Sources: RMC Research & Education Foundation, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff
The Ready Mixed Concrete Research & Education Foundation (RMC Foundation) kicked off a major fundraising campaign and celebrated its 25th anniversary at a reception during the 2016 National Ready Mixed Concrete Association Convention in San Diego.
Read MoreSources: American Concrete Pipe Association, Irving, Texas
Governor John Hickenlooper has proclaimed April 29 as Concrete Day in the state of Colorado, recognizing “the industry as important to further development in our state and the hard work, dedication, and efficiency of its employees … The industry is an important contributor to Colorado’s infrastructure and economy. We look forward to celebrating Concrete Day at the Capitol every year.”
Read MoreSources: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, Md.; CP staff
Keen on lower carbon alternatives to portland cement-only binders, the U.S. Department of Commerce-backed NIST has published Technical Note 1906, Minimizing Paste Content in Concrete Using Limestone Powders – Demonstration Mixtures. Researchers cite target performance levels in concrete mixtures with up to 28 percent lower portland cement content using a binary blend with limestone powder.
Read MoreSources: ASTM International, West Conshohocken, Pa.; CP staff
ASTM Committee E17’s proposed WK41917, Practice for Computing Pathway Roughness Index from Longitudinal Profile Measurements standard describes a method to collect and analyze sidewalk slab roughness data. Roughness can make sidewalks uncomfortable and risky for wheelchair and wheeled-walker users, parents pushing strollers and postal carriers with three-wheeled carts, the committee contends.
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Sources: HeidelbergCement AG, Heidelberg, Germany; CP staff
Advancing a proposed merger with mid-year target, HeidelbergCement Chairman Dr. Bernd Scheifele announced plans to restructure Italcementi S.p.A. operations, principally at its Bergamo, Italy, headquarters and affecting upward of 400 employees through 2020; consolidate global technical activities at Italcementi’s i.Lab Research & Innovation Centre, a Bergamo facility opened in 2013; and, maintain the Italcementi brand plus homebased plants and industrial network.
Read MoreSources: Rocla Concrete Tie, Inc., Denver; CP staff
Rocla has commenced production at a Ft. Pierce, Fla., operation equipped for up to 1,000 prestressed concrete railroad ties per day. Opened on schedule along the Florida East Coast Railway (FECR) rail network, the facility “is considered to be the most technologically advanced in the country,” notes Rocla Vice President–Business Development Brett Urquhart.
Read MoreSource: Ready Mixed Concrete Research & Education Foundation, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff
The Troesh Family Foundation, backed by founders of southern California’s Robertson’s Ready Mix, has pledged up to $3 million to the RMC Research & Education Foundation (RMC Foundation), matching on a 1:3 basis new commitments from the industry over the next five years.
Read MoreSources: Turner Construction Co., New York
The First Quarter 2016 Turner Building Cost Index, a key measurement of the U.S. nonresidential market, has increased 1.15 percent from the prior quarter to a value of 970. “The shortage of skilled labor is outweighing the impact of declining material prices,” says Turner Construction Vice President Attilio Rivetti, who compiles the Cost Index. “As the volume of work remains relatively high, we expect subcontractors to continue to be strategic in pursuits, ultimately resulting in upward cost pressures.”
Read MoreSources: Sika AG, Baar, Switzerland; CP staff
The Swiss parent of Sika Corp. has closed on a forerunner in value-added flatwork, billing Los Angeles-based L.M. Scofield Co. as “a 100-year-old, family-owned company long established as the number one brand of concrete color additives and decorative products in North America.”
Read MoreSources: Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC), Washington, D.C.; CP staff
A lawsuit ABC and other national or state groups have filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas challenges the U.S. Department of Labor’s final “persuader rule,” issued late last month. Officially titled Interpretation of the “Advice” Exemption, it revises the definition of what activities constitute “advice” and expands circumstances under which public reporting is required under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959.
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