Argos, CalPortland, Thomas lead NRMCA Quality Awards

Sources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff

NRMCA will honor 20 producer members earning 2018 Excellence in Quality Awards during an October 1 luncheon capping the ConcreteWorks conference in National Harbor, Md. Recipients demonstrate how they abide and exceed quality management principles over a broad range of activities—from program commitment, materials and production facility management to product quality control and maintaining high customer satisfaction levels.

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Audit positions Master Builders products for LEED v4 material credit

Sources: BASF Construction Chemicals, Beachwood, Ohio; CP staff

Successful audits through Pennsylvania environmental consultant GreenCircle LLC have enabled BASF to provide third-party verified Manufacturer Inventory Reports covering admixture and fiber products to meet U.S. Green Building Council LEED v4 Building Product Disclosure and Optimization – Material Ingredients, Option 1 credit requirements.

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Sculptor guides UHPC into premium interior furnishings

Sources: Brizo Kitchen & Bath Co., Indianapolis; CP staff

Brizo Kitchen & Bath presents its new single-handle Vettis Concrete faucet, meticulously cast by British Columbia Christopher Shannon, as a first of its kind fixture: “A feat of engineering and craftsmanship, innovative in both design and material … [blending] the finest quality of raw materials and an exquisite geometric form to create architectonic harmony.”

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Past ACI President Ellis heads Pankow Foundation

Sources: Charles Pankow Foundation, Vancouver, Wash.; CP staff

The Charles Pankow Foundation, a leading benefactor for research advancing cast-in-place or precast concrete engineering and practice, has appointed Anne Ellis, P.E., FACI, F.ASCE, as executive director. Founder of Ellis Global and past American Concrete Institute president, she previous served as a special advisor to the Foundation Board to rally support for collaborative innovation in architecture, engineering and construction. 

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New ACI committee advances 3-D printing practice, standards

Sources: American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, Mich.; CP staff

The newly formed ACI Committee 564, 3-D Printing with Cementitious Materials will report on three-dimensional printing and additive manufacturing with inorganic cementitious materials, and develop publications on the technology’s applications, challenges and impacts. 

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Constar deal builds Construction Supply’s California footprint

Sources: Construction Supply Group, Denver; CP staff

Consolidation-minded Construction Supply Group (CSG) has completed its 10th acquisition, closing on California distributor Constar Construction Supply. “This furthers our goal of building a best-in-class wholesale distribution company across North America,” says CSG CEO Mitch Williams, noting that the company will continue to seek additions to its family of concrete and masonry contractor-geared distribution businesses.

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NLRB ponders terms of bargaining relationships in construction

Sources: National Labor Relations Board; CP staff

The NLRB is weighing construction industry bargaining relationship provisions as defined in National Labor Relations Act Sections 8(f) and 9(a), and invites interested parties to file briefs through October 26 on whether it should revisit policy dating to the Casale Industries (1993) and Staunton Fuel & Materials (2001) cases.

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Precast makes the grade on “spend management” scale

Sources: SpendEdge, London; CP staff

A new report, “Global Precast Construction Category – Procurement Market Intelligence,” documents how public and private sector buyers are increasingly wise to manufactured-concrete components’ low lead times, assurance of consistent quality, higher volume discounts, low labor requirements, and conformity to sustainability goals. Such advantages are accelerating the spend growth momentum for the precast market, according to global procurement advisor SpendEdge.

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AGC: Materials cost increases outpace contractor bid adjustments

Sources: Associated General Contractors of America, Washington, D.C.; CP staff

Prices for goods and services used in construction climbed 6.2 percent over the past year, intensifying a cost squeeze on contractors coping with widespread labor shortages, according to an AGC analysis of new Labor Department data, including Producer Price Index (PPI) figures tracking a August 2017–August 2018 trajectory.  

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ICFs meet EIFS as Dryvit Systems closes on Nudura

Sources: Dryvit Systems Inc., West Warwick, R.I.; CP staff

Expanding its scope of energy-efficient building solutions for commercial and residential markets, Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems (EIFS) leader Dryvit has acquired Nudura Corp., a major insulating concrete form manufacturer and distributor. Ontario-based Nudura will be a stand-alone unit of Dryvit, which along with EIFS has developed NewBrick, an insulated clay brick-styled veneer product. Both businesses are part of RPM Specialty Products, one of three groups under Medina, Ohio-based RPM International—parent of admixture producer Euclid Chemical (RPM Industrial). 

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