The Concrete Producer articles from September 2006

The Concrete Producer archives from September 2006

An environment for opportunities.(Editorial)(Editorial)
September 1, 2006... The manager at the Aunt Sally's Creole Pralines store in New Orleans' French Quarter asked me to spread the news. "Tell everyone you can to visit because we're open and ready for business," said the 30-something manager. I was surprised by her...

Business is great in the Northwest.(In the Mix)
September 1, 2006... The land of gourmet coffee, airplanes, and personal computers is treating concrete producers quite nicely. While the Seattle region is not experiencing the explosive growth of other Western cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas, the future looks...

Concrete safety on the Web.(In the Mix)
September 1, 2006... Anew page on OSHA's Web site provides web-based assistance for concrete industry employers and employees. The federal agency's newest Safety and Health Topics page is a result of OSHA's partnership with the National Ready Mixed Concrete...

Indiana producer fined $4 million.(In the Mix)(Builder's Concrete & Supply of Fishers, Ind.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Builder's Concrete & Supply of Fishers, Ind., was fined $4 million in an ongoing price fixing scandal. A judge said he wanted to impose a stiff fine without putting the five-plant producer out of business. Federal prosecutors had sought an...

Spancrete expansion.(In the Mix)(Spancrete Industries Inc.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The Spancrete Group will increase the manufacturing capacity of its structural and architectural product lines thanks to the completion of two building expansions at plants in Valders, Wis., and Crystal Lake, Ill. "Increasing our production...

ASTM.(Associations in the Mix)
September 1, 2006... The 2006 ASTM International Katherine and Bryant Mather Scholarship has been awarded to Raissa Ferron, a teaching assistant and Ph.D candidate studying self-consolidating concrete and cementitious materials at Northwestern University, Evanston,...

RMC.(Associations in the Mix)
September 1, 2006... "Coast in the Eye of the Storm-Hurricane Katrina: August 29, 2005" has been released. This forensic evaluation of building systems and how they are impacted by hurricanes, high winds, storm surge, and flooding was conducted by researchers at...

PTI.(Associations in the Mix)(Post-Tensioning Institute introduced Post-Tensioning Manual 6th ed.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The Post-Tensioning Institute has made available the new sixth edition of its "Post-Tensioning Manual." First published in 1972, the first edition provided the industry standard for design and construction of post-tensioned structures. Last...

TCA.(Associations in the Mix)
September 1, 2006... The Tilt-Up Concrete Association has added a project database and search function on its Web site. Visitors can browse case study project examples and photographs under various headings. The material is ideal for proposals and sales efforts....

Upcoming conferences & events.(Calendar)
September 1, 2006... American Housing Conference The second annual American Housing Conference by Hanley Wood, publisher of THE CONCRETE PRODUCER, will be held Sept. 26-27 at The Drake Hotel in Chicago. The event delivers market intelligence, forecasts,...

Keeping an eye out: now it's economical to put a Webcam in any office.(E-CONCRETE)(ICONtrol Inc.)
September 1, 2006... If you have a satellite office or even an office trailer way out at the back end of the yard where you've wished you could do some things by remote control, now's the time to make that a reality. A new service from iControl Networks, Palo...

A pallet-able solution: a European technology offers an alternative to steel pallets.(What's New)
September 1, 2006... Most zero-slump product producers in the United States have avoided using wooden pallets. In a plant's fast-paced production setting, producers often found that the pallets wouldn't last long enough. In a very short time, they would absorb...

Hot weather concrete practices.(Problem Clinic)
September 1, 2006... Q. We regularly seem to experience our largest number of customer complaints and callbacks on concrete placed in the late summer and early fall. What can you suggest to help keep hot weather concrete production free from these common problems?...

A bright future: the next quarter century looks strong for ready mixed concrete.(Concrete Returns)
September 1, 2006... The long expected housing slowdown, predicted in this column and in other business publications, has finally taken hold of the construction materials industry. This slowdown is being felt particularly by those ready mixed producers whose...

