St. Louis-based manufactured concrete plant equipment specialist Afinitas has announced two promotions: Forming Systems Division Director of Engineering Matt Karnes is transitioning to the corporate engineering team as principal engineer of Product Development, a newly created position reporting to Afinitas Global Vice-President of Engineering Dave Stoller. In his most recent capacity, Karnes served as general manager and engineering manager of…
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The Case for DOT ‘E-Info’ Standardization
By Craig Yeack Covid-19 has pushed our industry to catch up with digitization, and we pretty much like it. The service-orientated architecture of today’s information technology (IT) systems empowers concrete producers to choose the best IT landscape for their needs. But how do state transportation departments harvest and leverage the new wealth of unique electronic information we make available? More…
Read MoreA Case for Industry 4.0 in Ready-Mix Production
New technology has sparked a revolution in concrete batch accuracy. The Fourth Industrial Revolution, commonly known as Industry 4.0, is the ongoing automation of manufacturing using Internet of Things (IoT), widespread machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, and artificial intelligence (AI). When we cut through the buzzword bingo, it’s clear that Industry 4.0 matters when it comes to batching ready-mix concrete. Batch accuracy…
Read MoreLow carbon LC3 binder steers Sika’s next admixture chapter
The Swiss parent company of New Jersey-based Sika Corp. will tailor a new family of concrete admixtures and cement additives around the chemistry and behavior of an emerging binder known as LC3, or Limestone Calcined Clay Cement. Through work with Sika AG and peers, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology officials view the material as a means of carbon footprint reduction…
Read MoreSlag cement producers log fifth consecutive year of double-digit shipment gains
Sources: Slag Cement Association, Farmington Hills, Mich., Slag cement shipments in the U.S. climbed 11.7 percent in 2020 versus prior-year volume, sustaining a streak of year-over-year, double-digit percentage growth dating to 2016. The Slag Cement Association attributes the trend in part to the binder’s benefits in plastic and cured concrete, including better workability and finishability; thermal stress reduction; higher compressive…
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