August 1, 2008

Editorial

Scrap Market Manipulation

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, DON MARSH, EDITOR

A late-July report in The New York Times, Fuel Subsidies Overseas Take A Toll on U.S., details how governments in China, India and other countries with...

News Scope

Oldcastle Ceo Mark Towe

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, BY CP STAFF

Effective this month, Mark Towe has replaced Tom Hill as chief executive of Oldcastle, the North American business of Dublin-based CRH Plc. The resignation...

Terver to succeed Zurich-bound Holcim (US) Chief Dolberg

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, BY CP STAFF

Patrick Dolberg, who has served as Holcim (US) Inc. chief executive officer since March 2003 and held the same title at St. Lawrence Cement in the five...

Double-Digit Inflation Pervades Construction

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, BY CP STAFF

Surging prices for diesel fuel, asphalt, steel and other materials are clobbering construction budgets, notes Associated General Contractors of America...

Caterpillar-Navistar alliance nets Cat-branded heavy duty truck, engine design synergy

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, BY CP STAFF

A recently penned Memorandum of Understanding will see Caterpillar Inc. and Navistar International Corp. pursue global on-highway truck business opportunities, including development of a North American severe-service construction model, and cooperate on a variety of engine platforms...

CIFA positions Chinese operator as world's top gun in concrete machinery

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, BY CP STAFF

A consortium led by Changsha Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology Development Co. in Changsha, China, and financial investors has agreed to...

New York Producers, Teamsters Locals Settle Strikes

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, BY CP STAFF

More than 500 New York City and Albany, N.Y., mixer truck drivers returned to work in mid-July after strikes that began the first of the month, a day after contracts expired...

ICPI relocates headquarters in self-management transition

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, BY CP STAFF

The Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute opened new headquarters in northern Virginia last month, marking a switch to self-management following 10 years under Washington, D.C.-based association manager Bostrom Corp...

Green-minded investors mold concrete masonry alternative

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, BY CP STAFF

A Los Altos, Calif., sustainable building materials producer eyeing construction of a new masonry plant, Integrity Block, has secured $2.7 million in...

Bonanza's Hancock Signature

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, BY CP STAFF

Slick camera work and computer image manipulation suggest producers of Hancock, the action adventure released for the Fourth of July weekend, exceeded their rental agreement with Bonanza Concrete Inc., Van Nuys, Calif...

Briefs

Producers

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

Scott Jeffreys has been named president of Performance Brick, a new Darlington, Pa.-based company offering environmentally friendly faade panels. Available...

Organizations

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

Portland Cement Association (PCA) named Jerry Spiker, PE, AIA, LEED AP, a regional engineering manager in the Engineered Structures department. Based...

L.B. Foster Appoints New CXT President

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

Pittsburgh-based L.B. Foster Co. has named Kevin Haugh vice president & general manager-Concrete Products and president, CXT Inc., a wholly owned Foster...

Manufacturers

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

Alvarado, Texas-based C&W Manufacturing announces its 30th anniversary. Specializing in dust-control products, especially for use on concrete batch plants,...

Compliance Matters

Documenting Safety Program Requirements

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, BY BOB ECKHARDT

In both general industry and construction, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulates development and maintenance of company health and safety programs...

Innovations

Equipment & Products

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

HORIZONTAL LIFELINE SYSTEM The Permacable Horizontal Lifeline System is a synthetic, lightweight cable strung between L- or T-shaped supports that can...

Articles

CIM Program patrons earn extra credit

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

The approach of fall marks the beginning of a new academic term for aspiring concrete industry professionals, as 500-plus students enter or resume Concrete...

Committee Seeks World of Concrete Auction Donations

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

The Concrete Industry Management National Steering Committee is seeking donations for its fourth annual auction, scheduled for February 5, 2009, at the...

CIM Students Evaluate Concrete Bunkers at Omaha Beach

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

Over spring break, five students in the Concrete Industry Management (CIM) program at California State University-Chico assisted in the evaluation of concrete bunkers at Pointe du Hoc in Normandy, France...

New Orleans Tops Fastest-Growing Cities List

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

Citing new Census Bureau figures, Associated General Contractors of America reports that New Orleans, in continuing recovery from Hurricane Katrina three years ago, was the fastest-growing large city (100,000-plus residents) between July 2006-07, when the population rose 13.8 percent...

Drum cleaning, lock/tag, and backing accident-prevention training programs

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

Among three new safety-training programs the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) has released, the Backing Accident Prevention Kit comprises a Powerpoint presentation on CD, training-documentation and accident-reporting forms, standard truck-mixer backing hand and arm signals (English and Spanish), and reference cards for contractors assisting in backing truck mixers on site...

NRMCA Rolls Out Fleet Manager Certification

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

The inaugural National Ready Mixed Concrete Association Fleet Manager Certification Course will be offered Sept. 30-Oct. 3 in Silver Spring, Md., at the organization's Education Center....

CIFA positions Chinese operator as world's top gun in concrete machinery

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

A consortium led by Changsha Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology Development Co. in Changsha, China, and financial investors has agreed to acquire Milan-based CIFA SpA...

Low Seat-Belt Usage Reported Among Commercial Vehicle Drivers

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

Despite increasingly stringent seat belt laws and corporate policies, statistics show that seat-belt usage among commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers remains low...

Home builders address silica exposure hazards, safety

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

To help employers and their workers minimize exposure to silica, the National Association of Home Builders has developed a “Silica Hazards in Home Building” safety card...

PCA: Housing Recovery Hinges on Inventory Correction

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

In its most recent Economic Research report, Portland Cement Association tracks housing start activity at 36 percent below 2007 levels, marking a third...

OSHA Steps Up Silica Inspections

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

In its release of the silica exposure safety card (opposite page), the National Association of Home Builders reminded members of how the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) established this year a National Emphasis Program (NEP) to reduce employee exposure to crystalline silica...

CSDA Issues First Concrete Polishing Spec

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

Part of Concrete Sawing & Drilling Association (CSDA) efforts to provide standards, specifications and best practices for the sawing and drilling industry, as well as vital materials for architects and engineers working with sawing and drilling contractors, recently released CSDA guidelines include two documents: (a) a Specification, titled Polishing Concrete; and, (b) a Best Practice titled CSDA Diamond Cutting Tools for ADA....

U.S Concrete expands Ingram platform

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

U.S. Concrete Inc., Houston, has announced acquisition of nine ready-mixed concrete plants, including real property, rolling stock and working capital,...

U.S. Green Building Council Contingent Tours EPA-Honored Roanoke Cement Plant

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

A lesson in reducing energy consumption as well as using cement and cement-related products to help build a more sustainable community was gained by members of U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) Southwest Virginia Chapter during an early-summer tour of Roanoke Cement Co.'s (RCC) Troutville, Va., plant. Over 60 attendees — including USGBC members, ready-mixed concrete producers, as well as plant management and employees — enjoyed presentations, refreshments and a bus ride tour highlighting the last 15 years of the facility's environmental progress....

Star Power

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

A second flag bearing a lone star now flies at the Transit Mix Concrete & Materials Co. Seven Points plant outside Dallas, flanking Old Glory and Texas'...

Diamonds in the Rough

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Don Marsh

Detroit has seen better than its current economic cycle, but thanks to two companies entrenched in Michigan, the city has landed a potential one-two punch...

Out of Sight

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Steven Prokopy

When the family-run Rohrer's Quarry, Inc., first opened in 1887, it was located in the middle of one of the largest limestone deposits in Pennsylvania,...

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