Various reports from our industry press mark a jump in ready mixed concrete production in April, which is just a thumbnail indicator of the health of the overall economy. Production was estimated at 35.6 million cubic yards, an astonishing 20 percent higher than in April 2020. Moreover, the estimated production nationally through April is 114.3 million cubic yards, approximately 6.8…
Read MoreMonth: August 2021
A contractor’s bold statement
In a welcome sign of economic stability and pandemic recovery in the building industry, Utah’s Jacobsen Construction Co. has built a modern headquarters near the Salt Lake City International Airport. The facility bears on robust and prominently exposed cast-in-place elements, and recognizes concrete practice through touches that include repurposing formwork shoring in a wall sculpture. The headquarters was designed by…
Read MorePeterbilt assembles two medium-duty companions to 567 workhorse
Peterbilt Motors has added Models 537 and 548 to its Class 7/8 segment offering, crediting the trucks’ versatility to robust multiplex electrical architecture and engineering that deliver “seamless body builder integration allowing customers complete customization.” Both trucks feature the new eight-speed Paccar TX-8 automatic transmission, paired with Paccar PX-7 or PX-9 engines. The transmission monitors changes in road grade, vehicle…
Read MoreFoamed glass aggregate producer plans Florida satellite plant
Sources: AeroAggregates, Eddystone, Pa.; CP staff AeroAggregates has broken ground on a Dunnellon, Fla. production facility for ultra-lightweight foamed glass aggregate. Scheduled for October 2021 start up, the operation will turn post-consumer recycled glass into a 0.375- to 2.5-in. graded material suiting concrete block mixes, plus fill for placement over soft compressible soils or underground utilities, or along embankments.
Read MoreConExpo-Con/Agg Manager Tanel to succeed AEM chief Slater
Sources: Association of Equipment Manufacturers, Milwaukee; CP staff The Association of Equipment Manufacturers Board has named Senior Vice President, Construction & Utility Sector Megan Tanel successor to President Dennis Slater, who will retire at the end of 2021, capping a nearly 40-year career with AEM and its predecessor.
Read MoreIllinois Brick plumbs Brickworks’ Midwest vertical integration
Sources: Brickworks Ltd., New South Wales, Australia; Brickworks North America Corp., Wyomissing, Pa.; CP staff Brickworks, the ambitious Australian operator building a North American platform from a 2018 deal for Pennsylvania’s Glen-Gery Corp., will strengthen its Great Lakes region production and distribution footprint by acquiring certain assets of Palos Hill, Ill.-based Southfield Corp. At the heart of the $51 million…
Read MoreCoretex program creates first ‘truck area network’ for mixer fleets
Coretex, developer of cloud-based visualization software to help heavy-duty truck fleets turn rich data into automated business intelligence, unveiled an integrated Internet of Things solution at World of Concrete 2021. CoreHub connects an in-vehicle IoT hub with self-installed wireless drum rotation, hydraulic temperature and water add meter sensors, plus cameras throughout a mixer truck. By collecting and presenting information about…
Read MoreSysdyne Pioneer platform raises batch control to the cloud
Sysdyne Technologies presents its latest tool for ready mixed concrete producers, Pioneer Cloud Batch, as the first cloud-native concrete batch control system. Unveiled at World of Concrete 2021 as an alternative to traditional, local computer-hosted solutions, the platform brings batch software online and makes loading, weighing and mixer truck charging sequences visible to individual or multiple users.
Read MoreZimmerman brings volumetric delivery cycle under one digital umbrella
Zimmerman Industries, a key player in volumetric mixer trucks, has teamed with Silicon Valley software developer LogiMove to launch a web portal and app-based solution for concrete delivery fleets. The LogiMove application helps manage orders, dispatching, mix designs, truck inspections, drivers, delivery notes, invoicing, and job site photo archiving. Initial set up is done through a web portal in a…
Read MoreMarcotte Systems weighs the future of centralized batching
As information technology and batch plant improvements continue to usher concrete producers to new efficiency thresholds, control panel and dispatch software provider Marcotte Systems challenges the industry to imagine a ready mixed operation in which robust, high-performance programs enable each workpiece to direct itself through the appropriate production stations. Further, a concrete plant that instructs various autonomous materials handling carriers…
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