The new chairman of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association looks to the industry's future through Vision 2010. “The program was launched last year and is a follow-up to RMC 2000, the grassroots initiative from 1993 that charted a way the industry could be better and do better,” says Hardy Johnson, 2004 NRMCA chairman and Titan America-Florida Business president.

“Vision 2010 is a roadmap to the future, because it encompasses bold, audacious goals,” Johnson tells Concrete Products. “It raises the bar and will create a future for our industry that's bigger and better than ever. This year I want to lead the charge to keep the industry moving forward toward fulfilling that vision.”

One element of Vision 2010 is its joining of environmental goals to industry efforts, and that's a strong benefit to the industry, Johnson affirms. “One area that's extremely important to me is Vision 2010's linking of our promotional efforts with environmental stewardship,” he says. “Today, when you look at the impact of LEED — Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (see related sidebar) — we have a great opportunity to demonstrate the environmental benefits of ready mixed concrete over other building materials.”

For too long the industry has shied away from that dialogue, he explains. “By embracing our environmental responsibilities and demonstrating our benefits, we can take a leap forward in promotion.”

NATIONAL RESOURCE DIRECTORS

Utilizing LEED in promotion will support another association activity: expansion of its national accounts program and the hiring of additional “national resource directors,” or, regional promotion directors. Under the supervision of NRMCA Vice President-Marketing Glenn Ochsenreiter, the program's mission is to promote additional concrete use at more than 300 large companies and organizations with many standardized facilities across North America, such as Home Depot or Wal-Mart. They also work closely with members, as well as regional and state organizations, to coordinate concrete promotion opportunities.

In response to earlier success, NRMCA hired an Atlanta-based eastern region director of concrete promotion last May. He complements two existing representatives based in Oregon and Minnesota. “Our three national resource directors report that our national accounts reinforce the importance of LEED, Johnson says. “The U.S. Postal Service and [grocer] Albertson's, for example, have both talked to our resource directors about the importance of LEED in promotion,” he adds. “It shows that by linking promotion and environmental awareness we can be more successful.”

The directors are finding that they are needed for basic information, and that's a real plus. “The new national directors have the responsibility to call on national accounts about the benefits of concrete, and we're finding more and more examples of how they are providing input not just on environmental properties, but also on simpler matters, such as jointing. These are answers that national accounts ought to know full well, but don't. We now are reviewing many of their concrete specs.”

Boosting promotion is a half-cent-per-cubic-yard dues increase, to 1¾ cents per cubic yard, passed in late 2003. “Thank goodness our board unanimously approved the dues increase,” Johnson says. “That's a real vote of confidence in the programs of the NRMCA, because it gives us the funding to add two more individuals to our three national resource directors. It will give us more opportunities to meet with the national accounts, because they have millions of dollars in construction programs, and many don't know concrete.”

The increase has permitted NRMCA to hire a full-time codes and standards engineer as part of its ongoing industry advocacy efforts with standard-writing bodies.

PARTNERING WITH STATE ASSOCIATIONS

Hardy Johnson views the National Accounts Program as useful in defining NRMCA in relation to the state associations. “It underscores the national role of NRMCA and is complementary to the state ready mixed concrete associations,” he says.

“Over the past couple of years, NRMCA president Bob Garbini and the chairmen met regionally with state association executive directors and their industry leadership,” Johnson explains. “Through these meetings, a new awareness has developed between NRMCA and the state groups on how we can work together. This partnering has been very successful and is something I want to continue in 2004.

“Our state associations provide invaluable service to the industry which NRMCA can't provide, and vice-versa. We need to understand where we can work together, and define those areas where it's best for the national association to work or the state associations to work.”

REAUTHORIZATION ADVOCACY

Another activity Johnson will foster is NRCMA's legislative advocacy, with delayed federal surface transportation reauthorization the focus for late winter. At press time in February, following expiration of TEA-21 on Sept. 30 and enactment of a short-term extension through Feb. 29, the Senate had passed a six-year, $318 billion reauthorization by a veto-proof majority, and action shifted to the House and its six-year, $375 billion funding proposal. “Our advocacy program is validated by the passage of the Senate highway bill,” Johnson says. “That is an incredibly important victory for the driving public, the American economy, for our industry.”

A six-year bill will provide the industry with a reliable source of funding for public works projects. “The legislation should stimulate creation of 2 million jobs, and our product will be used day in and day out to build the surface transportation system,” he says.

Within the Senate bill is language for power take-off (PTO) tax correction — a provision NRMCA staff has secured after years of work on Capitol Hill. The concrete industry, in conjunction with the sanitation industry, has sought a tax correction to reflect fuel consumed in the PTO function of mixer and refuse hauling vehicles. NRMCA and its allies have sought an annual $250-per-truck income tax credit for all licensed and insured ready mixed concrete trucks. “We have been fighting this battle for many years and are confident that PTO will be part of the final highway bill,” notes Johnson.

MOVING AHEAD ON P2P

Another effort he is strongly backing is NRMCA's ongoing Prescription-to-Performance (P2P) initiative to promote performance specifications for concrete in the U.S. The NRMCA P2P Steering Committee was launched in October 2002 with a goal of encouraging performance specifications as an alternative to existing prescriptive specs in ready mixed concrete, while fostering innovation and new technology.

P2P is not an attempt to remove all prescriptive specifications, NRMCA says; instead, its intent is to allow parallel paths, so the option for performance specifications is available to all, while letting market forces decide which path to choose.

“It's going to take a long time to change a process that's been in place for years,” Johnson tells Concrete Products. “But for too long our industry has been penalized because we've had to work with recipe or prescriptive mixes, without consideration that there might be better ways of getting the result that a contractor or owner wants. With the P2P program, we can get to a place where our industry is responsible for designing the mix and being innovative.”

