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Month: November 2016

Cemex adopts IBM platform for suite of transformational mobile apps

Concrete News

Sources: Cemex S.A.B. de C.V., Monterrey, Mexico; CP staff

Cemex plans an early-2017 release of custom apps designed in collaboration with IBM iX (Interactive Experience) and creating the “best mobile-led customer experience in the building materials supply industry.” The producer will adopt a “speed-to-market” approach—pilot project, followed by user testing, adjusting the solutions to meet the users’ needs, and then scaling apps worldwide. Among early offerings is an app enabling construction foremen to manage many aspects of their ready mixed concrete orders in real-time; field tests have commenced in several markets ahead of the global launch.  

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House approves Concrete Masonry Products Promotion Act

Concrete News

Source: National Concrete Masonry Association, Herndon, Va. On the opening day of the 114th Congress lame duck session, the U.S. House of Representatives approved HR 985, the Concrete Masonry Products, Research, Education and Promotion Act of 2015 by a 355–38 vote. The legislation authorizes the concrete masonry industry to pursue the creation of an industry-wide check-off program. Such programs have…

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Martin Marietta inaugurates NRMCA system level Environmental Product Declaration

Concrete News

Sources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff

Martin Marietta Materials is the first producer member to use NRMCA’s new system level Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) verification program, oriented to transparency credits in LEED v4 and other green building standards. The program meets strict international standards, but streamlines EPD verification: Rather than a fixed set of product-specific EPD, it verifies the software used to generate a concrete mix’s environmental impacts. Hence, producers can tender new product-specific EPD as needed for each project.

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Trump’s prime-time endorsement of concrete building attributes endures

Concrete News

Source: CP staff

President-elect Donald Trump exhibited a seasoned appreciation for concrete long before his White House quest. During an October 2001 exchange with ABC 20/20 host Barbara Walters, the then-celebrity developer assessed post-September 11 construction methods in New York City, its skyline absent the Twin Towers.

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Industry measures infrastructure prospects, regulatory relief under Trump

Concrete News

Source: Rock Products

Late in his successful White House campaign, GOP candidate Donald Trump introduced what he called “a bold, visionary plan for a cost-effective system of roads, bridges, tunnels, airports, railroads, ports and waterways, and pipelines in the proud tradition of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who championed the interstate highway system.” Construction interests take those observations to heart, along with the effect of a Trump Administration on federal agencies driving employment, environmental and land management policy.

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500K-tpy ash contract feeds Charah, VHSC Cement joint venture

Concrete News

Sources: Charah Inc., Louisville, Ky.; CP staff

Charah, the largest privately-held coal combustion products management operator in the U.S., and VSHC Holdings LLC, The Woodlands, Texas-based cementitious materials processor, will market fly ash from NRG Limestone, a generating station with upwards of 500,000 tons per year output. Fuel and related changes at the Jewett, Texas, facility will see a switch from Class F to Class C fly ash production in early 2017.

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Experienced-candidate dearth remains top mixer driver recruiting hitch

Concrete News

Sources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff

Ready mixed producers participating in the 2016 Mixer Driver Recruitment and Retention Survey list availability of commercially-licensed drivers with concrete delivery experience as their top hiring challenge; just over half report turning down business due to a lack of qualified staff to operate their fleets.

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Cement multinationals endorse Climate Convention carbon-reporting codification

Concrete News

Sources: World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Geneva; CP staff

WBCSD Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) members concur with formal adoption of the United Nations-crafted Paris Agreement, under which signatory countries pursue long-term greenhouse gas emissions reduction measures. A threshold crossed last month—where more than 50 percent of signatories took official action toward commitments affirmed at the December 2015 Conference of Parties in Paris—triggered a November 5 commencement of GHG management protocols.

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NRMCA releases Industry-Wide Environmental Product Declaration 2.0

Concrete News

Sources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff

The second version of the NRMCA Industry-Wide (IW) Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) and Benchmark (Industry Average) Report discloses production impacts of 72 concrete mixes with 2,500–8,000 psi design strength, covering the bulk of product used in residential, commercial and public construction. The updated IW EPD is prepared from 88 producers operating 2,500 ready mixed plants, and includes a wide range of mix designs for each strength class, from 100 percent portland cement mixes to those with 50-plus percent fly ash or slag cement factor.

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