A memorandum of understanding positions Caterpillar Inc. and Australia-based Fastbrick Robotics to collaborate on development, manufacturing, sales and servicing of the latter company’s bricklaying technology. Effective for 12 months, it will see Caterpillar take a $2 million stake in Fastbrick Robotics, potentially followed by an additional $8 million investment.
Read More
Tindall Corp. continues to reveal its diverse architectural finish capabilities. The Spartanburg, S.C.-based precast/prestressed producer recently teamed with Avetex Commercial Properties on the Shem Creek Mixed-Use project, netting an innovative Mt. Pleasant, S.C., development with durability equal to the coastal climate.
Read More
Gage Brothers projects a 2019 opening for an advanced, 210,000-sq.-ft. headquarters operation in Sioux Falls, S.D., where it was founded in 1915 and presently has precast/prestressed concrete production spread across 16 buildings on 30 acres, charter plot included.
Read MoreWeighing new Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) data, Associated Builders & Contractors reports that nonresidential fixed investment—a gross domestic product category embodying nonresidential construction activity—expanded at a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.2 percent in the second quarter, following a 7.2 percent jump in Q1. The expansion contributed more than 0.6 percentage point to GDP growth, due in large measure to increased construction equipment investment. The other two nonresidential fixed investment components—structures and intellectual property—also expanded, but at a slower pace.
Read MoreThis month marks the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s launch of the Injury Tracking Application (ITA), a web-based form allowing employers to electronically submit injury and illness data from their 2016 Form 300A. The agency published a notice of proposed rulemaking in June to extend the data submission deadline to December, affording affected entities sufficient time to familiarize the electronic reporting system and the Trump Administration an opportunity to review employers’ new requirements.
Read MoreScientists’ work with elements at the atomic level continues to yield promising concrete admixtures whose impact might one day approach that of polycarboxylate superplasticizers. As Concrete Products has observed in reports on Zenyatta Ventures Ltd. and EdenCrete Industries this past year, nanotechnology has led to identification and processing of concrete market-ready graphene, a single atom-thick layer of pure carbon derived from mineral or synthetic graphite.
Read MoreSources: Vulcan Materials Co., Birmingham, Ala.; Polaris Materials Corp., Vancouver, B.C.; CP staff
Vulcan Materials has strengthened its supply chain for California concrete customers through a friendly takeover of Toronto Stock Exchange-traded Polaris Materials, which operates a sand & gravel plant and deep water port on Vancouver Island plus five distribution yards in the San Francisco Bay area and Los Angeles markets.
Read MoreSources: CRH Plc, Dublin; Beacon Roofing Supply Inc., Herndon, Va.; CP staff
CRH is set to shed a sizable slice of its legacy Oldcastle Inc. portfolio, selling its Allied Building Products-anchored Americas Distribution business to Beacon Roofing Supply, North America’s the largest publicly traded wholesale roofing and building materials distributor.
Read MoreSources: Softwood Lumber Board, Washington, D.C.; CP staff
A new report tied to the reThink Wood campaign details glulam beam-to-column connections’ fire resistance in Type IV construction, or buildings up to 85-ft. tall. Findings from three assemblies subjected to ASTM E119-16a, Standard Test Methods for Fire Tests of Building Construction and Materials, campaign proponents note, “support mass timber as a safe solution that meets stringent fire safety standards for U.S. building design and construction.”
Read MoreSources: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; J.D. Power Valuation Services, McLean, Va.
Responding to concerns from truck glider kit and trailer stakeholders, EPA is taking a second look at provisions of the Phase 2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines rule.
Read More