August 2014 – Concrete Products

Ozinga mixer amplifies Ice Bucket Challenge for mother & son team

August 26, 2014 Concrete News

Sources: Ozinga Ready Mix Concrete, Mokena, Ill.; CP staff

Ozinga RMC driver Joel Alford and his mother Barb, who works in the producer’s central dispatch office near southwest suburban Chicago headquarters, rose to the occasion when nominated to take the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. A decision to up the ante to a 1,200-gal. load of chilled water from Joel Alford’s rear discharge mixer garnered coverage from local and national news organizations, some stemming from a 90-second YouTube post.

Utility structures help precast shipments outpace overall 2013 construction market

August 26, 2014 Concrete News

Sources: National Precast Concrete Association, Carmel, Ind.; CP staff

Reflecting input from more than 60 producers operating 200-plus plants, the Precast Industry Benchmarking Survey indicates 2013 shipments increased 5.2 percent over the prior year, to $16.2 billion—encompassing an estimated 33 million yd. of concrete output and 11 million tons’ cement consumption.

U.S. Concrete deepens west Texas presence in City Concrete, Pitts deals

August 26, 2014 Concrete News

Sources: U.S. Concrete Inc., Euless, Texas; CP staff U.S. Concrete has added to its west Texas business, Ingram Concrete LLC, three plants and 24 mixer trucks by acquiring the assets of City Concrete, Inc. in Wichita Falls and Pitts Ready Mix of Burkburnett, Inc. Brownwood-based Ingram Concrete and Dallas-Ft. Worth-centered Redi-Mix Concrete provide U.S. Concrete a strong Texas platform.

Kie-Con bests by a foot Caltrans’ recent prestressed girder threshold

August 25, 2014 Concrete News

Sources: National Precast Concrete Association; Kie-Con Inc., Antioch, Calif.; CP staff

Kie-Con has shipped four of seven prestressed California Wide-Flange girders, which at 159 ft. 5 in. are the longest non-spliced, monolithic precast members delivered by trailer to a Golden State bridge site. The girders are 12 inches longer than similarly configured beams Oldcastle Precast–Perris is fabricating for the Santa Ana Freeway South Corridor in southern California.

ICC, ASHRAE, LEED developers aim to streamline green building codes

August 25, 2014 Concrete News

Source: U.S. Green Building Council, Washington, D.C.

The International Code Council, ASHRAE, American Institute of Architects, Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES) and U.S. Green Building Council will collaborate on development of Standard 189.1, International Green Construction Code and the LEED green building program.

ASTM C15 issues standard for fly ash brick

August 25, 2014 Concrete News

Source: CalStar Products, Racine, Wis.

Unit masonry and cast stone producer CalStar is the first to offer products meeting ASTM C1790-14, Standard Specification for Fly Ash Facing Brick, which recently cleared Committee C15 on Manufactured Masonry Units.

Asphalt contractor’s tab for firing hours of service-wise staff nears $1M

August 20, 2014 Concrete News

Sources: Occupational Safety and Health Administration; CP staff

Finding Asphalt Specialists Inc. violated the Surface Transportation Assistance Act by terminating a foreman and two truck drivers who had expressed hours of service compliance concerns, OSHA has ordered the Pontiac, Mich., paving contractor to pay $954,000 in back wages plus compensatory and punitive damages.

OSHA to hear more on electronic injury, illness records submission

August 19, 2014 Concrete News

Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration

OSHA has extended to October 14 the comment period on a proposed rule for tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses. A proposal published in November 2013 would add to the agency’s record-keeping regulation requirements for the electronic submission of information that employers are already required to keep.

NLRB tells shuttered concrete operator to clear Teamsters’ unfinished business

August 19, 2014 Concrete News

Sources: National Labor Relations Board; CP staff

NLRB Administrative Law Judge Melissa Olivero has ordered Champaign Builders Supply Co. principals to bargain with Teamsters Local 26, Champaign, Ill., regarding the effects of the company’s September 2013 closing of a ready mixed plant staffed by a driver, yard staff and loader operator unit.

Separation Technologies’ Zeigler headlines AshTrade Americas conference

August 19, 2014 Concrete News

Source: GMI Global LLC, Larchmont, N.Y.

Organizers of AshTrade 2014, October 14-15 at the Houston Marriott North, have finalized an agenda catering to participants from across the coal combustion byproduct value chain—buyers, sellers, traders, end users—with presentations covering fly ash, bottom ash and synthetic gypsum.