EPA honors nine cement companies and PCA in 2021 Energy Star Awards

Thirteen of the 95 plants earning certification in the 2020 Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star manufacturing category produce portland cement: Argos USA LLC, Calera, Ala. and Harleyville, S.C.; Ash Grove Cement, Seattle; Buzzi Unicem USA, Festus, Mo. and Chattanooga, Tenn.; CalPortland Co., Rillito, Ariz.; Cemex USA, Miami; Drake Cement, Paulden, Ariz.; GCC of America, Pueblo, Colo. and Rapid City, S.D.;…

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ORGANIZATIONS – NOVEMBER 2019

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The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association has named 2019 Excellence in Quality Awards recipients. The program recognizes producers that follow and exceed quality management principles guiding materials, production processes and delivered loads. Honored during the group’s ConcreteWorks conference last month in Florida were:

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ORGANIZATIONS – SEPTEMBER 2018

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GCC, Martin Marietta, Summit deals clear CRH path to Ash Grove closing

Sources: U.S. Federal Trade Commission; CP staff

CRH Americas will consummate a $3.5 billion acquisition of Ash Grove Cement Co. by month’s end following a June 14 settlement resolving Federal Trade Commission charges that the deal violates antitrust law. Terms call for the Oldcastle Inc. parent company to sell a Three Forks, Mont., cement plant and quarry to GCC Americas; three Omaha, Neb., area sand & gravel sites to Martin Marietta Materials; plus, three quarries and two asphalt plants near Kansas City to Summit Materials. The settlement also contains two three-year provisions: It grants GCC an option to use two Three Forks-fed CRH terminals in Alberta; and, holds that CRH, at GCC’s option, will purchase cement from the mill for distribution in Canada.

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ORGANIZATIONS – MARCH 2018

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The Utah Ready Mixed Concrete Association has named 35-year industry veteran Brad Stevenson as executive director, setting the stage for the recently chartered group to be fully functioning in 2018.

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ORGANIZATIONS – NOVEMBER 2017

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Ashley Smith, president and chief operating officer of Virginia’s Smith-Midland Corp., has been appointed 2017-18 National Precast Concrete Association chairman—a post his father and company co-founder, Rodney Smith, held in 1980. Ashley Smith has been involved with NPCA on various product committees and task forces throughout his career and served on the board since 2011. His one-year term began last month at NPCA’s 52nd Annual Convention in Atlanta. Smith-Midland was founded in 1960 and has been an NPCA member since 1971.

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ORGANIZATIONS – OCTOBER 2017

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Convening in Chicago for its Fall Congress, Portland Cement Association announced recipients of the 2017 John P. Gleason, Jr., Leadership Awards. Named for PCA’s president from 1986–2007, they honor individuals in three categories who have exhibited leadership in association activities tied to member company objectives and operations:

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Ash Grove deal lifts CRH/Oldcastle to its latest plateau

Sources: CRH Plc, Dublin; CP staff

In nearly 40 years of North American market development, CRH has announced the boldest move yet for its Oldcastle Inc. enterprise: a $3.5 billion acquisition of Ash Grove Cement Co., Overland Park, Kan. Projected to close later this year, the deal brings integrated or stand-alone sites from the Great Plains to the Pacific Northwest: eight cement, 52 ready mixed concrete and nine packaged dry mix plants, along with 20 limestone quarries and 23 sand & gravel operations.

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Ash Grove elevates COO Vance to CEO; Sunderland remains chairman

Sources: Ash Grove Cement Co., Overland Park, Kan.; CP staff

Ash Grove President and Chief Operating Officer J. Randall Vance has been promoted to chief executive officer. He succeeds Charles Sunderland, who is part of the fourth generation of Sunderland family members to lead the company and remains chairman of the board.

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RMC Foundation releases driver recruitment, onboarding resources

With an eye to helping ready mixed producers introduce prospective truck drivers to the industry and their own companies, the Ready Mixed Concrete Research & Education Foundation has released two- and nine-minute recruitment videos plus 30- and 60-second radio spots. The videos can also serve as interview and onboarding resources to give candidates and new-hires an in-depth look at “A Day in the Life” of a professional mixer truck driver.
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