Sources: Heidelberg Materials North America, Irving, Texas; CP staff Heidelberg Materials Chairman Dominik von Achten and Heidelberg Materials North America CEO Chris Ward formally ushered in a new era for the company’s century-old cement plant in Mitchell, Ind., unveiling advanced material handling, calciner, kiln and finishing equipment equal to 2.4 million metric tons per year. During a mid-June gathering, they…
Read MoreAlong with member producers and downstream partners, the Cement Association of Canada has released Concrete Zero, an action plan for carbon emissions reduction measures up and down the industry’s value chain. The document builds on formal CO2 benchmarks that CAC and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada officials outlined last fall in Roadmap to Net-Zero Carbon Concrete by 2050. To…
Read MoreTwo of the principal organizations driving specifications and practices reflected in a building’s life cycle carbon metrics will review sentiments on their Proposed Standard 240P – Evaluating Greenhouse Gas (GHG) and Carbon Emissions in Building Design, Construction and Operation, posted at osr.ashrae.org. ASHRAE—synonymous with heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration standards—and the International Code Council present a methodology for quantifying…
Read MoreThe Global Steel Climate Council (GSCC), Washington, D.C. has drafted a standard for measuring and reporting carbon dioxide emissions in steel production. Council members aim to build on current accounting methodologies and reconcile gaps in multiple standards, published or under development. The standard GSCC envisions will: Provide a single, technology-agnostic protocol that applies to all steel producers equally; Allow all…
Read MoreA researcher at Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, is looking to solve the problems of tomorrow by using chemistry from the distant past. Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Dr. Monday Uchenna Okoronkwo is investigating how to mimic the chemistry and composition of ancient Roman concrete while also applying modern technology to make today’s slabs, structures and…
Read MoreAccording to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of 2022 state union membership data published recently by UnionStats.com, at least nine out of 10 construction workers in private industry do not belong to a union in 26 states, up from 24 states in 2021. Nationwide, a record 88.3 percent of construction workers do not belong to a union, U.S. Bureau…
Read MoreLooking for true savings? Transition from “keep full” to “don’t run out.” U.S. ready mix concrete (RMC) production in 2023 should be just north of 400 million cubic yards, a recession notwithstanding. Based on an average five-bag mix, that means at least 27.5 million equivalent truckloads of aggregates and 4.75 million equivalent truckloads of cementitious materials will be required. Bulk…
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by Pierre G. Villere With the rifle-shot increase in interest rates over the last 18 months, catapulting from near zero for certain commercial credits to well over 6.5 percent for home mortgages, we are experiencing something we have not seen in decades: homeowners are sitting on their hands and staying put in their homes, corralled by 30-year fixed mortgage rates…
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by Don Marsh Through direct action or implication of costly, prolonged legal measures, the Federal Trade Commission has helped quell a second cement plant sale in as many years. In 2021, the agency challenged the proposed sale of Giant Cement Holdings’ Keystone Cement mill in Bath, Pa. to Heidelberg Materials, then operating as Lehigh Hanson Inc. FTC officials cited concerns…
Read MoreSources: Baker Construction Enterprises, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; CP staff Baker Construction Enterprises, the largest and best-performing commercial concrete contractor in the U.S., has named Karl H. Watson Jr., as chief executive officer. He succeeds Brad Wucherpfennig, who transitions to the role of BCE Board of Advisors chairman. Concurrently, Dan T. Baker has been named president. “In developing this transition plan,…
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