NRMCA affiliate launches Volumetric Mixer Operator Certification

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

The Volumetric Mixer Manufacturers Bureau has finalized certification criteria aimed at building operator professionalism and providing proof of industry-specific knowledge. The Volumetric Mixer Operator Certification Program can be used to provide a career path while improving customer service skills, along with company and industry image.

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Producer fragmentation higher in sand & gravel than crushed stone

Sources: U.S. Geological Survey; CP staff

Top 20 sand & gravel and crushed stone producer rankings from USGS Commodity Specialist Jason Willett show strong contrasts in market concentration and operational scale. Producers on the just-released sand & gravel ranking accounted for 30 percent of shipments in 2016, the most recent year for which consolidated figures are available. For the same period, the agency’s crushed stone ranking showed a) the top 20 producers responsible for 743 million mt or 55 percent of the 2016 U.S. output; and, b) the top 100 operators shipping 1.02 billion mt of crushed limestone and granite, or 75 percent of industry deliveries.

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Oldcastle Materials, Vulcan, Lehigh Hanson lead sand & gravel ranks

Sources: U.S. Geological Survey; CP staff

The top 20 construction sand & gravel producers by volume accounted for 269 million metric tons (mt) or 30 percent of total shipments for 2016, the most recent year for which consolidated figures are available. The top 100 producers on USGS Commodity Specialist Jason Willett’s current ranking combined for 426 million mt, or 48 percent of agency-tracked 2016 sand & gravel production. The top 10 producers are Oldcastle Materials Inc., Vulcan Materials Co., Lehigh Hanson Inc., LafargeHolcim, Cemex USA, MDU/Knife River Corp., Martin Marietta Materials, Granite Construction Inc., Mitsubishi Cement Corp., and Summit Materials. 

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Second Los Angeles investor takes controlling stake in Fabcon

Sources: Solace Capital Partners, Los Angeles; CP staff

Solace Capital Partners has purchased a majority interest in Fabcon Holding Corp. from fellow Los Angeles investor Platinum Equity, which acquired the Minnesota-based precast/prestressed concrete wall panel producer in 2016 and maintains a minority stake. 

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Cemex USA opens premier admixture facility

Sources: Cemex USA, Houston; CP staff

Cemex officials assembled just after Labor Day in Brooksville, Fla., to mark the producer’s first U.S. admixture blending and packaging facility. The automated, 21,000-sq.-ft. plant will ultimately service nearly 160 ready mixed plants throughout the Florida and Mid-South Regions, shipping up to 16 normal or high range water reducers, set accelerators or retarders, air-entraining agents and specialty agents by tote.

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Pozzolan deposit positions Boral to step up Western state ash volume

Sources: Boral Resources, Atlanta; CP staff

Boral Resources has acquired 4.5 million tons of natural pozzolan contained in surface piles at a central Utah mine. “Extensive testing and characterization of the materials shows that they can be blended with several Western fly ash sources to extend the volume of concrete-quality pozzolans available in Western states markets,” says Boral CM Services Vice President, Technology Rafic Minkara, Ph.D., P.E. “This material can deliver enhanced ASR mitigation when blended with some fly ashes. Furthermore, the material’s location at an active and fully permitted site greatly reduces development costs and timelines.”

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Concrete Specialties offers Oldcastle Infrastructure key to Chicago market

Sources: Oldcastle Infrastructure, Atlanta; CP staff

Oldcastle Infrastructure has acquired Evanston, Ill.-based Concrete Specialties Co., which serves drainage and utility markets from four pipe and precast operations, and provides what management notes is “an excellent platform” for the upper Midwest. “Oldcastle Infrastructure is proud to partner with Concrete Specialties, and we are excited to expand our water management offering into Illinois and Wisconsin,” affirms President Simon Bates.

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Major limestone producer weighs in on qualified truck driver dearth

Sources: Lhoist North America, Ft. Worth, Texas; CP staff

Lhoist North America recently acknowledged the shortage of drivers available for heavy-duty trucking, along with the exacerbating effects of higher freight volume demands, plus the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s enforcement of the electronic logging device mandate, limiting drivers’ hours of service.

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Surfaces Coalition targets urban heat sources, impervious pavements

Sources: U.S. Green Building Council, Washington, D.C.; CP staff

The U.S. Green Building Council, American Institute of Architects and 20 other sustainability or urban organizations have formed the Smart Surfaces Coalition to help cities adopt cost-effective solutions—porous pavements; cool roofs and pavements; trees and plants—for cutting excess heat radiation from buildings and surfaces; reducing flood risks; plus, improving livability, health and equity.

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Forney profile slotted for Fox Business’ Manufacturing Marvels

Sources: Forney LP, Pittsburgh; CP staff

Construction material testing equipment specialist Forney is scheduled for a segment of the Fox Business Network’s “Manufacturing Marvels” production, airing September 5-6 between 9:30 and 9:44 p.m. CST. The two-minute installment showcases the surety the manufacturer helps bring to the construction process through premium laboratory equipment and tools, plus innovative systems netting quality testing results. Of particular note is the latest innovation, ForneyVault, a cloud-based system that improves laboratory productivity while increasing testing process transparency and value.

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