The economics of switching from diesel to electric—and what must be done to reach viability The Ford flathead V8 from 1932 is near-mythical. The engine’s rumble and power transformed road vehicles into speedsters that were often favored by moonshine runners. The 1909 Harley-Davidson V-twin engine, with its patented sound, is equally iconic. So why are we messing with the fabled…
Read MoreSources: LafargeHolcim Ltd., Zurich; CP staff
Coupled with the release of 2017 financials showing moderate year-over-year sales and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) gains, LafargeHolcim outlined a five-year plan to drive profitable growth and simplify the business to deliver resilient returns and attractive value to stakeholders. Strategy 2022 – Building for Growth targets annual net sales growth of 3 to 5 percent and recurring EBITDA of at least 5 percent, and is based on four value drivers:
Read MoreSources: CP staff; CarbonCure Technologies, Halifax, N.S.
Argos USA has anchored a five-member consortium targeting a closed loop model of carbon dioxide capture and recycling in cement and concrete production. In an early-2018 demonstration, the company used CO2 from its Calera, Ala., cement plant in commercial concrete produced at its Glenwood, Ga., batch plant. That Atlanta-area ready mixed operation is among nearly 100 sites, primarily in the U.S., equipped with CarbonCure Technologies CO2 storage and injection devices. The CarbonCure process uses the greenhouse gas to promote cement hydration in high to zero slump concrete.
Read MoreSources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff
NRMCA has announced a partnership with the newly formed Utah Ready Mixed Concrete Association (URMCA), citing it as the latest example of national, regional and state leaders working toward the common goal of making ready mixed concrete the building material of choice across all sectors of the built environment.
Read MoreSource: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.
NRMCA 2017 Mixer Driver Recruitment and Retention Survey results are markedly brighter than those of the previous two years. Some 36 percent of respondents turned down business due to lack of drivers in 2016, versus 51 percent the prior year, while the driver vacancy rate dropped about two points for a third consecutive year, to 4.6 percent as of December 2016. Just over 90 percent of 2017 survey respondents cite plans to hire additional mixer drivers this year, up from 72 percent last year.
Read MoreSource: WL Ross & Co. LLC, New York; CP staff
Odessa, Texas-based PB Materials Holdings Inc. (PMB) has closed on the assets of three Lone Star State peers in ready mixed concrete and sand & gravel. The combined plants, fleets and reserves of ARM Concrete and Kermit Concrete, both Lubbock, and WUUD Aggregate, Kermit, provide additional vertical integration throughout PBM’s west Texas and eastern New Mexico market footprint.
Read MoreSources: Ash Grove Cement Co., Overland Park, Kan.; CP staff
Ash Grove President and Chief Operating Officer J. Randall Vance has been promoted to chief executive officer. He succeeds Charles Sunderland, who is part of the fourth generation of Sunderland family members to lead the company and remains chairman of the board.
Read MoreSources: CalPortland Co., Glendora, Calif.; Environmental Protection Agency; CP staff
A 1.1 percent energy intensity reduction across ready mixed concrete, cement and aggregate operations, totaling $682,000 in savings, has netted CalPortland the 2017 EPA Energy Star Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award. Efficiencies attained in 2016 bring the West Coast producer to 15.6 percent energy intensity reduction and $96 million cumulative savings since 2003.
Read MoreSources: Summit Materials Inc., Denver; CP staff
Summit Materials will broaden its Rocky Mountain and South Central region ready mixed concrete, aggregate and asphalt market footprint with the acquisition of Everist Materials LLC in Silverthorne, Colo., and Razorback Concrete Co. in West Memphis, Ark. Scheduled for closing before the end of February, the transactions enable Summit to expand its integrated, materials-based model in growing markets, notes CEO Tom Hill.
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