And how concrete producers can capitalize on the federal government’s changing policy landscape In December 2021, the White House issued an executive order focused on reducing emissions across federal government properties. The order introduces a “Buy Clean” meant to reduce carbon emissions arising from the production or manufacturing and use of building materials. For the first time, suppliers of concrete…
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ACI Center, Composites Manufacturers eye FRP plant certification
Sources: American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, Mich.; CP staff The American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA), along with the American Concrete Institute and recently chartered NEx: An ACI Center of Excellence for Nonmetallic Building Materials, will develop a plant certification program for concrete-grade, fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite bars and tendons. ACMA, ACI, and NEx agree the program should a) comply with…
Read MoreInvestor underwrites new Hebel autoclaved aerated concrete plant
Verte OZ Fund Inc., College Park, Md., has invested in Probitas Ventures LLC and its wholly owned subsidiary AAC East LLC, both of Bennettsville, S.C. Probitas Ventures is building an advanced production facility for autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) under licensing from Germany’s Xella GmbH, owner of the legacy Hebel AAC brand. The goal of the Verte OZ infusion is to…
Read MoreCommand Alkon stake: HeidelbergCement’s ticket to tech leadership
Lehigh Hanson Inc. parent company HeidelbergCement AG announced late last month an agreement to take a 45 percent stake in Command Alkon, the global leader in software and information technology services for heavy building materials. San Francisco-based investor Thoma Bravo, which acquired Command Alkon in early 2020, will retain a 55 percent interest. The agreement is subject to regulatory approvals,…
Read MoreHolcim to cut water consumption in concrete, upstream operations
Holcim AG aims to reduce cement, aggregates and ready mixed concrete operations’ respective water intensities by 33 percent, 20 percent and 15 percent through 2030. Applicable to namesake, Lafarge, Aggregate Industries, Lattimore Materials and other North America or overseas brands, the targets are part of a global strategy to become nature-positive by restoring and preserving water and biodiversity, while…
Read MorePayload gaming app tests concrete, materials dispatching competence
Sources: Inform Software Corp., Atlanta; CP staff A free gaming app allows industry dispatchers to assign trucks to orders with a simple drag and drop move, then test their skills at optimizing dump, tanker or mixer fleet assets and driver schedules. PayloadTheGame has debuted at the Apple App Store for iPhone and Apple devices, and will soon be available for…
Read More‘Made for Now’ vibe drives Command Alkon conference
Sources: Command Alkon, Birmingham, Ala.; CP staff
Heavy building materials innovators who leverage technology advancements to make smarter decisions faster, achieve break-through performance and deliver differentiated experiences inform a “Made for Now” theme for Command Alkon’s 2019 Elevate Conference & Expo, November 3-6 in Chicago.
Read MoreReport chips away at wood industry’s low carbon building narrative
Sources: International Institute for Sustainable Development, Winnipeg, Manitoba; CP staff
A Cement Association of Canada-funded report exposes the limitations of life cycle assessment (LCA) studies whose results have thus far painted a more favorable greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions profile of wood versus concrete or steel buildings. As the main tools to measure building products’ carbon footprints at the production, use and end of life phases, LCA studies as presently executed can exaggerate the importance of embodied GHG impacts when they discount or ignore other significant life-cycle emissions, according to “Emission Omissions: Carbon accounting gaps in the built environment.”
Read MoreEagle Materials completes succession plan as Haack replaces CEO Powers
Sources: Eagle Materials Inc., Dallas, Texas; CP staff
Eagle Materials President and Chief Operating Officer Michael Haack will succeed Chief Executive Officer Dave Powers, who will retire July 1 but remain on the board of directors. The move culminates a multiyear succession plan and set of transition preparedness steps the board undertook over the last four years.
Read MoreIvy League professor quantifies high social costs of wood construction fires
Sources: Build with Strength Coalition, Washington, D.C.; CP staff
With special attention to incidents involving Los Angeles multi-family developments, a study from Columbia University Adjunct Assistant Professor Urvashi Kaul offers a cost-benefit analysis showing wood-framed residential building fires’ economic impact on citizens and local governments.
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