MIT researchers model stronger cement on theory behind Corning Gorilla Glass

Sources: Concrete Sustainability Hub at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge; Corning Inc., New York; CP staff

Borrowing from a ‘rigidity theory’ that has led Corning Inc. engineers to the high performance Gorilla Glass—its toughness in thin sections equal to smartphone and laptop computer screens—the Concrete Sustainability Hub is studying potential portland cement reformulation aimed at higher fracture resistance than current ASTM C 150 product.

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Associated Builders office attains early Green Globes certification

Sources: Associated Builders & Contractors, Washington, D.C.; CP staff

ABC’s 19,300-sq.-ft. national headquarters is one of the first buildings to be certified under Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors, a program available to owners or individual commercial space tenants from the Green Building Initiative (GBI), Portland, Ore.

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Pennecon concrete division sale seeds Newfoundland’s Newcrete Investments LP

Sources: Banyan Capital Partners, Toronto; CP staff

Backed by private equity operator Banyan Capital, Pennecon Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Larry Puddister has led a management team buyout of the company’s ready mixed, precast and concrete block & paver business—serving markets in the far eastern reaches of North America.

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Graniterock adds carbon footprint savings calculator to iPhone app

Sources: Graniterock, Watsonville, Calif.; CP staff

Graniterock’s Construction Calculators Version 4.2 app enables architects and contractors to gauge carbon dioxide emissions reduction when using supplementary cementitious materials to offset portland cement in concrete mix designs. The just-released update builds on one of the industry’s first mobile device-geared software products, launched in 2011, for estimating a project’s ready mixed and aggregate requirements.

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ACI global strategy informs MBA choice for new international business post

Sources: American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, Mich.; CP staff

ACI has named Bernard Pekor international business development director, responsible for relationship building with industry organizations outside the U.S. He will coordinate strategic development and implementation of plans for the key regions of India, Russia, China, and the Middle East, while helping to develop products and services for local markets beyond North America.

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