Charah Solutions, Inc. in Louisville, Ky., was selected as the 2021 Second Place Construction Safety Excellence Award recipient in the Associated General Contractors of America Construction Safety Excellence Awards. Charah Solutions competed in the Specialty Division’s 500,000 to 1.5 Million Work Hour category. This marks the fourth straight year in which the fly ash marketer and coal combustion residuals management specialist has received the AGC Construction Safety Excellence Award and the company’s fifth time overall. The award winners were announced earlier this fall during the AGC National Convention in Orlando.
Safety Excellent Awards judges closely examine each candidate’s commitment to worker protection, occupational health management and risk control. Applications are first reviewed by members of the national AGC Safety & Health Committee during the annual Construction Safety & Health Conference, held in January. Finalists in each divisional category then compete at the AGC National Convention where they must give an oral presentation in front of a panel of five judges. Charah Solutions is an industry-leader in safety excellence, logging a 2020 Total Recordable Incident Rate of 0.36 with no lost or restricted time injuries and an impressive three-year average Experience Modification Rate of less than 0.7.
During its Capital Markets Day 2021, held last month in Zurich, Sika Corp. parent Sika AG spotlighted the company’s new reCO2ver concept for recycled concrete. The event carried a theme, “Sika as Enabler for a Sustainable Construction Industry.” The reCO2ver concept can be considered a breakthrough in concrete recycling and has the potential to significantly contribute to a more sustainable and circular economy, officials noted.
“Our company has great potential for further growth and long-term success—a global leading position with a market share of around 10 percent, megatrends driving our key markets and unprecedented needs for sustainable solutions to fulfill demanding global carbon footprint targets,” said Sika CEO Thomas Hasler. “All these elements are in our favor and Sika will play a decisive role as an enabler of these changes for our customers.”
Confirming strategic targets for 2023, he noted that Sika will continue to be aligned for sustainable, long-term success and profitable growth. By targeting six strategic pillars—market penetration, innovation, operational efficiency, acquisitions, strong corporate values, and sustainability—Sika is seeking to grow by 6-8 percent in 2021-23. Projects in the areas of operations, logistics, procurement, and product formulation should result in an annual improvement in operating costs equivalent to 0.5 percent of sales. Sika’s overriding sustainability goal is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions per ton of product sold by 12 percent through 2023. In addition, the company aims to make all product innovations even more sustainable while at the same time increasing product performance.
Through its Black Swan Graphene Inc. business, Montreal-based Mason Graphite Inc. has been granted United States and Canadian patents for the apparatus and bulk production method behind atomically thin 2-dimensional materials, including graphene. They bring the granted patented total in the Black Swan Graphene portfolio to 16 and consolidate a leading position in the high-shear liquid phase exfoliation process for graphene and other two-dimensional materials. The graphene produced from the patented manufacturing process owned by Black Swan Graphene and produced by Black Swan’s strategic shareholder Thomas Swan & Co. Ltd. can be used as additive in multiple applications, including concrete. Thomas Swan & Co. is a leading independent manufacturer of performance and fine chemicals, offering 100-plus products.