Leadership of licensing innovator Recon Wall Systems has unveiled The Precast Forte Group, a Minnesota-based parent entity affording clarity of purpose for each of four companies while sharing manufactured concrete domain expertise. On the strength of the Recon Wall Systems flagship, the Forte portfolio has grown to include proprietary product or structure designs, external licensing services, and marketing tools—each serving a distinct precast industry segment. The portfolio encompasses:
- Recon Wall Systems, a key modular block retaining wall market player whose range of solutions combines aesthetics, functionality, installation efficiency and quality standards.
- Light Pole Base, a near-universal site lighting foundation solution delivering all the labor, scheduling and quality control advantages of precast concrete methods.
- EV Blocks, an electric vehicle charging point foundation that provides a fast, reliable and simple alternative to complex EV charger installations.
- Rethink Precast Marketing, a platform bringing qualified leads to licensed producers.
“The future is bright,” says Precast Forte Group President Michael Klotthor. “In addition to allowing each of our companies a clear path to serve their customers, Forte is perfectly poised to bring new innovative and value-based products to global markets. Forming this entity places us at the intersection of freedom and focus … [at an] exciting time for people who have an idea for a precast solution and need an expert to help them cultivate the idea and bring it to market.”
Eagle Materials Inc. has entered an agreement granting the exclusive right to build and operate three facilities processing up to 240,000 tons per year of Terra CO2 Technology’s supplementary cementitious material, Opus SCM, from common quarry byproducts or other silicate-rich feeds. The facilities would be earmarked for specific geographic areas. They include the Greater Denver Market, where concrete producers and contractors are preparing for this year’s implementation of the Buy Clean Colorado Act, which promotes low carbon construction material procurement on state projects exceeding $500,000. Consistent with the law’s objectives, Opus SCM can be used to replace portland cement at levels up to 40 percent in concrete mix designs.
Full realization of Terra CO2 agreement terms could see Eagle Materials add nearly 10 percent of concrete binder output to a portfolio spanning eight plants with annual portland and blended cement finishing capacity exceeding 8 million tons. “Entering these agreements with Terra, we’re taking bold steps to seek solutions that reduce the carbon intensity of cementitious materials using new technologies,” says Eagle Materials CEO Michael Haack. “Furthermore, as the supply of other SCMs, such as fly ash, continues to decrease in availability, increased SCM development will be crucial to fulfill the needs of our customers and in meeting the expected increases in demand for cement more broadly.”
“We are working hard to accelerate deployment of commercial plants through strategic partnerships, deploying more capital and shortening timelines,” adds Terra CO2 CEO Bill Yearsley. “We are thrilled to work with a partner like Eagle Materials to build commercial plants for sustainable construction, and act on this urgency through our shared commitment to action. In the absence of a ‘climate tech express lane’ from the government, working with industry leaders is key to innovating and expediting low-carbon solutions for the industry.”
The Eagle Materials agreement follows a September 2023 announcement involving Terra CO2 and Texas partner Asher Materials, the latter eyeing a Dallas-Fort Worth market site for 2024-2025 construction of the first commercial-scale Opus SCM production facility.