Major Boeing grant reinforces heavy-duty permeable pavement research

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Aerospace giant Boeing Co. is teaming with Washington State University (WSU), and the Washington Stormwater Center to develop stronger permeable concrete or asphalt pavement through the use of carbon fiber composite material recycled from a Seattle aircraft assembly line. A $212,000 grant and material donation is funding investigations at the WSU Research and Extension Center, Puyallup, and WSU Pullman campus.

 
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Jointless, cut-free PrimeComposite slab makes 182,000-sq.-ft. debut

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Schaumburg, Ill.-based Rabine Group, a specialist in high performance slabs on grade and specialty concrete pavement, reports the first North American installation of the PrimeComposite Concrete Flooring System, combining proprietary finishing methods plus mixes rich in admixtures and steel fibers. As the foundation of a Lakeville, Minn., metalworking facility, the 6-in. thick, 182,000-sq.-ft. slab was finished in late-summer 2015, free of control joints and saw cuts. Following a 14-day cure, owner BTD Manufacturing Inc.—a component fabricator for Caterpillar, Cummins, Daimler, Deere, Terex and other heavy equipment manufacturers—placed the facility in service.

 
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Research raises questions on minimum CM specs, supports paste-to-void ratio rationale

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A recent report on results of concrete mixtures testing at National Ready Mixed Concrete Association’s College Park, Md., research laboratory underscores optimized cement paste volume and paste-to-void ratio as key factors behind fresh and hardened specimens’ improved performance characteristics.

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Capitol Aggregates logs first NRMCA-certified EPD for portland cement

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The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association has certified its inaugural Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for cement in North America, covering ASTM C150 Types I and III, C595 Types IP and IL, and C91 Types N and S from Capitol Aggregates’ flagship mill in San Antonio, Texas. The EPD for Capitol Aggregates, a long-time NRMCA member serving the Texas market for nearly 60 years, follows a September 2015 milestone when the association certified its 2,000th concrete declaration. That watermark is by far the most of any building material or product category represented in EPDs targeted to new green building rating system requirements.

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Sika AG contests Saint-Gobain overture, maps North American market growth

More than a year after an initial overture and subsequent Swiss agency and European Commission legal proceedings, management of Baar, Switzerland-based Sika AG management remains adamantly opposed to a stock transfer to global glass and building materials giant Saint-Gobain. Sika Chairman Dr. Paul Hälg calls the transaction “unparalleled in the world” and reiterates board concerns rooted in the bid’s structure: Saint-Gobain seeks the stake of the largest shareholder “the Burkhart family” amounting to 16.1 percent of shares, but vested with 52.4 percent of voting rights. In a late-2015 letter to shareholders, he noted:

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ABC quantifies states’ fidelity to merit shop principles

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Associated Builders and Contractors’ new “Building America: The Merit Shop Scorecard” reviews and grades state-specific information significant to the success of commercial and industrial construction stakeholders. The meritshopscorecard.org site identifies states that have created an environment where merit shop contractors are well positioned plus those where strategic improvements need to be made in order to create a friendly business climate.

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