The Concrete Producer articles from October 2002

The Concrete Producer archives from October 2002

Measuring success: the bottom line isn't the only measure of your personal success.(Editorial)
October 1, 2002... One week in late August, my family enjoyed a weekend at a family friend's lodge in Wisconsin's North Woods. Our friend's father, now a retired obstetrician whom we call "Doc," purchased this rustic retreat more than 30 years ago, long before...

PCI Convention comes to a Grand Ole Locale.(News)
October 1, 2002... The annual PCI Convention & Exhibition, in conjunction with the first annual Concrete Bridge Conference, will be held in Nashville, Tenn., Oct. 6-9 and will feature the latest technical research in precast prestressed concrete construction. PCI...

OEM Forum & Expo slated for D.C. area.(News)
October 1, 2002... The 2002 Operations and Equipment Maintenance (OEM) Forum & Expo will be held Oct. 6-8 in Arlington, Va., and will include seminars concerning fleet, plant, environmental, and safety issues. Tours tentatively include the Pentagon restoration,...

Mentor driver workshop scheduled.(News)
October 1, 2002... NRMCA will open a new training facility by hosting the Mentor Driver Workshop Oct. 4-5 in Silver Spring, Md. Also, two videos will be added to the driver training Library. For more information, contact NRMCA's Jacques Jenkins at 888-846-7622,...

Fall Promotion Plus Forums use new concept.(News)
October 1, 2002... The Concrete Alliance, consisting of the American Society for Concrete Construction, the American Concrete Pavement Association, PCA, and NRMCA, is continuing its fall Promotion Plus Forum series with five regional events. The alliance has...

Innovations conference looks ahead.(News)
October 1, 2002... "Innovations in the Aggregates, Concrete, and Asphalt Industries," a best-practices seminar sponsored by Aggregate Research Industries (ARI) and co-sponsored by THE CONCRETE PRODUCER, will be held Oct. 23-25 in Phoenix and feature a variety of...

Seed-of-light reference: leading industry organizations offer technical information on just about any topic.(E-Concrete)
October 1, 2002... We've all been introduced to new social acquaintances, and the conversation invariably turns to what we do for a living. This can be a little awkward because these new acquaintances could never possibly understand exactly what we do--or how...

Limestone aggregate and warehouse floors.(Troubleshooting)
October 1, 2002... Q. Recently we supplied a large warehouse project where the design engineers specified limestone as the coarse aggregate in the concrete for the slab-on-grade floors. What is so special about specifying limestone in concrete for this type of...

Landing a real prize: a fishing boat's a nice place to conduct business--even if you have to swallow your pride for a while.(As the Drum Turns)
October 1, 2002... The sun is rising over the treetops as you glide across the grassy-smooth surface of the lake. All you can hear are the purr of the engine and an occasional splash of fish surfacing to chase their early-morning breakfast. With your fishing spot...

The TCP 100: The industry's top revenue producers serve as a strong footing for North America's economy.(Cover Story)
October 1, 2002... In the past few months, North Americans have experienced a love/hate relationship with an entity that everyone knows something about but few really understand. It's been evident when pollsters have conducted their surveys on the public's...

A good fit: automating the production process often makes sense, as one Minnesota precaster can attest.(casting trends)
October 1, 2002... Think about which precast prestressed processes can gain the most operational efficiency through automation, and the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears comes to mind. Bridge spans? No, too customized. Double tees? Too standardized to...

Design versatility: hollowcore offers owners, designers, and producers myriad benefits in wide-ranging applications.(casting trends)
October 1, 2002... Hollowcore concrete is one of the most popular and versatile types of precast prestressed concrete components. Owners, designers, and contractors are learning that hollowcore floor planks, roof planks, and wall panels provide a wide range of...

Connector increases joint flexural capacity.(The Latest Products for the Precaster)
October 1, 2002... Designed for seismic applications, the Ductile Connector gives precast structures the flexural capacity and hysteric behavior that are superior to those of monolithic connections in cast-in-place structures. The required inelastic response is...

Eases material placement into forms.(The Latest Products for the Precaster)
October 1, 2002... Built for use with a forklift or a crane, the Precast Hog lets producers control material flow at the point of discharge for precise pouring into forms with no mess. The Precast Hog places concrete around rebar and lessens the need for...