Self-auditing: perhaps we should look at ourselves just as we monitor our plants.(As the Drum Turns)
September 1, 2006... One of the in-things our environmental manager has been practicing recently has been self-audits. These are periodic walkthroughs in which an observer looks for practices or situations that are not up to snuff and should be addressed. His...

Learning your APCs: architectural pervious concrete will give you a smooth, stampable finish.(Cover story)
September 1, 2006... From all of the articles I have read and all of the presentations I have seen on pervious concrete, one key point remains a constant: To be successful, pervious concrete must be designed with very few no fine aggregates. But this is not...

Getting up to speed: extraordinary tales of perseverance one year after Hurricane Katrina.
September 1, 2006... On Sept. 17, curators for the New Orleans Museum of Art planned to close at least one chapter of the area's post-hurricane recovery efforts. When the New Orleans cultural landmark reopened last spring, the marquis event was the unveiling of...

Water works: how producers handle water from plant to product.
September 1, 2006... Environmental responsibility is not merely a sign of good corporate stewardship. Not keeping plants in good operating condition is against the law. One activity under increased enforcement is how process water is handled before and after...

Concrete contractors: a very busy year: 2005 was the best year since the late 1990s.(Statistical table)
September 1, 2006... In December, 2004, The Brookings Institution, an independent research organization, issued a report on the forces that will affect U.S. building trends over the next 25 years. "In 2030, about half of the buildings in which Americans live, work,...

Seeing through the FOG: a new ASTM standard will help strengthen concrete's role in removing fats, oils, and grease.(casting trends)
September 1, 2006... More than two years ago, reviewers of the Model Plumbing Code began debating how to best update their standards to help municipal officials find the best way to reduce their maintenance costs of sewer lines. One topic of great focus has been...

Adjustable box-forming system.(Precast Products)
September 1, 2006... The Cleco Form All box-forming system provides varying wall thicknesses for almost any precast application. The mold length reaches up to 8 feet, with no limit to span or rise dimensions. Used primarily for wet cast, certain components can be...

Double-tee forms.(Precast Products)
September 1, 2006... These double-tee forms are designed and built as self-stressing or non-self-stressing forms with fixed, bolt-on, or magnetic sideforms. They are supplied with dual face bulkheads that can include designated holes or finger-plates for easy...

Inverted tee form comes with options.(Precast Products)
September 1, 2006... The inverted tee beam form allows self-stressing or non-self-stressing in the lower drafted pan. The jacking end plates are welded to the form. The top ledge side forms hinge back for stripping. Options include hydraulically activated top side...

Aluminum blockouts for precast concrete.(Precast Products)
September 1, 2006... The new line of Ezy-Stryp aluminum blockouts works in combination with button magnets for quick positioning within the form. They can be used to create rectangular or circular openings in precast concrete. Adjustable blockouts, with a minimum...

Precast wall panels with carbon fiber grid.(Precast Products)
September 1, 2006... You can change the way you make precast concrete. CarbonCast precast concrete technology uses a noncorrosive, high-strength carbon fiber grid to replace conventional reinforcement, making stronger and lighter elements. The technology creates an...

Polymer-coated panels, facings.(Precast Products)
September 1, 2006... MCO concrete forming panels are laminated with a composite polymer material to provide a clean release without any oils or other form release agents. This helps minimize costs and environmental risks. The reusable, edge-sealed plywood panels...

Architectural form release.(Precast Products)
September 1, 2006... Nox-Crete PCE is a form release agent specially designed for architectural concrete. It also works well with lowslump, high-density, and superplasticized mixes. This biodegradable formula dries to a non-slippery film and reduces bugholes and...

Release agent protects formwork.(Precast Products)
September 1, 2006... Magic Kote is a chemically neutralized form release designed to reduce concrete buildup and formwork cleaning. It protects the formwork against rust and won't stain, discolor, or leave a residue. Available in standard or cherry-scented...

