FAA bill seeds airfield pavement research initiatives

ACPA add max crop

The American Concrete Pavement Association has once again played a key role in advancing a Federal Aviation Administration-backed research and technology program for airfield pavements. “Our long-term goal is to secure funding for the collaborative research for each of the five years authorized for the program in the FAA Bill,” says ACPA CEO Gerald Voigt, P.E. “Thus far, additional funding has been secured for the ‘Airfield Pavement Technology Program’ in the ‘minibus’ funding package, which was signed into law by President Trump in December 2019. The measure provides funding for FY 2020.

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A Black Swan Event?

By Pierre Villere

For months now, I have been extolling the virtues of the U.S. economy, as well as the larger global markets, and touting the slow-but-steady strength of U.S. business and industry, especially the strong construction markets that drive volume in our concrete businesses. And as I have written so many times before, my philosophy is that “sentiment is self-fulfilling.” So now we have the coronavirus, and some of the most recent reactions to it have left me disquieted, wondering if a “Black Swan Event” could upend the U.S. economy.

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Argos driver hands NLRB a vehicle to affirm sound cell phone policy

A top ready mixed producer’s alleged unfair practices case has spawned a decision demonstrating the National Labor Relations Board’s return to decades-old, court-tested standards and National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) interpretations. It triggered a welcome rebuke of agency actions under the Obama administration, many of them skewed to Big Labor or injecting ambiguity in routine union grievance and employer response reviews.

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Strand-Tech asset deal builds Insteel footprint in prestressed

Source: Insteel Industries Inc., Mount Airy, N.C.

Insteel Wire Products Co. has acquired the assets of Strand-Tech Manufacturing Inc. Management plans to close the company’s Summerville, S.C., operation by the end of third quarter, then shift its prestressed concrete strand production equipment to existing Insteel fabrication shops in Florida, Tennessee and Texas. 

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Quikrete, Oak Ridge Lab team on 3D-printed concrete R&D

Sources; Quikrete Companies, Atlanta; CP staff

Quikrete and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee, have entered a cooperative research and development agreement to design next-generation concrete for production of large-scale structures or elements through a 3D printing process. Using an Oak Ridge-developed additive manufacturing system, the two-phase, two-year collaboration will target specially-formulated mixes spawning new construction capabilities.

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ConExpo-Con/Agg and IFPE traffic, exhibitor sentiment defy Covid-19 panic

Sources: Association of Equipment Manufacturers, Milwaukee; CP staff

Eyeing new technologies, products and equipment, along with networking and education opportunities, heavy building materials and construction industry segments converged on the Las Vegas Convention Center and nearby Festival Grounds for ConExpo-Con/Agg 2020 and the co-located International Fluid Power Exposition, March 10-13. 

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Precast Show activity reflects strength of industry health, prospects

Sources: National Precast Concrete Association, Carmel, Ind.; CP staff  

The Precast Show 2020, staged earlier this month in Fort Worth, Texas, saw more than 4,000 attendees, 350 exhibitors, 100-plus hours of live education and various special events. The National Precast Concrete Association and Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute jointly hosted the event.

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Apprenticeship program rule respects construction trades’ turf

Sources: U.S. Department of Labor; North America’s Building Trades Unions, Washington, D.C.; CP staff

A Labor Department rule effective May 10 establishes a system to advance development of Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAP) and guidelines for third-party stakeholders to become Standards Recognition Entities (SRE). Candidates for latter include associations, companies, educational institutions, state or local governments, non-profits, unions, joint labor-management organizations, plus professional or industry certification and accreditation bodies. 

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