Cemex veteran Mack brings pavement depth to ACPA chairmanship

Cemex Director of Market Development–Commercial Strategy Jim Mack was elected 2019 American Concrete Pavement Association chairman during the group’s annual meeting, held in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., under the “Celebrating Concrete Victories” banner. Based at Cemex USA Houston headquarters, Mack succeeds Chuck Niederriter, who during a traditional passing of the gavel noted how Mack is the first ACPA chairman to have served with a cement company, regional shipper’s group, ACPA-affiliated Chapter, ACPA National and the Portland Cement Association.



2019 ACPA Chairman Jim Mack: Prioritizing promotion and ConcreteCOMPETES.

“The combination of his work experiences, business sense, and technical prowess give him some unique perspectives on the industry,” said Niederriter, chief operating officer of Golden Triangle Construction Co., Imperial, Pa. “But even more than that, Jim has a well-deserved reputation as being a staunch and tireless advocate for concrete pavements.”

Mack cited two main objectives for his term as chairman: Implementation of the industry pavement promotion plan, plus continuation of his predecessor’s ConcreteCOMPETES initiative, aimed at aligning resources at the national level to scale up pavement promotion and support the local network.

ANNUAL HONORS

In addition to officer elections, the meeting saw the naming of top ACPA annual award recipients. The Hartmann-Hirschman-Egan Award was presented to Don Detwiler, chairman of Pennsylvania-based New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co., for long-standing commitment to advancing technology and elevating concrete pavement quality; plus, a distinguished career and lifelong service to the association and industry. The award is named for past ACPA Secretary-Treasurers Harold Hartmann (1964-1974), Robert Hirschman (1975-1987) and Edward Egan (1988-2007), the latter two also serving as 1967 and 1986 chairmen.

IMAGE

New Enterprise Stone & Lime’s Don Detwiler accepts Hartmann-Hirschman-Egan Award.

The Marlin J. Knutson Award for Technical Achievement Award was presented to Oregon State University School of Civil and Construction Engineering Head Jason Weiss, Ph.D., P.E. Named for ACPA’s chief executive officer from 1985-1998, the award recognizes fundamental advancement of concrete pavement durability through applied research, including application of ring, dual-ring and resistivity tests, plus the “formation factor.” Some of Professor Weiss’ notable technical achievements are reflected in the “Performance Engineered Mixtures for Concrete Pavements” program, equipping the Federal Highway Administration, state departments of transportation and industry to work collaboratively to develop the next generation specification for concrete pavement quality assurance.

Rounding out the honors, ACPA named a) the Village of Kimberly, Wis., as the Harold J. Halm Presidential Award recipient, recognizing the town’s attainment of 100 percent concrete street or road pavements; b) City of Boulder, Colo., and Florida Department of Transportation District 5 as Lifetime Pavement Recognition Award recipients, each harboring concrete thoroughfares with seven-plus decades’ service life; and, c) Florida DOT and Archer Western Constructors as Sustainable Practices Award recipients for a design-build contract in Jacksonville.