Sources: Coolbrook B.V., The Netherlands; Cemex S.A.B. de C.V., Monterrey, Mexico; CP staff Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. is the first cement producer to announce testing of Coolbrook Roto Dynamic Heater (RDH) technology, which uses electric power to attain the 1,500-1,700°C kiln temperatures required to calcine and convert limestone and other raw feeds to clinker. At plant scale, an RDH apparatus…
Read MoreMonth: May 2022
Survey confirms Davis-Bacon prevailing wage scheme’s inflationary impact
Sources: Associated Builders and Contractors, Washington, D.C.; CP staff The Department of Labor’s flawed method of calculating “prevailing wages” under the 91-year-old Davis-Bacon Act adds at least 7.2 percent to the cost of federal and federally assisted construction projects and inflates wages by 20.2 percent compared to local market averages, according to a new report from the Beacon Hill Institute,…
Read MoreEco Material harvests ash, forges business and government alliances
Sources: Eco Material Technologies Inc., South Jordan, Utah; CP staff Since an early-2022 launch as Boral Resources and Green Cement successor, Eco Material Technologies has secured its core ASTM C618 fly ash marketing and distribution business, while moving quickly on new opportunities: Harvested coal combustion ash and high value supplementary cementitious material (SCM) processing.
Read MoreContractors’ annual workforce development tally exceeds $1.5 billion
Source: Associated Builders and Contractors, Washington, D.C. Associated Builders and Contractors members invested $1.6 billion to provide more than 1.3 million course attendees with craft, leadership and safety education in 2021, according to the group’s 2022 Workforce Development Survey, up from $1.3 billion in 2020. The annual assessment quantifies the scope of ABC member workforce development initiatives to advance employee…
Read MoreACI Foundation funds UHPC, SCM, concrete specimen research
Sources: American Concrete Institute Foundation, Farmington Hills, Mich.; CP staff Among 10 projects receiving 2022 ACI Foundation Concrete Research Council grants, two address ultra-high performance concrete: “Maximum Reinforcing Ratio for Reinforced UHPC Beams: Towards Slender Elements,” under principal investigator Yi Shao, University of California, Berkeley; and, “Shear Behavior of UHPC Considering Axial Load Effects,” under Dimitrios Kalliontzis, University of Houston.…
Read MoreI-XL joins King Klinker thin brick master distributors Acme, Consolidated, Reuther
Sources: I-XL Building Products, Vancouver, B.C.; CP staff A strategic partnership with Wisconsin-based King Klinker America positions I-XL Building Products as Master Distributor for King Klinker thin brick veneer plus companion Advanced Formliners seamless concrete embedded brick formliners and Speedymason thin brick or stone panel solutions.
Read MoreReport measures structural precast versus C-I-P concrete, steel
Sources: Freedonia Group, Cleveland; CP staff Structural building components lead annual precast shipments and are on pace to exhibit nearly 6 percent annual growth over the next five years, according to “Precast Concrete Products,” a new analysis from market researcher Freedonia Group. When specified for slabs, columns, foundations, or full building systems, precast concrete reduces costs in certain construction conditions…
Read MoreMaking a Case for Reduced Inflation
by Pierre G. Villere We like to read the in-depth research on a wide range of topics that can affect the economic health of our industry, since it is our firm’s primary specialty. In the years I have been at the helm, I find the reports published by the global banks to be informative, and usually spot-on. They have large…
Read MoreAgency eclipses typical government pace with embodied carbon action
The U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration were set for center stage this year thanks to Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding and contract activity. Yet a sister agency with its $75 billion building and pavement contracting budget is stealing some of the thunder. The General Services Administration is capturing attention with its Low Embodied Carbon Concrete Standards…
Read MoreNRMCA’s Digital Transformation
The association’s latest task group champions the latest advances in technology. By Craig Yeack Once upon a time, the winners and losers in our industry were separated mainly by one thing: pricing power. Be it through consolidation, vertical integration, or just being a superior operator, pricing power is an economic term that describes a company’s ability to raise prices without…
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