The 20-member Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion, representing business, labor, trade and industry groups, plus educational institutions and federal government agencies, offers actions and policy recommendations in a report presented to President Donald Trump.
Read MoreMonth: June 2018
Lawmakers deepen funding commitments in water infrastructure proposal
Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Tom Carper (D-DE), Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and Ben Cardin (D-MD), the respective chairmen and ranking members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and its Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, have introduced the $2.4 billion America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 with an eye to:
Read MoreSurvey: Employers reel from regulatory shifts, new forces impacting workplace
San Francisco-based Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has released the results of its seventh annual survey, completed by 1,111 in-house counsel, human resources professionals and C-suite executives. The Littler Annual Employer Survey, 2018 analyzes the impact that sweeping regulatory changes and other factors, including the #MeToo movement, are having on employers.
Read MoreNCMA begins second century equal to challenges new and old
Congratulations to members and staff are the order of the month as the National Concrete Masonry Association observes a 100-year anniversary. One of the oldest groups in building and construction, it shares a century mark with businesses and organizations no less than Ash Grove Cement, Besser Co. and Lehigh Portland Cement, as well as the American Concrete Institute, American Concrete Pipe Association and Portland Cement Association.
Read MoreOSHA sets 30-day interim for revised silica rule compliance assistance
Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
OSHA has outlined initial enforcement protocol of its revised standard, Respirable Crystalline Silica Standard for General Industry and Maritime, most provisions of which become enforceable on June 23. The standard establishes a new eight-hour time-weighted average permissible exposure limit and action level, plus associated ancillary requirements.
Read MoreLCA, nanotech projects top ACI Foundation research funding round
Sources: American Concrete Institute Foundation, Farmington Hills, Mich.
The ACI Foundation Concrete Research Council will fund a record eight research projects this year, its budget buoyed by a one-time, $500,000 commitment the American Concrete Institute to address the industry’s growing need for such technical support. The projects are:
Read MoreScancem veteran takes top post at Granite Construction
Sources: Granite Construction, Watsonville, Calif.; CP staff
Heavy/civil contractor and regional construction materials producer Granite Construction has named Claes Bjork as chairman and director, succeeding the retiring William Powell. Bjork served as chief executive officer of construction giant Skanska AB, Sweden, from 1997-2002, and had held various executive positions within the company beforehand, including chairman of the Scancem Cement subsidiary.
Read MoreCharah raises $88 million in initial public offering
Sources: Charah Solutions Inc., Louisville, Ky.; Renaissance Capital, Greenwich, Conn.; CP staff
Fly ash marketer and coal combustion byproducts management specialist Charah has begun trading on New York Stock Exchange under the symbol, CHRA. In a June 14 initial public offering, the company and key stockholders raised $88 million through the sale of 5,294,117 and 2,058,824 shares, respectively. The pool represents an approximately 23 percent stake in a business that reported 2017 sales of $430 million from two segments: Environmental Solutions, anchored by fly ash and bottom ash management and marketing contracts at coal-fired power stations; and, Maintenance and Technical Services, geared to fossil fuel- and nuclear-powered facility operators.
Read MoreGCC, Martin Marietta, Summit deals clear CRH path to Ash Grove closing
Sources: U.S. Federal Trade Commission; CP staff
CRH Americas will consummate a $3.5 billion acquisition of Ash Grove Cement Co. by month’s end following a June 14 settlement resolving Federal Trade Commission charges that the deal violates antitrust law. Terms call for the Oldcastle Inc. parent company to sell a Three Forks, Mont., cement plant and quarry to GCC Americas; three Omaha, Neb., area sand & gravel sites to Martin Marietta Materials; plus, three quarries and two asphalt plants near Kansas City to Summit Materials. The settlement also contains two three-year provisions: It grants GCC an option to use two Three Forks-fed CRH terminals in Alberta; and, holds that CRH, at GCC’s option, will purchase cement from the mill for distribution in Canada.
Read MoreCemex digital platform approaches 10,000-user milestone
Sources: Cemex S.A.B. de C.V., Monterrey, Mexico; CP staff
A digital platform programmed to simplify transactions with Cemex cement, aggregate and concrete operations has been adopted by upward of 25 percent of customers in the U.S., Mexico, Colombia, Germany and the United Kingdom.
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