The third Lanxess Pigments Symposium took place in Las Vegas last month, the day before the World of Concrete 2017 opened. Under the “Trusted partnerships for sustainable growth” theme, the Lanxess Inorganic Pigments business unit provided 100-plus industry affiliates from around the globe a platform to discuss industry challenges.
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World of Concrete 2017 evidenced a mid-year enforcement timetable for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s new respirable crystalline silica exposure threshold covering construction sites and general workplaces. Leading the charge for compliance at the January 17-20, Las Vegas gathering were exhibitors of sawing and drilling equipment—loaded with dust collection devices—along with peers promoting cementitious material conveying, handling or dispensing devices with which silica dust can reach agency-reduced levels.
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The Masonry Society’s TMS 402/602-16: Building Code Requirements and Specifications for Masonry sets new technician requirements to reinforce quality control measures surrounding concrete or clay units, mortar, grout and prism or scaled-wall specimen testing. Contractors, engineers or owner’s representatives can meet the requirements, published in December 2016, by enlisting ACI-certified Masonry Testing Technicians.
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Vossloh AG of Werdohl, Germany, has closed on Denver-based Rocla Concrete Tie Inc., the leader in prestressed concrete railroad and turnout ties for Class I, commuter passenger, transit authority and industrial lines. Seller Altus Capital Partners II L.P., a Wilton, Conn., private equity firm, had held Rocla Concrete since mid-2013.
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Oldcastle Precast is deepening its stake in specialty structures for telecommunications and utility customers by acquiring the assets of Cell Blocks Inc., whose proprietary, post-tensioned foundation systems support tower installations of key U.S. wireless carriers AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon.
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced the availability of up to $1 billion under the new Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program, aimed at providing credit-worthy water supply and wastewater projects long-term, low-cost assistance through direct loans and loan guarantees.
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From U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Branch Chief Teri Morisi … By 2024, nearly one in four people in the labor force will likely be over the age of 55, a sharp change from 1994, when just under 12 percent of workers were at or above that age threshold. Workers 55 and older will represent the largest share of the 2024 workforce as measured by the other age groups of 16-24, 25-34, 35-44 and 45-54.
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An Occupational Safety and Health Administration white paper, “Sustainability in the Workplace: A New Approach for Protecting Worker Safety and Health,” highlights the importance of human capital in the growing movement toward sustainability and corporate responsibility. Sustainability strives to balance social, environmental and economic considerations to achieve long-term success and viability, the agency notes, as responsible businesses embrace the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit.
Read MoreA late-January Associated Builders & Contractors study indicated how construction unemployment rates through the end of last year sustained a downward trend dating to 2010. “The ongoing year-over-year decline in the national unemployment rate is an indication of the health of the construction job market and its recovery from the deep recession,” explained economist Bernard Markstein, Ph.D., who analyzed U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics December 2016 data for ABC. “However, the shortage of skilled construction workers is hindering the ability of the sector to grow, with more than 80 percent of Associated Builders and Contractors members reporting a shortage of appropriately skilled labor.”
Read MoreSources: Slag Cement Association, Farmington Hills, Mich.; CP staff
Slag cement producers reported a 12 percent year-over-year gain in 2016 shipments, totaling about 3 million tons.
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