And being able to provide an innovative or proprietary mix not only will better serve the customer, but also will benefit the producer, he says. “Any time you build a better mousetrap, you will have the opportunity to price it at a level that helps recover R&D expenses upon entering the marketplace with a product others don't have,” Johnson explains. “It's a shame that we are not afforded the opportunity to develop those products using our expertise, because we're much more than trucking companies that deliver a product that was defined for us.”

SUPPORTING EDUCATION, FOUNDATION

Johnson will continue his efforts to boost funding for the RMC Research Foundation and its activities. Founded under the auspices of NRMCA and supported by its members, the foundation funds three different disciplines in RMC, research, education and product knowledge. And, central to the research effort is the RMC Research Foundation Education Center, dedicated in November 2002.

Located adjacent to NRMCA headquarters in a neighboring Washington, D.C., suburb, the center is a critical part of foundation's improved educational program for the industry. More information about the RMC Foundation is available at www.rmc-foundation.org/.

TITAN AMERICA
AT-A-GLANCE

In the eastern United States, Titan America employs more than 2,500 people at its cement, ready mixed and concrete block facilities. Its customers operating in all construction sectors include specifiers, contractors, road builders, developers, municipalities, military, home builders and other producers.

Titan America, with headquarters in Norfolk, Va., is the U.S. subsidiary of Titan Cement of Athens. It does business in Florida as Tarmac, in Virginia and North Carolina as Roanoke Cement Co., and in New York and New Jersey as Essex Cement. As Separation Technologies Inc., Titan America markets fly ash beneficiation technology to the power generation industry, and sells value-added fly ash under that brand as well.

Tarmac derives its name from E. Purnell Hooley, the county surveyor of Nottingham, who in 1903 obtained a British patent for his new road surfacing material made of slag and tar, and named it Tarmac.

NATIONAL READY MIXED CONCRETE ASSOCIATION
At-A-Glance

Founded in 1930, the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association is the leading industry advocate. Its mission is to represent and serve the ready mixed concrete industry through leadership, promotion, education and partnering to ensure ready mixed concrete is the building material of choice.

NRMCA works through partnerships with state associations on issues such as promotion and regulatory concerns, and extends the reach of state groups' to a national level.

NRMCA is a co-owner of the ConExpo-Con/Agg exposition, which features over 1.8 million net sq. ft. of exhibits, including an information technology pavilion and an emphasis on live demonstrations throughout the exhibit areas. Produced on three-year cycles, the exposition is North America's largest for the construction, aggregates and ready mixed concrete industries.

NRMCA committees include: Government Affairs, Operations, Environment and Safety, Education, Membership, Promotion, Business Administration, Research, Engineering and Standards, Information Technology, Vision Strategic Planning Committee, Nominating Committee, Audit and Finance Committee, and the Construction Industry Alliances Committee.

Robert A. Garbini, P.E., is staff president. For more information, visit NRMCA's relaunched web site at http://www.nrmca.org, or contact NRMCA at National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, 900 Spring Street, Silver Spring, MD, 20910, voice: 301/587-1400, 888/84NRMCA, fax: 301/585-4219, e-mail: info@nrmca.org.

CHAIRMEN

2004

HARDY JOHNSON

President — Florida Business
Titan America
Deerfield Beach, Fla.

IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN

JAMES RUSS

Senior Vice President
Aggregate Industries
Bethesda, Md.

INCOMING CHAIRMAN (2005)

HALE RITCHIE, JR.

President
Ritchie Corporation
Wichita, Kan.

ENVIRONMENTAL PURSUITS

NRMCA is staying proactive on a variety of environmental issues, which helps the industry stay ahead of controversies and lets it set the terms of discussion when environmental conflicts flare. Among its efforts are:

• Environmental Costs Survey

  This program is gathering data to estimate a producer's cost of meeting environmental/regulatory standards. This includes expenses incurred to comply with environmental regulations — i.e., records and reports, air and water permits for federal, state and local authorities, transportation, storage and disposal of waste, and more.

• Revision of AP-42

  Testing is under way at ready mixed concrete plants to gather data needed to update AP-42 Chapter 11.12, Concrete Batching. Producers use the document to determine the quantities of particulate matter that leave a plant as fugitive emissions. These calculations are subsequently used to determine permitting fees for ready mixed concrete plants. The current guidance used by producers and regulators alike is based on a limited sampling of plants using old measuring methodologies, NRMCA contends, adding that a revised AP-42 would present realistic emission factors accurately characterizing the industry's PM emissions.

• LEED issues

  NRMCA is working with the RMC Research Foundation to develop a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) guidance document for the ready mixed concrete industry. “This educational tool will be a tremendous resource to producers and to the specifiers who wish to use concrete as a sustainable and environmentally beneficial material,” NRMCA said.

NRMCA CERTIFIES 1,000TH DRIVER

In February the NRMCA Concrete Delivery Professional (CDP) program saw certification of its 1,000th mixer truck driver. More than 1,000 additional drivers are preparing for the certification exam.

The CDP program supplements a producer's existing driver training program and reinforces key competencies a driver must have in the areas of product knowledge, environmental compliance, customer relations, safety and vehicle maintenance, and operations.

NRMCA's Vice President-marketing Glenn Ochsenreiter says, “Government agencies are increasingly requiring certification of suppliers so they can provide less direct oversight,” he says. “These agencies are strongly supporting NRMCA's driver certification program because it is an objective and impartial confirmation that established national industry standards are maintained.”