A Hill To Thrive On

In the early stages of their newest Kansas ready mixed plant, officials of Monarch Cement Co. and subsidiary Concrete Materials Inc. didn’t anticipate the need for a backup location or market. Permitting difficulties, coupled with opportunities for improved logistics, prompted a tabling of their initial target in favor of a site along a growing Interstate 35 and U.S. 169 corridor…

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ENERGETIC POURS

Advance Ready Mix paces 500,000-yd. Battery Park contract BY DON MARSH Batching and deliveries for one of the largest concrete supply contracts in North America are proceeding six days a week, two 10-to 12-hour shifts per day on a 2.3-square-mile, Glendale, Ky. site. Advance Ready Mix and fellow project principals have no wiggle room on the schedule as owners Ford…

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From Clay to Concrete

Kohler Co. solidifies premium offerings with a cement-based series  A boutique precast producer is steering a top home building product brand—synonymous with porcelain, chrome and brass—toward concrete. Kohler Co. has acquired United Kingdom-based Kast Concrete Basins, a fabricator of contemporary basins and sinks made with conventional mixes of local limestone grades, specially sourced sands plus premium pigments.  Known for bold-color…

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First Out of the Gate

Blair Block starts up CarbonBuilt-equipped CMU production line Childersburg, Ala.-based Blair Block is the premier operator to adopt the carbon dioxide-capturing and -mineralizing technology of CarbonBuilt, enabling promotion of concrete masonry units whose embodied carbon characteristics are 70-100 percent lower than traditional blocks. The CarbonBuilt technology replaces most of the portland cement typically used in CMU mix designs with a…

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TRUCKS & COMPONENTS

On the heels of surveying the vehicle-laden ConExpo-Con/Agg and World of Concrete 2023 shows, we examine the latest in OEM, body builder and component manufacturer offerings for mixer, dump, bulk tanker and day cab/tractor trailer fleet operators. MOTOR WHEEL | AUTOMATIC BRAKE ADJUSTERHendrickson International’s Motor Wheel business has rebranded the Crewson automatic brake adjuster product line under the Motor Wheel…

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Design Excellence

The Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute recognizes creative and innovative uses of precast. The Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute honored 25 building and transportation projects during the 2023 PCI Design Awards program—now in its 60th year. A panel of engineers, architects, and precast concrete producers judges all nominees on aesthetic, structural, and use versatility; site, energy and operational efficiency, and risk reduction; and resiliency,…

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Value Declaration

A visit with 2023 Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute Chair Matt Ballain BY JOSEPHINE PATTERSON Matt Ballain, vice president and general manager of Coreslab Structures (INDIANAPOLIS), has become the chair of the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute following a series of pivotal predecessor moves over the past decade. Among the deliverables are the formal reporting system for building and transportation product or structure shipments;…

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Calming Confidence

A visit with 2022-23 National Precast Concrete Association Chairman of the Board Joel Sheets Known for his calm demeanor, Joel Sheets, senior vice president of Operations for Tindall Infrastructure, not only has the confidence to be a leader recognized and appreciated throughout the Tindall organization but also to lead the entire precast industry. Sheets has built a team and a…

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Village Green

Unilock, LPS Pavement, PICP underpin stormwater management upgrade The Village of Kenilworth (Ill.) Public Works Department closed a 10-year stormwater management project in late 2022, signing off on nearly 84,000 square feet of permeable interlocking concrete pavement (PICP) from one of the Midwest’s best producer-installer tag teams: Unilock Chicago Inc. of Aurora, Ill. and LPS Pavement Co. of Oswego, Ill. …

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