In most industries, the business environment remains brutal; growth is slow or non-existent and price competition rampant. The question on the minds of many business executives is simple: How can I increase profits and grow when all my customers care about is low price, low price and low price?
Read MoreDay: September 20, 2012
Fast Track to Waste-Free Manufacturing
In his still-insightful 1999 book, Fast Track to Waste-Free Manufacturing: Straight Talk from a Plant Manager, John W. Davis discusses how to improve a manufacturing operation by a simple and relentless focus on waste. The methodology he describes is really applicable to improving any process in your business.
Read MoreWe Need Less Leadership!
In her thought-provoking book, The End of Leadership, Barbara Kellerman writes: “One of the problems plaguing the leadership industry is its fixation on developing good leaders, while ignoring completely the problem of stopping or at least slowing bad leaders. Stopping bad leadership is as important as creating good leadership.”
Read MoreProspering in precast/prestressed
We focus this month on precast/prestressed in advance of the PCI Convention and National Concrete Bridge Conference, September 29–October 2 in Nashville. Plant and project visits remind us how the segment has fared during the recession: Producers tied to the transportation market, fair to strong; those in commercial building, fairly weak. Among the companies we examine are Florida’s Finfrock Design-Construction-Manufacture (pages 26–29) and Texas Concrete Partners (pages 30–33).
Read MoreConstruction executives: Romney best bet for broad industry recovery
Source: Engineering News-Record
Construction leaders believe the industry’s recession will carry through mid-2013. According to the ENR Construction Industry Confidence Index (CICI) for the third quarter of 2012, construction and design firm executives believe that the market in the near term will continue to be flat, and that Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s election represents the best bet for a broad recovery in 2013.
Read MoreBobcat upgrades loader series
Building on the productivity of the Bobcat 700 and 800 frame-size loaders, significant upgrades have been made to the skid-steer loaders, compact track loaders and all-wheel steer loader. Upgraded loader features apply key interim Tier 4 (iT4) technologies to provide enhanced loader functionality and reporting for machines with horsepower ranging from 75 to 174. Machines in this horsepower class include Bobcat’s 700 and 800 frame-size loaders, consisting of seven M-Series loaders: the S750, S770, and S850 skid-steer loaders; the A770 all-wheel steer loader; and the T750, T770 and T870 compact track loaders.
Read MoreHollow hole hydraulic cylinder
To meet the needs of big jobs such as crane assembly, rigging and heavy construction demanding reliable portable power. The company has introduced a 1,000 ton capacity, double-acting hollow hole hydraulic cylinder. This cylinder joins the other rugged hollow hole cylinders in the Trompler line of off-the-shelf hydraulics.
Read MoreLow VOC waterproofing
W.R. Meadows recently introduced Hydralastic 836 into its waterproofing lineup. Used for horizontal and vertical applications, Hydralastic 836 is ideal for positive-side waterproofing for foundations and also in between-slab applications such as waterproofing plaza decks, planter boxes and sealing parapets.
Read MoreCrystallizing admixture helps cap ‘The Shard’
Xypex C-1000 admixture was used to waterproof capping beams and other elements used in the construction of London’s new 95-story building, The Shard, named by its creator for its resemblance to a giant pyramid-shaped shard of glass rising 1,016 ft. in the air. Designed by Renzo Piano, The Shard replaced Southwark Towers next to London Bridge station. As of now, it is the tallest building in the European Union, and boasts 1.2 million sq. ft. of mixed-use floor space.
Read MoreNorth Star logs certification for BASF Rheopel
North Star Stone and Masonry announced the Water-Repellent Admixture Certification for concrete block production containing RheopelPlus high-performance admixtures produced by BASF Construction Chemicals, LLC. The company will manufacture Rheopel Plus admixture-treated concrete masonry units, having met the performance requirements for water repellency as set forth by BASF Construction Chemicals, LLC, at their Medford, Minn., plant location. Rick Johnson, plant manager, will oversee manufacturing, production and distribution to ensure quality levels and availability consistent with other North Star products.
Read More