Source: CP staff
About one year ago, Dean Soiland, the principal in Santa Rosa-based aggregates producer BoDean Company partnered with brother Troy to purchase the seven-year-old Northgate Ready Mix name and brand, and proceeded to use the still-struggling Northern California economy to its advantage by buying a new plant and 11 relatively new mixer trucks at reasonable prices.
Read MoreSource: National Precast Concrete Association, Carmel, Ind.
NPCA’s annual producer-member survey finds the industry contracted slightly between 2009 and 2010, from $19.5 billion to $19.3 billion in shipments, although resale items brought each year to about $21.4 billion total.
Read MoreSource: American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, Mich.
The just-published ACI 318-11, “Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete and Commentary” reflects extensive changes from the 2008 edition, including these key items:
Lawmakers, NLRB witness stiff resistance to proposed changes
Read MoreRepresentative John Kline’s “Rushing Union Elections” hearing was followed by a July 19-20 open meeting at the National Labor Relations Board’s Washington, D.C., headquarters, where Members invited perspective from industry, organized labor, and labor law interests on the Representation—Case Procedures Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. Portions of presentations from Robert Garbini, President of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, and Steve Jones, Director of Human Resources for Chandler Concrete Co. in Burlington, N.C., are provided here.
Read MoreWhether you, as a producer, are charging a fee or not, there are environmental costs associated with the ready mixed business and they are affecting every load. Some producers choose to attempt to capture the costs within the price of the concrete, while others have established set load fees to cover the impact. In this issue, we discuss and identify the reality of those costs, as well as look at what producers can do or are doing to cover them. As in previous issues, we will also look into areas to potentially find savings and add value.
Read MoreFast cycles plus high powder and power economy
Read MoreA tradition of hosting Republican or Democrat candidates on the campaign trail continued last month at Cemen Tech Inc., Indianola, Iowa. Flanked by stationary and truck-mounted Mobile Concrete Dispensers in the company’s volumetric and continuous mixer assembly area, 2012 GOP presidential primary candidate Michele Bachmann told management and staff, “It’s not government that creates lasting jobs, it’s small businesses, like [yours], that are the job creation engine of America. We have to do everything we can to strengthen small business.”
Read MoreFollowing a National Labor Relations Board Region Four (Philadelphia) order to honor a Teamsters Local 331 petition for election to represent approximately 12 drivers at a Pleasantville, N.J., ready mixed plant, Williamstown, N.J.-based Richard E. Pierson Materials Corp. opened contract negotiations with the union — waiving a representation ballot.
Read MoreAccording to Landscaping Products, a new study from Cleveland-based market researcher Freedonia Group, U.S. demand for landscaping products is projected to increase 7.6 percent/year to $5.9 billion in 2015. The demand will be promoted by a recovery in U.S. housing activity, including new construction and existing single-family home sales. Landscaping products sales will post a strong improvement through 2015 from a reduced 2010 base. Among markets, residential sales account for the largest share of landscaping products with 55 percent in 2010.
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