Month: August 2011

Sources: CP staff; Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Ill.; RMC Research & Education Foundation, Silver Spring, Md.

Two studies from the Concrete Sustainability Hub at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology represent major advancements for construction-related life-cycle assessments (LCA), as they quantify cradle-to-grave cost and environmental impacts for buildings and pavements. Released August 11 as part of the Concrete Sustainability Hub’s 2011 Industry Day on the MIT Cambridge campus, the studies factor costs and embodied carbon dioxide levels at initial construction plus those of use and operations phases—based on energy consumption, maintenance and traffic delays—not fully accounted for in most LCAs.

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Sources: National Labor Relations Board Region Four, Philadelphia; CP staff

By Don Marsh

In a decision affirming a union official’s contract-negotiating authority as determined in past National Labor Relations Act cases, NLRB Administrative Law Judge John Clark has ordered Teamsters Local 771 to abide by terms of a collective bargaining agreement and side letter finalized in April 2010 with Pennsy Supply Inc. The Harrisburg, Pa., ready mixed and asphalt producer had filed an unfair labor practice charge after the union refused to sign a contract to which each side had verbally agreed.

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Source: Blue World Crete, Inc., Pompano Beach, Fla.

Geo-Blue Crete II, the recently unveiled binding agent from Blue World Crete, is said to be a low-carbon-footprint alternative to portland cement. As a one-part system that only requires paddle mixing of its powdered chemical formula at ambient temperatures, the manufacturing process differs from portland cement, although its delivery system is the same. The agent is billed as an economically green alternative to portland cement while also providing a high-performance concrete solution for engineers and architects.

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Sources: Environmental Protection Agency; Mack Trucks Inc., Greensboro, N.C.

The EPA and U.S. Department of Transportation have issued standards aimed at increasing fuel efficiency and lowering greenhouse gas emissions for buses and light- to heavy-duty trucks. Standards for vocational vehicles—likely encompassing mixer, dump and crane-bearing models typical in manufactured-concrete delivery—call for manufacturers to target improvement of 10 percent in the fuel and emissions categories by the 2018 model year.

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Source: Oldcastle Precast, Inc., Auburn, Wash.

Oldcastle Precast announced that it has acquired Enviro-Systems Corp. for an undisclosed amount. Enviro-Systems, an Arizona-based precast concrete company, specializes in the design, manufacture and installation of precast concrete sewage treatment systems & equipment, water and wastewater treatment supply and disposal, and water treatment consumables. Enviro-Systems has a three-acre production site close to Scottsdale, in the city of Apache Junction, where they have served the Arizona market for more than 20 years.

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Source: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.

Providing plant personnel with guidance to asses their production practices and implement sustainable strategies that will ultimately lower their overall footprint, a pair of NRMCA Sustainable Concrete Plant Certification webinars provide a quantitative, performance-based metric to allow producers to demonstrate excellence in sustainable development.

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Source: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.

This week, NRMCA has certified the first four concrete plants in its new Sustainable Concrete Plant Certification Program, with member company Titan America having three Virginia operations certified: Clear Brook Ready Mix Concrete Plant, Clear Brook, at the Silver level; Suffolk Ready Mix Concrete Plant, Suffolk, at the Bronze level; and, Bryan Park Ready Mix Concrete Plant, Richmond, at the Bronze level. The fourth plant is Unibeton’s Mussafah Ready Mixed Concrete Plant, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, at the Silver level.

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Source: Concrete Industry Strategic Development Council, Farmington Hills, Mich.

The September 21-22 session of the ACI-affiliated Strategic Development Council will include presentations on:

• Ultra-High Performance Concrete: an update from the North American Working Group on UHPC.
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Sources: Knife River Corp, Bismarck, N.D.; CP staff

Following the Knife River Western North Dakota Division launch early this year in Williston—where aggregate, ready mixed and asphalt production is under way on a 120-acre greenfield—Knife River Corp. has looked to the opposite end of its home state for growth opportunity.

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