Machines roll/unroll curing tarps.(The Latest Products for the Precaster)
October 1, 2002... This company's roller/dispenser carts are self-propelled, letting a single operator roll or unroll curing tarps and insulating blankets quickly so as to reduce wear and extend product life. One model is rail-mounted and powered by a gas/ diesel...

Reveals lightweight concrete benefits for bridges.(The Latest Products for the Precaster)
October 1, 2002... "Building Bridges and Marine Structures With Structural Lightweight Aggregate Concrete" details the four main reasons why structural lightweight concrete (SLC) is used frequently in bridge construction. These reasons include fewer reinforcing,...

Wall panels feature light steel framing.(The Latest Products for the Precaster)
October 1, 2002... Metal Stud Crete wall panels consist of light-gauge steel flaming with a 2-inch-thick concrete exterior and can be precast or site-cast using standard construction materials and methods. Structural shear connector strips protrude from the...

Custom and standard form liners.(The Latest Products for the Precaster)
October 1, 2002... Made of elastomeric urethane, this company's form liners for precast or cast-in-place architectural concrete have been used worldwide for years and are guaranteed for 100 uses. Completed projects using their custom liners have involved panels,...

Machines load and lift from the side.(The Latest Products for the Precaster)
October 1, 2002... Unlike conventional lift trucks that load from the front, Fantuzzi Sideloaders pick up materials laterally and then lower them to a platform for transport. By lifting this way, the Sideloaders require up to 40% less operating space than lift...

Gravity-feed portable plants.(The Latest Products for the Precaster)
October 1, 2002... Thoroughbred plants gravity-feed cement, minimizing power requirements and eliminating screw-conveyor maintenance. The one-piece plants can be shipped with a maximum 606-barrel cement silo and four 165-ton aggregate bins. However, a plant can...

Steam generators save fuel.(The Latest Products for the Precaster)
October 1, 2002... Vaporator steam generators for concrete curing use direct-fired technology that is 98% efficient and provides operators with 40%-60% in fuel savings. Because the generators can create steam within 10 seconds, they operate only when heat is...

Straddle cranes lift up to 500 tons.(The Latest Products for the Precaster)
October 1, 2002... Sixteen models of straddle cranes--which have lift capacities of 15-500 tons--are available from this manufacturer. Five models feature a single- or double-traversing hook (the ISL Series), and 11 models feature four or six fixed hooks (the SL...

Mixers provide consistent fresh-concrete quality.(The Latest Products for the Precaster)
October 1, 2002... These compact mixers provide high output, consistent quality, efficient mixing, and quick mix homogenization. There are 10 models in the series, with output capacities from 1/4-3 cubic meters of concrete per cycle. An externally mounted...

Integrated material-handling system.(The Latest Products for the Precaster)
October 1, 2002... All of the components for a customized integrated material-handling system are available from this company. The components include aggregate bins, cement and fly ash silos, mixers; volumetric feeders, and conveyors (incline, shuttle, weigh...

Ensures a solid spandrel-to-column connection.(The Latest Products for the Precaster)
October 1, 2002... This connector sleeve facilitates a through-bolted connection between spandrels and columns, eliminating the need for grouting and patching. The sleeve's tapered design funnels and centers a threaded rod for easy bolting to ensure a solid...

Form liners for precast or cast-in-place jobs.(The Latest Products for the Precaster)
October 1, 2002... These flexible form liners suit any application that requires concrete to have either a specific texture or a custom design, such as straight or curved sound barrier or retaining walls. The company makes five types of reusable textured form...

Three motions compact hollowcore concrete.(The Latest Products for the Precaster)
October 1, 2002... The DuraCore extruder produces hollowcore floor planks or wall panels with a width of 4 feet and a thickness of 6, 8, 10, or 12 inches. This machine uses three different motions to compact concrete around the prestressed strand to form the slab...

Carbon-fiber-composite reinforcement.(The Latest Products for the Precaster)
October 1, 2002... Made of a composite of carbon-fiber yams bonded with epoxy resin, the C5500-AX1 MeC-Grid is used in place of welded wire mesh to reinforce precast concrete. Because it does not corrode, the grid suits a concrete cover as thin as 1/4 inch....

A more effective use of weight: a new lift-axle design yields a weight payback.(Fleet Factors)
October 1, 2002... If you were a fleet manager and read Lee Whisenat's daily report, you'd wonder how he is still employed. With every submission, he seems to report another failure. If he were a track driver, the fleet would need an extra mechanic to keep up...