Billed as the only recipe-as-a-service platform optimizing local materials for cleaner and more cost-efficient concrete, AICrete has raised $4 million in a seed funding round led by Clear Ventures and VoLo Earth Ventures, with participation from Cortical Ventures plus a multinational materials producer. The capital positions the Richmond, Calif. firm to expand a proof of concept program to several key…
Read MoreMonth: November 2022
60,000-ton, coastal Georgia terminal ups Giant Cement’s Southeast stakes
South Carolina-based Giant Cement Holding Inc. will increase its capacity to serve existing and new Southeast concrete accounts with construction of a 60,000-ton import terminal on the Savannah River, set for operation by January 2024. An elongated parcel for a cement storage dome and rail or truck loadout areas was secured through an agreement with Georgia Kaolin Terminals, Inc. of…
Read MoreVCNA parent company unveils a new signature
The parent of Votorantim Cimentos North America, Toronto, bills a new corporate brand as more contemporary and representative of the diversity of its people, products and businesses, and “combining tradition, innovation and a vision of the future.” The new visual identity seeks to connect Votorantim Cimentos’ strategic objectives and sustainability commitments with the process of transformation and growth in different…
Read MoreThomas, Cole County aces trade spots in National Mixer Driver Championship
Joey Melton, a 19-year delivery professional based at Thomas Concrete’s Anderson, S.C. plant, took the 2022 National Mixer Driver Championship. The early-October event was staged at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center in Aurora, Colo. amid the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association’s ConcreteWorks Conference and Expo. Stepping up to the ConcreteWorks awards banquet podium, Melton saluted the 85 peers…
Read MoreDOE funds cement pre-calcining heat demonstration
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded Pasadena, Calif.-based Heliogen $4.1 million to demonstrate a concentrated solar power (CSP) process for heating limestone to 950°C, applicable to the calcining phase in portland cement production. CSP technologies deploy mirrors to beam sunlight onto a receiver, and can be used to deliver heat for energy-intensive industrial processes or generate electricity using…
Read MoreNational Science Foundation funds concrete strength sensor start up
WaveLogix, a Purdue University-incubated company commercializing an Internet of Things sensing system to monitor cast-in-place or precast concrete infrastructure, has earned a six-month, $256,000 SBIR Phase I grant from the National Science Foundation to develop its technology. WaveLogix’s Rebel brand of sensors improves upon the industry standard to measure concrete strength: Breaking multiple field-cured concrete samples. Destructive concrete strength testing…
Read MoreFalse stormwater discharge reports bring lab three-year prison term
A judge in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Memphis, sentenced the chief executive officer of Environmental Compliance and Testing (ECT), Memphis, to 36 months in prison in connection with fabricating Clean Water Act-mandated storm water discharge monitoring reports for concrete and other industrial sites, and submission of those documents to the Tennessee Department of Environment and…
Read MoreEPA officials reviews 50 years of Clean Water Act deliverables
Environmental Protection Agency and White House Council on Environmental Quality officials joined other water pollution control stakeholders last month on the banks of the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act of 1972. “When the Cuyahoga River burned 50 years ago, people from all backgrounds came together with one voice to demand action,”…
Read MoreAlternative Materials to the Rescue!
Geopolymer concrete and fiber-reinforced polymer rebar can be the perfect match for sustainability in structural applications. Steel and concrete have a love-hate relationship. Steel brings tensile strength to concrete, making it stronger for structural applications. Alas, concrete lets water seep into the relationship and corrode the hope for a lasting union. To fix this marriage, Dr. Ruth (Westheimer) has been…
Read MoreThe Employment Pendulum Is Swinging The Other Way
Just a couple of months ago, I wrote about the ever-challenging employment picture; next to managing material costs and fuel prices, this is by far the biggest issue of daily operation that continues to be a thorn in the side of every concrete producer and contractor. But now, I am starting to see a swing back the other way. Even…
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