Sources: GCP Applied Technologies Inc., Cambridge, Mass.; CP staff
GCP directors have adopted a stockholder rights plan and declared a dividend distribution of one preferred share purchase right on each outstanding share of company common stock. The move responds to large blocks of shares changing hands in recent weeks, netting one New York hedge fund sponsor, 40 North Management LLC, a 24.6 percent ownership stake.
Read MoreSources: USG Corp., Chicago; U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Washington, D.C.
Surveys behind the Q1 2019 USG + Chamber of Commerce Commercial Construction Index find that the labor shortage continues to pose major challenges to the industry, causing contractors to ask skilled workers to do more work (81 percent of respondents), struggle to meet deadlines (70 percent), increase costs for new work (63 percent), and reject new projects (40 percent).
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Sources: U.S. Court of Appeals for Seventh Circuit, Chicago; Littler Mendelson P.C., San Francisco; CP staff
A federal appellate court recently determined that enforcement of a Grand Chute, Wis., sign ordinance prompting removal of a 12-ft. inflatable rat—staged on public right-of-way and targeting a masonry contractor performing work at auto dealership—did not violate the First Amendment rights of Construction and General Laborers’ Union Local 330, Menasha, Wis.
Read MoreSource: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
An OSHA complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts alleges that Tara Construction Inc., Boston, retaliated against an injured employee by facilitating his arrest at the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement staff. Reporting an injury to an employer and spurring an OSHA proceeding are protected activities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the agency contends.
Read MoreSources: Gate Precast Co., Jacksonville, Fla.; CP staff
To improve efficiencies and collaboration across its Southeast and South Central precast/prestressed concrete operations, Gate Precast has consolidated four business units under a Northern Division, spanning Winchester, Ky., Oxford, N.C. and Ashland City, Tenn., plants; and, Southern Division, encompassing Monroeville, Ala., Kissimmee, Fla., and Hillsboro, Texas, plants.
Read MoreSources: Mutual Materials, Bellevue, Wash.; CP staff
A key concrete or clay masonry and hardscape products player throughout the Pacific Northwest has scheduled a late-March opening of a new concept design showroom in downtown Portland, Ore.
Read MoreSource: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
A new EPA initiative aims to leverage industry and government expertise to ensure the effective use of the nation’s water resources. “[They] are the lifeblood of our communities, and the federal government has the responsibility to ensure all Americans have access to reliable sources of clean and safe water,” says Assistant Administrator for Water David Ross. “There is innovative work happening across the sector to advance water reuse, and the EPA wants to accelerate that work through coordinated federal leadership.”
Read MoreSource: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Ahead of a prospective rulemaking to revise standards nearing their 50-year mark, OSHA is requesting information on the types, age, and usage of powered industrial trucks; vehicle maintenance and retrofitting; how to regulate older powered industrial trucks; types of accidents and injuries associated with operating such machines; plus, costs and benefits of retrofitting the machines with safety features. The agency adopted a powered industrial truck standard, now categorized CFR 1910.178, in 1971 and used an American National Standards Institute document issued two years prior as the basis.
Read MoreSources: Oldcastle Infrastructure, Atlanta; CP staff
Oldcastle Infrastructure has grown a market footprint established through one of its inaugural businesses, Utility Vault, by acquiring Quality Concrete Products of Mukilteo, Wash. The producer serves the greater Seattle market with manhole, catch basin and companion drainage structure offerings. They complement output from Oldcastle Infrastructure plants in Auburn and Spokane, Wash., and expand a customer base in the Puget Sound region, a key growth area.
Read MoreSources: Charles Pankow Foundation, McLean, Va.; CP staff
The Charles Pankow Foundation’s latest grant will help fund a project, “Foundation Mats with High Strength Steel Reinforcement,” under principal investigator Jack Moehle, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley. Project findings stand to further validate the case for elevated rebar strength thresholds in American Concrete Institute and model building code language. Joining the Pankow Foundation as research allies are the ACI Foundation and Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute Education and Research Foundation.
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