Sources: CP staff; Association of Equipment Manufacturers, Milwaukee
After a second consecutive year where concrete, cement and aggregate interests saw modest shipment gains–while overall construction industry increases in 2013 reached the 7-8 percent range–producers are positioned to act on plant and fleet equipment investment carrying them through the growth phase projected for the remainder the decade.
Read MoreSources: Construction Industry Safety Coalition, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Washington, D.C.
Two weeks after closing the public comment period for its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Occupational Exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is continuing to process documents from individuals, companies and organizations challenging the agency’s math and embrace of air-monitoring technology for workplaces and job sites.
Read MoreSource: National Precast Concrete Association, Carmel, Ind.
NPCA and the Precast Prestressed Concrete Institute formalized a partnership during the Precast Show (February 13-15, Houston) to reduce duplication and increase collaboration in several program areas, starting with plant certification and trade show production.
Read MoreSources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff
NRMCA Chairman Bill Childs (Chaney Enterprises) joined concrete and cement group representatives from around the world to sign an agreement launching an international responsible sourcing certification program for concrete, spearheaded by the World Business Council on Sustainable Development’s Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI).
Read MoreSources: Martin Marietta Materials Inc., Raleigh, N.C.; CP staff
In an upbeat, company-wide memo, Martin Marietta CEO Ward Nye underscores positive market, investor and employee response to the Texas Industries merger announcement three weeks prior, noting that “all remains on schedule for a targeted closing sometime this summer.”
Read MoreSources: Portland Cement Association, Washington, D.C.; CP staff
Responding to the White House’s just-announced second phase of fuel economy standards for heavy-duty trucks, targeted for 2015-16 rulemaking and implementation, PCA CEO Gregory Scott notes, “We should expand the debate beyond making more efficient [vehicles] to making more efficient infrastructure.”
Read MoreSource: Silvi Group Companies, Fairless Hills, Pa.
Eyeing integration with its Riverside cement, Sahara sand and Gibraltar crushed stone businesses in New Jersey, Silvi Group has closed Phillips Concrete Companies asset transactions netting an East Newark masonry supply yard and Union Township block plant; Franklin Township and Hillsborough ready mixed operations; plus, fleet and plant equipment.
Read MoreSource: EP Henry, Woodbury, N.J.
True to a “Keep Moving Forward” theme, this year’s Mid-Atlantic Hardscaping Trade Show (MAHTS) at the Atlantic City (N.J.) Convention Center saw sharply improved metrics against prior year figures: attendance and number of exhibitors up 50 percent and 35 percent, respectively, and many participants noting they are booked well into the season—a first for such an indicator since 2007.
Read MoreSources: Occupational Safety & Health Administration; CP staff
One of the most thorough cases challenging OSHA’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Occupational Exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica is from a group representing producers not immediately affected by a change in the permissible exposure limit (PEL) threshold: National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association.
Read MoreSources: American Chemistry Council, Washington, D.C.; CP staff
The American Concrete Pipe Association joined peers in the public comment period for OSHA’s proposed permissible exposure limit of respirable crystalline silica in General Industry and Construction, concluding it “is unnecessary (without sufficient verifiable data to support that an exposure problem exists), cost prohibitive, especially for small businesses (OSHA cost data is understated and outdated), and contrary to the intended purpose of protecting our workers.”
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