Sources: MDU Resources Group, Bismarck, N.D.; CP staff MDU Directors have unanimously approved a plan to separate the Knife River Corp. construction materials business from the namesake power utility and related construction services flagship, both maintaining North Dakota headquarters. Knife River has 1 billion-plus tons of aggregate reserves, 110 ready mixed concrete and 50 asphalt plants, plus 410,000 tons of…
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Construction materials testing equipment and technology provider Forney LP is preparing release of a ForneyVault-AASHTOWare Project Construction & Materials interface to state departments of transportation. Linking its signature platform and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials software suite, the company notes, “Drives increased transparency, productivity and efficiency—especially pertinent for DOT labs today in light of the Infrastructure…
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Sources: Concrete.ai, Los Angeles; CP staff Concrete.ai is preparing for general release of its pioneering data science platform, programmed to reduce costs and embodied carbon intensity (CO2e) in concrete construction. Ahead of the launch, the company is filling key management positions and executing an exclusive, worldwide license from the University of California, Los Angeles for the underlying artificial intelligence (AI)…
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The TAB4METKL Aluminum Locking Tablet Mount is built to withstand tough construction materials delivery conditions and secure devices measuring up to 10-1/4- x 8-5/8- x 7/8-in., including Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0, Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 and 8.0, Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4, Galaxy Note 10.1, Galaxy Tab 4, Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1, Galaxy Tab S 10.5; LG G Pad 7.0,…
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North Carolina-based FMI Capital Advisors, a leading investment banking firm for aggregate, concrete, asphalt producers and their customers, examines key drivers and challenges its 2022 Construction Materials Outlook. Themed “Seizing the Opportunities Ahead,” the report also assesses 2021 producer and contractor merger & acquisition activity. “[Last year] presented an acquisition-rich environment for Construction Materials. Cash on hand, solid earnings and…
Read MoreOur coverage of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for ready mixed and manufactured concrete dates to 2013. The record of producers and their national associations responding to market signals calling for such documents continues to be exemplary. This past month saw a third turning point in EPDs’ evolution from a target of green building practitioners, to data files for the Embodied…
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It’s February, so some of the year-end economic metrics for 2021 are starting to be reported, and it is no surprise to see that wages took a big jump last year. Wage increases were fueled by the unexpected supply chain morass that the Covid-19 lockdown precipitated, and were further compounded by the amount of stimulus cash that was injected into…
Read MoreSources: Chaney Enterprises, Gambrills, Md.; CP staff Continuing a Virginia market expansion that kicked into high gear with a fall 2020 deal for Richmond-based GreenRock Materials, Chaney Enterprises recently closed on TW Block & Concrete of Onley, serving ready mixed, masonry, and aggregate customers in the state’s Eastern Shore and lower Chesapeake Bay region. The deal was consummated with T&W…
Read MoreSources: BCMI Corp., Redmond, Wash.; CP staff A group of privately-held, family-owned concrete and construction materials producers has purchased shares of BCMI Corp., for a minority stake. New investors in the software developer, also known as the Bulk Construction Materials Initiative, include BARD Materials, Dyersville, Iowa; Geiger Ready Mix Co., Kansas City, Kan.; plus, Walt Miles and Lisa Kittilsby, principals…
Read MoreModernizing the business of ready-mix, part 2 of 3. Managing construction materials is a complicated “now” business. Dozens of independent factors must be tamed to achieve on-time, on-site, on-spec fulfillment. The most complicated is structural ready-mix concrete, which is driven by the real-time NOW factors of need, inventory, manufacturing, perishability and logistics. Complicating the issue even further, most material producers…
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