Command Alkon steps up automation, AI capabilities in Marcotte Systems deal

Command Alkon has acquired Quebec-based Marcotte Systems, noting how the combined companies’ expertise and talents will accelerate heavy building materials plant automation and production optimization, plus cloud applications and artificial intelligence developments for concrete, aggregate, asphalt, cement, bulk hauling and construction interests. “This acquisition underscores our commitment to accelerating innovation and customer service excellence,” says Command Alkon CEO Martin Willoughby.…

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C60 Platform insights spell immediate actions to improve profitability

Achieving next-level improvements in productivity requires moving away from a reactive mindset to embrace proactive approaches. With offices in Wilmington, Del. and Montreal, startup C60 is helping ready mixed concrete producers make this transition with its flagship Opportunity Platform (C60). The AI-assisted data analytics platform provides a holistic view of company operations as well as the most valuable ways to…

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Command Alkon eyes automation, AI prospects in Marcotte Systems deal

Sources: Command Alkon, Birmingham, Ala.; CP staff Command Alkon has acquired Quebec-based Marcotte Systems, noting how the combined companies’ expertise and talents will propel heavy building materials plant automation and production optimization, plus cloud applications and artificial intelligence developments for concrete, aggregate, asphalt, cement, bulk hauling and construction interests.

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Inform AI-powered transport planning software drives fleet savings

Amid strong market conditions, cement, aggregate and concrete producers face logistics challenges ranging from unpredictable supply chain disruptions and driver shortages to new sustainability mandates for reducing carbon emissions in product transport and common variants. The latter include narrow delivery time windows, ad-hoc orders, and last minute cancellations. Then there is the matter of manual or spreadsheet-based planning processes, which…

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Marcotte applies AI to optimize mix production, reduce material waste

Sources: Marcotte Systems, Montreal; CP staff Marcotte Systems bills MIntelligent Feed as the world’s first artificial intelligence-powered solution designed to optimize the concrete production process, reduce material waste, and improve overall mix quality. Users of the platform set three parameters—target deviation, maximum average jogs, maximum out-of-tolerance—based on their optimization objectives. An AI model developed with Sherbrook University and a Ph.D.…

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Interoperability: The Digital Mindset

Application programming interfaces and the API ecosystem explained. What if you could reconfigure your business processes to be faster and less costly by easily offering new products and services from emerging providers … and offloading your non-core competencies to outside providers? What if, in the competitive market you are in, you could bind your customer to your products and services…

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The Future of Batching

Producers must decide between sticking with batching systems that do a good enough job and upgrading to one that runs masterfully with improved accuracies and uptime. Many of us grew up with the idioms “use it up, wear it out” and “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” These words of wisdom are essential for survival in a world of…

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Marcotte Systems weighs the future of centralized batching

As information technology and batch plant improvements continue to usher concrete producers to new efficiency thresholds, control panel and dispatch software provider Marcotte Systems challenges the industry to imagine a ready mixed operation in which robust, high-performance programs enable each workpiece to direct itself through the appropriate production stations. Further, a concrete plant that instructs various autonomous materials handling carriers…

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