Concrete Provides a Secure Traffic Monitoring Station

When Martin County, Florida, decided to upgrade its existing traffic monitoring station one year ago, its construction requirements included being cost effective and sustainable.  Formerly operating out of a nearby warehouse, the station is vital to the county’s ability to manage traffic flow monitoring all intersections with cameras and more. And, more importantly, when severe weather hits, the station serves as a safe house for staff reporting roadway blockages and re-routing traffic. A patented concrete modular building system designed by Royal Concrete Concepts (RCC) fit the bill.

The 1,344 square-foot building broke ground May 27, 2011 and was completed by July 5, 2011. Concurrent construction, along with proactive cost saving strategies, saved Martin County a substantial amount of time and money on this project.  The building was funded with a grant from the Department of Transportation.

The traffic monitoring station was built using two 14 foot by 28 foot concrete pieces creating a 28 foot by 48 foot structure – the largest single structure RCC has built to date. RCC also worked closely with the Martin County facilities department along with Tercilla Courtemanche Architects of West Palm Beach, Fla. to build around a variety of stringent electrical requirements the traffic station heavily depends on to effectively communicate.

PCA Testifies On Behalf of Regulatory Relief Legislation

Testifying last week before the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Dan Harrington, president and CEO of Lehigh Hanson, Inc., stressed to Congress that inaction on onerous EPA regulations will result in the direct loss of 4,000 high-paying manufacturing jobs and have an adverse impact on the nation’s beleaguered construction sector.

Led by Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY), chair of the Subcommittee on Energy and Power, the hearings focused on the “EPA Regulatory Relief Act of 2011,” (H.R. 2250), which addresses boilers and incinerators, and the “Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act of 2011” (H.R. 2681).  Harrington explained how regulations currently facing the cement industry could force the closure of 18 of the nearly 100 U.S. cement plants and result in the loss of 4,000 manufacturing jobs.

“If the Administration is serious about balancing environmental interests with growing jobs, then they will take serious steps toward curbing multiple EPA rules that create barriers to investment,” Harrington said.  “Now is the time to do everything possible to not only find new job opportunities, but preserve the jobs that are at risk, like the thousands of manufacturing jobs in rural communities.”

He emphasized in his remarks that failure to pass the cement act would be counterproductive to improving the nation’s infrastructure.

“The Agency also does not account for the impact of these closures outside the cement sector.  Disruptions to the availability of domestic cement supplies will have adverse impacts on the nation’s beleaguered construction sector, which is currently suffering from an unemployment rate of nearly 20 percent.  As the economy hopefully rebounds, a decrease in domestic production will require an increase in imported cement to meet demand.  The result will be increased costs in revitalizing the nation’s waterways, bridges, highways, and tunnels which, in turn, will only place more burdens on the nation’s already stressed state and municipal budgets.”

Harrington was also prominently featured in the Committee’s press release on the hearings, including video of his testimony.
View a the Committee news release and video
Read the full testimony
View the entire hearing on YouTube
Contact Andy O'Hare

MIT Research, Advocacy Headline Fall Committee Meetings

PCA’s Fall Committee Meetings opened with a plenary session to review major industry initiatives and wrapped up with full slate of committee meetings on a range of technical, promotional, and government affairs issues and topics. More than 200 member company representatives, staff, and allies attended the session, held at Chicago’s InterContinental Hotel, August 29-30.

Among the highlights:
At a group luncheon and plenary session on Monday, committee leaders provided the entire group with a recap of major initiatives and a preview of committee meetings with the following presentations:
> Government Affairs, Tom Chizmadia, Lehigh Hanson, Inc.
> MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub, Jim Braselton, Lafarge North America
> Local Advocacy and Promotion for Paving, Tom Beck, Continental
> Sustainability and Functional Resilience, Silvio Panseri, Essroc

At a special Board of Directors meeting, Sylvain Garnaud was elected vice chair of PCA to fill a vacancy. (See below.)

PCA chief economist Ed Sullivan presented his updated forecast.

Jim Braselton (Lafarge) who represents PCA on the Hub’s Advisory Council, presented MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub: Year 3 and Beyond.

The PCA Fall Board Meeting is scheduled for November 13-15 in Washington, D.C.
Contact Jan Farnsworth

At PCA’s recent Fall Committee Meetings, the Board of Directors elected Sylvain Garnaud, president of Lafarge North America, as vice chair of the Board of Directors.

Garnaud has served as a member of PCA’s Executive Committee and Board of Directors since 2008, when he was named president of Lafarge North America’s cement division. He previously served as president of Lafarge’s cement division in France. He joined Lafarge in 1998 and has overseen the firm’s cement operations in Asia.

He is a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique, Paris, France, with a degree in science and engineering and received his Masters of Business Administration from INSEAD.