Lightweight clamp formwork system.(Precast Products)
September 1, 2006... Frami is a lightweight clamp system for fast, economical forming of foundations and small areas. Manufactured for the U.S. market, the measurements are in feet and inches. One panel can be used to form a 9-foot wall, and with just two ties, the...

If it quacks like a duct ... Proper ducting improves producers' dust collection systems.(Product Pulse)
September 1, 2006... One of the best kept secrets in making a producer's dust collection system more efficient is to make sure the ducting is properly installed. While installing a dust collector, fabricators often overlook simple practices that can be crucial...

Pulse jet filters remove dust.(Product Pulse)
September 1, 2006... Airlanco pulse jet filters are designed to handle the demanding dust collecting jobs in concrete plants. There are no moving parts to wear out, and the compact unit is available with top- or side-access modular housing, as well as different...

Emulsion holds down dust.(Product Pulse)
September 1, 2006... PetroTac Road Enhancer cuts dust in the plant yard by saturating, penetrating, and bonding aggregate particles together. This specially formulated emulsion creates a durable surface with longevity and load-bearing qualities. It works in a...

System catches dust automatically.(Product Pulse)
September 1, 2006... The automated C&C dust collection and convey system captures dust from silo filling operations and sends it back to the source silo. Each unit puts a pulse jet collector together with a dense phase pneumatic conveyor. There is no need to empty...

Round silo dust collectors.(Product Pulse)
September 1, 2006... Low-profile round silo dust collectors, also know as O Collectors, use pulse jet technology and cartridge filters to provide an efficient solution for dust control. They're compact and user-friendly, with a low profile and pop-in-out filter...

Dust collector for truck area.(Product Pulse)
September 1, 2006... The model 60-7000A dust collector is very efficient in the truck-charging area of a concrete plant. It can be upgraded to be used as a centralized unit to handle multiple cement silos and the batcher. The system features a 25-hp, 9000 cfm...

All-natural emulsion controls dust.(Product Pulse)
September 1, 2006... Road Oyl is a resin-modified emulsion that controls dust and erosion on unpaved roadways, construction sites, and other high-traffic areas. Made from all-natural products, it is environmentally safe and can be used in varying climates and...

High-tech dust monitor.(Product Pulse)
September 1, 2006... The Bindicator Flo-Guard functions both as a flow switch and a dust monitor. Use it as a broken bag detector in a bag house or as a flow/ no-flow switch for dry, powdered, and granular material. It uses a floating alarm point reference and...

Safely closing the hatch: a remote controlled hatch-closing device reduces driver exposures to falls.(Fleet Factors)
September 1, 2006... Climbing a cement tanker's ladder to open and close the top feed hatch can be tricky even when the driver uses the proper three-point contact technique. Dust and road grime often coat the ladder's treads and handrail, creating a slippery hazard...

Fleet management dot & Osha tracking software.(Producer Products showcase)
September 1, 2006... WorkHorse 1[TM], organizes and provides a systems to manage DOT, Fleet and Equipment information. WH1[TM] notifies users when action needs to be taken regarding "high risk" issues. Example: expired license, expriring physicals, MVR's to be...

Precise color measurement of concrete.(Producer Products showcase)
September 1, 2006... Use a HunterLab MiniScan XE Plus portable color measurement instrument to quickly and easily quantify the color of your concrete product or raw materials. It can be used at the plant or on the jobsite to measure precast product. Ensure that you...

Admixtures for colored concrete.(Producer Products showcase)
September 1, 2006... Award winning projects begin with award winning materials CHROMIX[R] Admixtures for Color-Conditioned[TM] Concrete are colored, water-reducing, set-controlling admixtures for ready mixed architectural concrete. Coloring concrete integrally,...

A triple challenge: Jill Zhang demonstrates the power of perseverance.(Women in Concrete)
September 1, 2006... Owning a company has its challenges, but add to that not knowing the industry well, speaking English as a second language, and being a woman. Jill Zhang, president of Sysdyne Corp., a manufacturer of batching systems for the concrete industry,...