects 2014 Convention and Expo, June 26-28 at Chicago’s McCormick Place.
Read MoreSource: National Precast Concrete Association, Carmel, Ind.
The NPCA Sustainability Committee plans to enlist 10 precast producers across North America to test software calculating three environmental impact factors tied to mix designs and plant operations: global warming potential, primary energy consumption and water use. The Excel-based program enables users to benchmark and track progress against baseline impact numbers.
Read MoreSources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff
Set for early-July release, NRMCA’s Improving Concrete Quality shows ready mixed company executives and managers how to boost operational performance; reduce labor and material costs; and, lower the environmental footprint of concrete while raising the overall quality of cast-in-place construction.
Read MoreSources: Quebec Office of Minister of Economy, Innovation and Export Trade; McInnis Cement, Montreal; CP staff
Leaders in the newly elected Quebec government have confirmed the major financial commitment—$100 million equity stake plus $250 million in senior debt—prior province officials announced earlier this year for the $1.1 billion McInnis Cement plant and marine terminal in Port-Daniel-Gascons.
Read MoreSource: Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA), Washington, D.C.; CP staff
Under a “Getting Schooled in Infrastructure” banner, organized labor’s most proactive voice for federal transportation investment has kicked off a six-week tour of 22 cities and Congressional districts, a bridge debris-bearing school bus leading the charge.
Read MoreSource: Associated General Contractors of America, Washington, D.C.
Construction employers added 6,000 workers last month as the industryʼs unemployment rate dropped to 8.6 percent, its lowest May level in six years, according to an AGC analysis of new government data. Tempering its response, the group notes that employment gains remain spotty and thousands of highway construction jobs are at risk due to federal funding uncertainties.
Read MoreSources: National Labor Relations Board; CP staff The NRLB has certified International Union of Operating Engineers Local 77 in Suitland, Md., as collective-bargaining representative for equipment operators and mechanics at the Structural Concrete Products LLC plant in Manassas, Va. The Board adopted a regional director’s January 2014 decision on the prior month’s representation vote—four in favor, three opposed—among proposed bargaining…
Read MoreSources: Concrete Sustainability Hub at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge; Corning Inc., New York; CP staff
Borrowing from a ‘rigidity theory’ that has led Corning Inc. engineers to the high performance Gorilla Glass—its toughness in thin sections equal to smartphone and laptop computer screens—the Concrete Sustainability Hub is studying potential portland cement reformulation aimed at higher fracture resistance than current ASTM C 150 product.
Read MoreSources: Associated Builders & Contractors, Washington, D.C.; CP staff
ABC’s 19,300-sq.-ft. national headquarters is one of the first buildings to be certified under Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors, a program available to owners or individual commercial space tenants from the Green Building Initiative (GBI), Portland, Ore.
Read MoreSources: Banyan Capital Partners, Toronto; CP staff
Backed by private equity operator Banyan Capital, Pennecon Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Larry Puddister has led a management team buyout of the company’s ready mixed, precast and concrete block & paver business—serving markets in the far eastern reaches of North America.
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