Source: BMC Enterprises Inc., St. Louis; CP staff
Through its Eastern Missouri Concrete affiliate, BMC Enterprises has acquired Hannibal, Mo.-based Mark Twain Redi Mix, whose assets include four plants, 50 mixer trucks, and a bulk hauling division.
Read MoreSource: U.S. Department of Labor; CP staff
In the wake of a Labor Department Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation, Loveland, Colo.-based building and flatwork contractor Coloscapes Concrete Inc. has paid $21,750 in back wages and $31,496 in civil penalties to settle H-2B non-immigrant visa program violations, plus $6,454 to resolve Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime and recordkeeping violations.
Read MoreSources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff
The NRMCA Research, Engineering and Standards Committee has released a spreadsheet and guidance document with which producers can calculate the financial impact caused by deficiencies in raw materials, plant equipment and production.
Read MoreSource: The Freedonia Group, Cleveland
Fiber cement siding demand is forecast to grow 3.3 percent per year, to 2.1 billion square feet by 2022, and support sales volume that continues to outperform that of most other siding products. Led by Elementia, James Hardie and Nichiha, the market for fiber cement siding and companion building products will reach $1.6 billion in 2022, reflecting price increases and a shift to higher value offerings. These and other trends are presented in “Fiber Cement in the US, 3rd Edition,” a new study from market researcher Freedonia Group.
Read MoreSources: Construction Specifications Institute, Alexandria, Va.; CP staff
To better integrate project specs, building products and technology tools, the Construction Specifications Institute has launched an initiative to expand its industry standard organizing principles to work more effectively with Building Information Modeling and support design and construction professionals’ digital needs.
Read MoreSources: U.S. Department of Labor; CP staff
The 20-member Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion, representing business, labor, trade and industry groups, plus educational institutions and public agencies, offers actions and policy recommendations in a report presented to President Donald Trump earlier this month.
Read MoreSources: Occupational Safety and Health Administration; CP staff
OSHA is revisiting Cranes and Derricks in Construction standard certification requirements and equipment parameters adopted under the Obama administration, aiming to reduce employer compliance costs and increase worker safety. The agency characterizes “Cranes and Derricks in Construction: Operator Qualification,” a proposed rule published in the May 21 Federal Register, as a) providing long-term certification requirement clarity; b) reinstating employer duty to ensure a crane operator is qualified to safely operate equipment; and, c) discontinuing a yet-to-be-implemented rule that crane operator certification include the lifting capacity for which the operator is certified. Compliance with the latter has been delayed on multiple occasions, but set for November 2018.
Read MoreSources: HawkeyePedershaab Concrete Technologies Inc., Mediapolis, Iowa; CP staff
HawkeyePedershaab has acquired Ludington, Mich.-based CAM Sales Inc., which manufactures reinforcement accessories plus shear steel stirrup assemblies for concrete pipe, box culverts and other utility structures, and is the North American representative for the Brecon/Bosch, Eurobend and Habermann brands of precast production components.
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Sources: Vicat Group, Paris; CP staff
The newest addition to the fleet of Béton Vicat, a Lyon, France, sister business of National Cement Co. in North America, runs on a compressed natural gas engine, bears a lithium battery-powered electric mixer drive, and operates across the concrete loading and delivery cycle nearly 100 percent free of carbon dioxide emissions.
Read MoreSources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff
NRMCA Executive Vice President, Compliance & Operations Gary Mullings and Vice President, Compliance & Regulatory Affairs Kevin Walgenbach review raw materials, plant conditions, housekeeping measures, worker protection, exposure monitoring and best compliance practices in “Guide for Silica Regulations and the Ready Mixed Concrete Industry.”
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