ORCO Block & Hardscape CEO Rick Muth has assumed a new role as chairman and appointed Dave Echternach as his successor. Echternach has a nearly 20-year track record of leadership success at the Stanton, Calif. concrete masonry operator, serving as sales manager and vice president. He joined ORCO after tours of duty in financing, rental operations, product support and sales management with Caterpillar Inc. and Shepherd Machinery Co.
The move enables Muth to develop closer relationships with business partners, work on special projects, and provide guidance to the growing team of leaders at ORCO—all while ensuring the same commitment to product quality, customer support, and family values that have defined the business for over 75 years. “I look forward to many years of innovation, resilience, and both new and renewed relationships with ORCO staff and customers,” he affirms.
CarbonBuilt, Los Angeles developer of carbon dioxide-based mix production and curing methods for concrete masonry units, has named Michelle Carvin, CFA, as chief financial officer. She will oversee financial operations, accounting, capital planning, and capital raising—all in support of the company’s mission to decarbonize the concrete industry. She joins CarbonBuilt with more than a decade of experience in corporate financial planning, deal structuring and risk management in both emerging growth and public markets. Carvin previously served as CFO at solar energy developer Neely Clay Energy, where she was responsible for financial processes, fundraising and project acquisition. She also spent nearly a decade at Goldman Sachs, where as a Global Industrials Investment Banking Group vice president she executed more than $10 billion in merger & acquisition and capital markets transactions across industrial, energy and infrastructure fields.
“By delivering the rare combination of dramatic decarbonization and steep cost savings, CarbonBuilt is on a path to transform the global concrete market’s environmental impact and profitability,” says Carvin. “I look forward to working with CarbonBuilt’s talented team of industry veterans.”
“We’ve successfully begun commercial production and have a full pipeline of projects under development,” adds CarbonBuilt CEO Rahul Shendure. “The challenge is now getting to scale at speed. Michelle’s background and proven history of success are a perfect match for where we are.”
Jesus Tanguis has been appointed vice president and general manager of Geneva Pipe and Precast, a Northwest Pipe Company. He will oversee manufacturing, safety, engineering, logistics, sales, team growth, and productivity measures at the producer’s three Utah plants. With a strong background in heavy/civil construction, Tanguis focuses on optimizing multicultural teams and organizational processes for sustainable business growth. He has a track record of increasing performance and revenue in underperforming market segments and has successfully implemented sales strategies to increase product diversification and market share. Tanguis has a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas and studied Economics at the Universidad del Pacifico. A native of Peru, he has a keen understanding of the highly competitive precast concrete markets and trends gleaned from work across the Americas.
“Jesus is a great addition to our leadership team. His background leading cultural change and increasing profitability supports our efforts to keep Geneva the regional leader in precast concrete,” says Northwest Pipe CEO Scott Montross. “Jesus will focus on customer service, lean manufacturing, and enhancing shareholder value while maintaining a safe environment for our team.”
Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. is the first cement producer to join the CCS+ Initiative, a multi-stakeholder platform aiming to develop an accounting framework for certifying carbon capture, utilization, storage (CCUS), and removal projects, thereby contributing to industrial value chain decarbonization. Cemex is providing its expertise to craft modules for long-term carbon dioxide storage in durable products such as cement, concrete and aggregates; supporting the development of carbon accounting methodologies; and, leveraging carbon markets to incentivize their scale-up.
Cemex is running several CCUS innovation projects that aim to accelerate the creation of new technologies and enable the implementation of current ones at an industrial scale. The CCS+ Initiative brings together more than 55 organizations in the industrial carbon management space, from large industrial players to innovative start-ups, plus trade associations and international organizations in advisory roles.
Votorantim Cimentos, São Paulo-based parent company of VCNA Prairie Material and sister operations serving U.S. and Canadian Great Lakes markets, was recognized for its leadership in corporate transparency and climate change performance by CDP, operator of a global disclosure system for companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts. Based on data reported through the CDP Climate Change 2023 Questionnaire, Votorantim Cimentos earned an A score, placing the cement, aggregate and concrete producer among a small number of organizations that are ranked at the top of the list and exemplify best practices in the market.
Founded as the Carbon Disclosure Project, CDP holds the world’s largest environmental database; its scores are widely used to inform investment decisions in support of a zero-carbon, sustainable and resilient economy. In 2023, more than 740 financial institutions holding over $136 trillion in assets called on companies to disclose their environmental impacts, risks and opportunities through the CDP platform. A record 23,000 companies responded to the questionnaire last year. CDP uses a detailed and independent methodology to score companies from A to D based on the level of comprehensiveness in disclosure, awareness and management of environmental risks, along with incorporation of best practices, such as setting ambitious and meaningful targets. Companies that do not disclose their impacts or provide insufficient information receive an F score.
“We work daily to achieve goals in line with our 2030 Sustainability Commitments and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Between 1990 (cement industry baseline year) and 2022, Votorantim Cimentos reduced its carbon dioxide emissions per tonne of cement produced by 24 percent,” says Global Director of Sustainability, Institutional Relations, Product Development and Engineer Álvaro Lorenz.
Votorantim Cimentos’ decarbonization strategy is based on four main pillars, he adds: co-processing (substitution of fossil fuels used in cement production kilns for other materials, especially biomass and waste); use of cementitious materials, including by-products from other industries, to replace clinker; energy efficiency measures and the use of renewable energy sources, leveraging company owned hydroelectric power plants and investments in solar and wind energy; and, development of innovative processes, new materials, plus carbon capture, use and storage methods.
Heidelberg Materials North America has redesigned its cement product packaging to reflect the enterprise-wide rebranding of legacy cement, aggregate and concrete businesses under the Heidelberg Materials banner. A new logo introduced in January 2023 features two organically connected elements that represent the “h” in Heidelberg. The stem of the “h” was designed to evoke a construction element, symbolizing the technical strengths of Heidelberg Materials. The curved shoulder of the “h” resembles a leaf and symbolizes the company’s future growth. The new bag designs for EcoCemPLC, Brixment, Stone-Hold, and Flamingo Custom Color Masonry Cement echo these elements and reflect Heidelberg Materials’ commitment to environmental sustainability, long-term growth and the strength and performance of its products.
“Our transformation to Heidelberg Materials has provided us with a great opportunity to refresh our bag designs and highlight our new brand while also emphasizing the high quality and exceptional performance our customers have come to expect from our products,” says Heidelberg Materials NA CEO Chris Ward.