Sources: Cemex USA, Houston; CP staff
Prior to field duty, three mixer trucks with drums bearing outsized Build With Strength logos were dispatched to the Las Vegas Convention Center, informing 2017 ConExpo-Con/Agg attendees of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association campaign to advance cast-in-place methods for low- to mid-rise buildings.
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Sources: GCP Applied Technologies Inc., Cambridge, Mass.; CP staff
The former Grace Construction Products business arrived at 2017 ConExpo-Con/Agg with new sand & gravel additives and concrete admixtures aimed at mitigating poor quality aggregates’ effect on fresh mix and finished slab or structure performance. The Clarena product portfolio was front and center at GCP Applied Technologies’ Las Vegas Convention Center booth during the March 7-11 show.
Read MoreSources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Washington, D.C.; CP staff
Iowa State University-hosted National Concrete Pavement Technology Center and research partners have secured AASHTO Subcommittee on Materials approval of “Performance Engineered Mixtures for Concrete Pavements,” a provisional standard offering alternatives to prescriptive specifications. Transportation agencies and industry stakeholders will join a five-year Federal Highway Administration pooled-fund program to implement concepts in the standard.
Read MoreSources: National Concrete Masonry Association, Herndon, Va.; CP staff
NCMA will stage the International Concrete Exposition Machinery & Equipment Show (ICON Expo) February 9-10, 2018, in Indianapolis, billing it as the only machinery and equipment venue completely dedicated to the manufactured concrete masonry and hardscape industry.
Read MoreSources: Portland Cement Association, Washington, D.C.; CP staff
PCA urges Congress to reject the so-called Timber Innovation Act, which has returned to the 115th Congress after a 2016 debut. Through companion U.S. Senate and House of Representatives bills, it incentivizes state and local governments, universities and private companies with federal funds to conduct research & development, outreach and education advancing the use of mass timber products in construction.
Read MoreSources: McNeilus Truck & Manufacturing, Dodge Center; CP staff
Through a partnership formalized at ConExpo-Con/Agg 2017, concrete mixer and construction materials information technology market leaders McNeilus and Command Alkon seek to further integrate truck controls and fleet management software for North American ready mixed producers. Their initiative extends a FLEX Controls and TrackIt telematics platform integration the companies announced late last year at the Command Alkon User Conference.
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Sources: CP staff; Association of Equipment Manufacturers, Milwaukee
Concrete plant equipment manufacturers, mixer truck body builders and fellow exhibitors enjoyed solid booth traffic, quote inquiries and order activity at the 2017 ConExpo-Con/Agg, some telling Concrete Products the March 7-11 event was the best such show to date. Confidence in the business climate and prospects for stepped up infrastructure investment, fueled by President Donald Trump, permeated the Las Vegas Convention Center gathering, which encompassed the flagship show and co-located IFPE 2017.
Read MoreSource: Ryan LLC, Dallas
Missouri provides contrasting outcomes regarding the application of sales tax to purchases of concrete for foundations. The Missouri Department of Revenue’s mid-February Letter Ruling 7780 concludes that a taxpayer’s purchase of ready mixed and rebar used to construct wind turbine tower foundations qualifies for the sales tax exemption covering machinery and equipment used in manufacturing.
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Source: CP staff
Corey Lewandowski, who spearheaded much of the first year of Donald Trump’s 17-month White House campaign, stressed the new administration’s commitment to economic growth and job creation during a keynote address to a joint National Ready Mixed Concrete Association–National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association session in Las Vegas.
Read MoreSources: CRH Plc, Dublin; CP staff
The parent of Atlanta-based Oldcastle Materials Inc. has closed on seven deals year to date, led by the acquisition of one of the largest privately held U.S. aggregates producers: Tell City, Ind.-based Mulzer Crushed Stone Inc., spanning six quarries, five sand & gravel operations, 14 materials yards, plus four ready mixed concrete and three asphalt plants serving Ohio River and Kanawha River valley markets in Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia.
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