Ash Grove, Monarch principals define longevity on PCA 100-year timeline

Sources: Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Ill.; CP staff

Centennial anniversary observances during the 2016 PCA Spring Congress peaked with a March 14 reception at Chicago’s Renaissance Blackstone Hotel, where officials of Ash Grove Lime & Cement, Continental Portland Cement, Lehigh Portland Cement and 50 peer operators had assembled in 1916 to “raise the standard of concrete construction, improve the quality of concrete work, increase the quantity of cement used in established fields, and develop new fields.”

Read More

Sika expands North American admixture, mortar production footprint

Sources: Sika AG, Baar, Switzerland; CP staff

Sika has opened a mortars and concrete admixtures plant in Vancouver, B.C.—the company’s fourth in Canada and 18th in North America—eyeing the Pacific Northwest market, especially the Vancouver, Seattle and Portland population centers. The facility is part of a NAFTA region supply chain strategy expanding production capacities in major cities and “conurbations.”

Read More

OSHA tallies safety gains at severe injury reporting requirement’s one-year mark

Sources: Occupational Safety & Health Administration; CP staff

In the first year of a new reporting requirement for severe work-related injuries, companies notified OSHA of 10,000-plus incidents, spurring opportunities for the agency to work with employers to eliminate hazards and protect other workers. Since January 2015, employers have been required to report any injury involving hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye within 24 hours, and continued to be bound by an eight-hour limit for workplace fatality reporting.

Read More