The Commercial Motor Vehicle Advanced Safety Technology Tax Act of 2011 (H.R. 1706), recently introduced by Congressman Geoff Davis (R-KY) and Mike Thompson (D-CA), would provide an income tax credit for truck and fleet owners. Troy, Mich.-based Meritor WABCO notes that its SmartTrac Stability Control System and OnGuard Collision Safety System are among technologies included in H.R. 1706.
Read MoreMonth: July 2011
Load manipulators
Pneumatically powered Famatec Friendly ergonomic manipulators, in models of 330-, 550- and 880-lb. capacities, counterbalance heavy loads to allow an operator to suspend, rotate, tilt and transfer product. Equipped with appropriate end-of-arm tooling, it adapts to the operator’s preferred working height and position, allowing loads to be smoothly and progressively positioned and placed during assembly, suspended for further processing, or simply transferred from one location to another. Once suspended, the product can be moved manually or under power.
Read MoreRogue union locals do little to sustain cast-in-place practice
Quality control in a plant environment and absence of weather-induced pour delays lead advantages that precast concrete interests cite when comparing their methods to cast-in-place alternatives. A few United Brotherhood of Carpenters locals, embittered by failure to organize concrete subcontractor crews, might codify another advantage in precasters’ pitch: Lower probability of general contractor or project owner harassment.
Read MoreOldcastle/Belgard Hardscapes reveals “Beautiful” outdoor kitchen in the heart of the Big Apple
Sources: Oldcastle Architectural, Belgard Hardscapes, Atlanta
The much-anticipated House Beautiful Kitchen of the Year with its first-ever outdoor component was unveiled July 18 in New York’s Rockefeller Center. The structure of the custom kitchen was created using a combination of modular components from the Belgard Elements Collection. This includes outdoor living room and kitchen units that are manufactured by Harmony Outdoor Living in a controlled factory setting using Belgard pavers and wall products and shipped in sections to enable site assembly with skid steer. Mike Miles of Belgard Hardscapes and Harmony Outdoor Living notes that “[the] line of factory-built modular units provides a way to easily create luxury hardscape kitchens for a fraction of the time and cost of a site-built kitchen.”
Read MoreCMA-California, BYU researchers confirm high SCM masonry grout performance
Sources: Brigham Young University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Provo, Utah; Concrete Masonry Association of California and Nevada (CMACN); CP staff
To boost market prospects for masonry walls of high recycled materials content, CMACN is supporting an investigation to a) confirm that California Building Code-required strength is maintained in grouts where portland cement is substituted with Class F fly ash at 45–65 percent and Class F fly ash + GGBF slag at 65–85 percent; and, b) observe how prism units containing such grouts behave with Type M, S and N mortars. Under the direction of Professor Dr. Fernando Fonseca, BYU Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering staff is preparing to test 180-day grout strengths, following measurement at seven, 28 and 56 days.
Read MoreTop gun GC completes 200th LEED project
Source: Turner Construction Co., New York
The Yale University Health Center in New Haven, Conn., brings another milestone to Turner Construction, the largest general contractor in buildings and one of the oldest players in reinforced concrete work. The 140,000-sq.-ft. facility in New Haven, Conn., is the contractor’s 200th project to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the Green Buildings Certification Institute.
Read MoreR.W. Sidley, American Concrete put NRMCA Green-Star on Buckeye, Hawkeye maps
Sources: R.W. Sidley Inc., Painesville, Ohio; American Concrete Corp., Des Moines; National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.
R.W. Sidley will mark Ohio’s first NRMCA Green-Star ready mixed concrete plant certification with an early-August flag-raising at its North Canton property. The producer’s display of the green & white flag follows the same rite at American Concrete, which in late May announced the first NRMCA Green-Star certified plant in Iowa. American has brought eight other properties under Green-Star certification, and plans program audits for its remaining 12 ready mixed sites by the end of 2012.
Read MorePCI opens Convention, National Bridge Conference registration
Source: Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, Chicago
“Shape Your Future” is the theme of the 57th PCI Annual Convention and National Bridge Conference, October 22-26 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Read MoreStay-in-place girder forms net MaineDOT world record for composite vehicular bridges
Source: Harbor Technologies, Brunswick, Me.
Harbor Technologies’ hybrid composite beams (HCB), consisting of fiber reinforced polymer forms bearing ready mixed concrete and conventional steel rebar placed on site, support the new two-lane, 540-ft. Knickerbocker Bridge in Boothbay, Me. With a 4-ft. vertical clearance and tidal water proximity, the Back River crossing has 33-in.-deep HCB box beams set on seven pile bents across six 70-ft. interior and 60-ft. end spans.
Read MoreMining Media adds MQT to publication lineup
Source: Mining Media International, Denver
Mining Media (which also owns Concrete Products) has acquired long-standing title Mine & Quarry Trader (MQT) from Penton Business Media, Inc., effective immediately; terms were not disclosed. The 35-year-old MQT will be combined with Mining Media’s Quarry Equipment Marketplace (QEM) to create a distribution solution for buyers and sellers in the aggregates, mining, quarrying, recycling and related industries. As a result of this merger, Concrete Products, Rock Products and Cement Americas readers who have been receiving QEM will now receive MQT in its place.