NRMCA, EPA promote broader Energy Star participation

An exclusive focus this year on ready mixed concrete under the Environmental Protection Agency-aligned Energy Star program will provide producers with resources to enhance energy efficiency, cut costs and strengthen sustainability metrics. The effort mirrors an established cement industry template, where producers and program officials set annual power and fuel consumption reduction targets as plant operations maintain or increase year-over-year…

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Solomon Colors adds West Coast granular pigment capacity

Sources: Solomon Colors, Springfield, Ill.; CP staff Solomon Colors has expanded granular pigment production beyond its central Illinois headquarters with the construction of a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Rialto, Calif. Set to be operational in Q1 2025, it increases ColorFlo SG Granular Color product capacity by 40 million pounds annually, enabling the company to better serve its ready mixed and…

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Titan Cement backs Concrete.ai and concrete recycling startup C2CA 

Sources: Titan Cement International SA, Brussels; CP staff The parent company of Virginia-based cement, fly ash, aggregate, ready mixed and concrete block producer Titan America SA has announced an investment in Concrete.ai, Los Angeles developer of artificial intelligence and machine learning technology for mix design optimization, quality control and lowering carbon dioxide emissions associated with finished concrete. Combining Titan Cement’s…

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Climate Earth EPD platform factors ACI 323, Tarantula Curve practice

The forerunner in environmental product declaration development tools for ready mixed and manufactured concrete producers kicked off 2025 with a major EPD Information Management System update. Climate Earth has programmed new features into EPD Advantage Pro, led by Tarantula Curve Mix Optimization and ACI 323 Low-Carbon Concrete Code analytics. The company’s flagship program leverages a new, advanced cloud-based architecture to…

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How to Choose RMC Tech Wisely

Tackling the top technology concerns for producer leadership. Technology applicable to ready mixed concrete (RMC) production is rapidly evolving—more so in the past two years than in the previous two decades. Your options are to choose right and prosper or choose wrong and perish. The stakes are high, and it’s imperative to avoid being blindsided by the promised opportunities and…

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Knife River pens $454M deal for North Dakota neighbor Strata Corp.

Knife River Corp. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Strata Corp., a Grand Forks, N.D. independent with 28 ready mixed concrete and three asphalt plants, plus 75 aggregates sites, extensive reserves and related rail assets. Valued at $454 million and projected to close by mid-year, the transaction will mark Knife River’s largest since a June 2022 spin off…

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Integration vs Interoperability

Financial markets, tax regulation, environmental policies, and blazing new technological changes have firmly pushed the ready mixed concrete (RMC) industry into one of the most competitive eras of the last century. Simply adhering to business practices of the past is no longer enough to prevent vast swaths of the industry from being acquired, phased out, or deemed obsolete. So what…

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Space, ergonomic features define new Oshkosh trainer cab

Oshkosh S-Series engineers have designed the new Trainer Cab for the company’s flagship front discharge mixer to meet ready mixed concrete producers’ evolving training needs. It affords a comfortable, versatile and effective training solution by providing a second seat for an experienced operator to accompany a new driver. A successor to a legacy cab that debuted in 1999, the S-Series…

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Knife River outlines $454M Strata Corp. deal

Sources: Knife River Corp., Bismarck, N.D.; CP staff Knife River has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Strata Corp., a Grand Forks, N.D. independent with 28 ready mixed concrete and three asphalt plants, plus 75 aggregates sites, extensive reserves and related rail assets. Valued at $454 million and projected to close by mid-year, the transaction will mark Knife River’s…

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Driver Safety with AI Scorecards

Onboard cameras equipped with artificial intelligence can help drivers improve their performance and producers defend themselves against lawsuits. Professional athletes watch film; lots of film. They look for patterns in what they did right and (most importantly) what they did wrong. When that knowledge is paired with dedication and hard work, it removes coincidence and paves a proven path to…

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