Cemex Construction Materials Pacific LLC is at the center of legal proceedings likely to extend into 2024, or beyond, and determine National Labor Relations Board latitude in ordering employers to bargain with a union and holding them to a zero tolerance standard for even minor National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) violations. A new NLRB framework for determining when employers are…
Read MoreTag: Ready Mix Concrete
ENERGETIC POURS
Advance Ready Mix paces 500,000-yd. Battery Park contract BY DON MARSH Batching and deliveries for one of the largest concrete supply contracts in North America are proceeding six days a week, two 10-to 12-hour shifts per day on a 2.3-square-mile, Glendale, Ky. site. Advance Ready Mix and fellow project principals have no wiggle room on the schedule as owners Ford…
Read MoreThe Real Value of Integrated Material Replenishment
Looking for true savings? Transition from “keep full” to “don’t run out.” U.S. ready mix concrete (RMC) production in 2023 should be just north of 400 million cubic yards, a recession notwithstanding. Based on an average five-bag mix, that means at least 27.5 million equivalent truckloads of aggregates and 4.75 million equivalent truckloads of cementitious materials will be required. Bulk…
Read MoreThe Economics of Reducing Truck Times at the Plant
Shaving off 1 minute of time at the plant could save $832 per truck annually. Managing ready mix concrete logistics is best summarized by an adaptation of the Serenity Prayer: Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference. Dispatchers cannot change the…
Read MoreGraphene in Clinker Greens Portland Cement
Graphene is light, super strong and can lessen the CO2 footprint of cement. Sir Isaac Newton famously wrote, “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” A giant in the natural sciences, Newton knew sustainable progress is only possible through building on incremental advances. In November, the 2021 United Nations Climate Change…
Read MoreSound carbon guidance
By Don Marsh An energy market-driven nonprofit, RMI, offers credible perspective in its just-released Concrete Solutions Guide, geared to construction interests taking stock of the carbon dioxide emissions factor behind their project materials, products and methods. Posted at www.rmi.org, the document presents specific opportunities for “a nearly ubiquitous material with a sizable climate impact” and expands on the need to…
Read MorePLACING EQUIPMENT
A survey of the latest offerings from mixer truck-mounted conveyors. ROTABELT Manufacturer credits the quality components and strong industrial experience behind its namesake mixer truck-mounted conveyor series as key to ensuring producers “profitability, performance and reliability while delivering concrete on site.” RotaBELT models reach from 42 feet to 57 feet with standard, single telescopic, double telescopic, or the Rotating Chute—the…
Read MoreHow the Pandemic Changed Ready-Mix: A Look Back
BY VICTORIA K. SICARAS Although not completely on the other side of the pandemic, we each have our own set of lessons learned since March 2020. Like many in the ready-mix industry, the Martin Marietta Rocky Mountain Ready Mix District’s journey to a new normal began when office employees faced a transition from working on premises to working at home, virtually…
Read MoreCongressman, Mayor Recognize The Energy Ozinga Brings Northern Indiana
In a weekly address airing November 16, President Obama cited the country’s gains toward energy independence, through increased oil and natural gas production, plus solar and wind power ramp up, concluding: “More good jobs. Cheaper and cleaner sources of energy. A secure energy future. Thanks to the grit and resilience of American businesses and the American people, that’s where we’re heading.”
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