Members of Congress Highlight Industry’s Role in Job Creation

Last week, two members of the U.S. House of Representatives highlighted the cement industry and its role in job creation and the nation’s infrastructure.  

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) hosted more than a dozen private-sector job creators in the House gallery during President Obama’s address to a Joint Session of Congress on September 8.  The group included Spencer Weitman, president of National Cement, which recently suspended construction of a new $350 million cement kiln in Ragland, Ala., due to regulatory obstacles.  The construction project would have created more than 1,500 construction jobs and 20 new full-time operational positions.

The obstacles encountered by the cement industry are on the list of “Top 10 Job-Destroying Regulations” identified in Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s (R-VA) August 29 memo outlining the legislative agenda for the remainder of the year.

On September 9, Rep. Cantor met with about 35 employees of Titan America at its  Richmond ready mix facility to discuss jobs and economic growth. After a brief tour of the facility, Cantor held a brief press conference where he pledged to fight proposed regulations that could harm the buildings materials industry.  He also expressed his support for investment in infrastructure and tax relief for small business.
Pictured above: Robert Sells (left), Titan's president of the mid-Atlantic business unit shows Rep. Cantor the facility.

PCA, the American Concrete Pavement Association, National Asphalt Pavement Association, National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, and National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association issued a statement last week supporting President Obama’s call for more infrastructure investment.

Before a joint session of Congress on September 8, the president appealed to Congress to renew its  commitment to job creation and economic growth, in part through increased infrastructure spending for road and bridge construction/reconstruction.

The statement urged Congress to take action immediately to invest in the long-term future of the nation’s surface transportation network. 
With the pending expiration of the current extension on SAFETEA-LU on September 30, Congress must pass another extension of the law and immediately begin work on a multi-year transportation authorization that at a minimum maintains level funding.
Send a letter to your member Congress urging them to maintain current transportation funding levels.

CalPortland to Host Energy Management Summit

CalPortland will host the 3rd Annual Energy Management Summit for the construction materials industry of the Pacific Northwest.  The free workshop will be held at the Oregon Advanced Technology Center, Clackamas Community College, Wilsonville, Ore., on October 26. Keynote Speaker for the event will be Richard Whitman, natural resources advisor to Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber with an introduction by Oregon State Senator Betsy Johnson. Robert Garbini, president, National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, will also address energy management and its significance to the industry.

Topics for the Energy Summit will include “Energy Management Program Basics,” “Reduce Cost Through Energy Management,” “EPA ENERGY STAR® Program Overview,” “Department of Energy, Energy Trust of Oregon, and CalPortland Resources,” “Industry Efficiency Best Practice Case Studies,” “Utility Rebates and Incentives,” “Motor and Variable Frequency Drive Efficiency,” and an “Energy-Related Legislative Outlook.”

CalPortland’s energy management program has been nationally recognized for promoting sound energy management practices through industry events such as the Energy Summit. The company has received the US EPA National ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year and Sustained Excellence Award for the past seven consecutive years, a feat that is unmatched by any U.S. building materials company.

This year’s CalPortland Energy Summit will be jointly sponsored by The Energy Trust of Oregon and Pacific Power.
For more information and to make reservations contact William Jerald

Deadline Approaching for Discounted PCA Online Learning Courses

Thursday, September 15, is the last day to enroll in Cement and Its Impact on Concrete Performance, PCA’s debut online learning series.  Early registrants pay only $495, a $155 savings compared to the $650 regular price.

The course is designed for engineers and other construction professionals involved in concrete construction.  The six-part series on concrete and cement technology explains cement’s role in sustainability, cement types and applications, and how cement affects the performance of the final product, concrete.

Each hour-long module focuses on professional development while addressing relevant topics and issues for today’s construction professional. 

Courses are self-paced and can be taken without the travel and time commitments of conventional classes.  One CEU/PDH is available with each module.
For more information or to order, go to www.cement.org/elearning.

On August 30, the Kentucky Concrete Industry held a fund raiser for Governor Steve Beshear’s (pictured left) re-election campaign at the Kentucky Ready Mixed Concrete Association office in Frankfort, Ky.

Six stations set up around the KRMCA office touted concrete’s advantages to the Commonwealth and to taxpayer monies.  Topics included buildings constructed with insulating concrete forms, pervious concrete, concrete parking lots, local streets and roads, concrete intersections, and economic impact data. Sustainability was stressed at each station, including a display of concrete’s advantages in mitigating heat-island affect and a pervious concrete display.

The governor noted that there are lighting and safety advantages of concrete parking lots.  Each station also helped to show the governor that the concrete industry has a lot of products to offer Kentucky to help save taxpayer dollars and help the Commonwealth achieve their mission of a more green and sustainable state.
Contact Roger Faulkner