Construction Bulletin articles from June 2008

Construction Bulletin archives from June 2008

Kaeding promoted to VP.
June 2, 2008... Staff Mary Kaeding was promoted to vice president in the Kraus-Anderson Communications Group, a division of Kraus-Anderson Companies. She generates and guides creative communications concepts, projects and events for Kraus-Anderson and its...

ProSpec adds sales force.
June 2, 2008... Staff ProSpec, a brand of professionally specified construction products, added seven new territory managers throughout North America. Tom Lynch joined this team to focus on expanding tile and stone installation materials in Wisconsin,...

SC&RA awards.(Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association )(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Staff Don Dupuis, Anderson Trucking Service Inc., St. Cloud, Minnesota, was named Truck Driver of the Year at the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association annual conference in April. Dupuis has driven over two million accident-free miles...

AEM elects new members.
June 2, 2008... Staff The Association of Equipment Manufacturers elected 16 new companies to membership in the international trade group in April. Among them are ATS Specialized Inc., St. Cloud, Minnesota, provider of specialized and heavy haul...

New trades program.(WomenVenture launch pre-apprentice construction trades program )(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Staff WomenBuild, a program under WomenVenture's Women Can Do It! program, St. Paul, Minnesota, is a pre-apprentice construction trades program that combines classroom training with real, on-site experience in building a new house. Women...

SMSC recycles cooking oil.
June 2, 2008... Staff The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, Prior Lake, Minnesota, will recycle cooking oil used in its nine restaurants beginning this summer. The 28,000 gallons of waste vegetable oil used in deep fat frying will be used to produce...

MDU acquires Yarbrough.
June 2, 2008... Staff MDU Resources Group, Inc., Bismarck, North Dakota, acquired Yarbrough's Dirt Pit, Inc., an aggregate supplier and ready-mix concrete producer near Sour Lake, Texas, in May. Yarbrough will become part of Knife River Corporation, the...

Caterpillar earnings rise.(Financial report)
June 2, 2008... Staff Caterpillar Inc. reported a 13-percent increase in its first quarter profit as equipment sales in China, the Middle East and other emerging markets grew about seven times faster than in North America. Sales increased 18 percent to...

New Technique Improves Road Maintenance.
June 2, 2008... By Ivy Chang A North Dakota contractor introduces micro-surfacing to repair roads in the short construction season. Maintaining roads has become easier, thanks to a process called micro-surfacing that originally began in Europe and has...

Pipe Rammer Completes Project.(Iowa Trenchless)
June 2, 2008... By Greg Ehm An underground utility project was on the rocks until the contractor came up with a pipe rammer. In central Minnesota lies a small town known around the world for its pink and white granite. The unique granite found in the...

MnDOT names deputy.(Khani Sahebjam has joined new deputy commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Transportation)(Brief article)
June 9, 2008... Staff Khani Sahebjam is the new deputy commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Transportation. He is a licensed professional engineer with 25 years of experience in civil and structural engineering and 18 years of experience at MnDOT....

Nortrax adds to team.
June 9, 2008... Staff Nortrax Equipment Company, Duluth, Minnesota hired Kevin LaJoie as its parts manager and Matt Orr as an inside sales representative. LaJoie was a customer service representative and now will be responsible for the parts department...

Toro sponsors competition.
June 9, 2008... Staff The Toro Company is sponsoring a "Name It & Claim It" competition to give landscape contractors the opportunity to win a mower in exchange for submitting the ideal name. U.S. contractors can log on to www.toro.com/nameit by June 15...

More wind power.
June 9, 2008... Staff Minnesota Power, Duluth, Minnesota, proposes to purchase a direct current transmission line from Square Butte Electric Cooperative for $80 million in early 2009. The company will phase out a long-term contract to buy coal-based...

National Safety Month.
June 9, 2008... Staff June is National Safety Month and the National Safety Council has designated each week in June with a specific focus. Kubota Tractor Corp. helped emphasize tractor and equipment safety by reminding families and businesses to review...

Sakai appoints dealers.(Sakai, of Adairsville, Georgia, appointed NORTRAX as an authorized dealer )(Brief article)
June 9, 2008... Staff Sakai, of Adairsville, Georgia, appointed NORTRAX as an authorized dealer in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The equipment manufacturer offers a full line of vibratory compactors, seven 4,000-vpm vibratory asphalt rollers designed...

Cemstone promotes Fritz.(Cemstone Products Company Inc. promotes Jason Fritz )(Brief article)
June 16, 2008... Staff Cemstone, a supplier of construction-related products, promoted Jason Fritz to the new position of sales manager, Cemstone Contractor Supply. He is responsible for strategic planning, sales, marketing and branding for all products...

Climate Registry formed.
June 16, 2008... Staff Minnesota Power, an ALLETE company, Duluth, Minnesota, became a founding reporter of The Climate Registry, an organization established to measure and publicly report greenhouse gas emissions consistently, accurately and across...

AED accredits technical college.
June 16, 2008... Staff The Association of Equipment Dealers Foundation officially accredited Dakota County Technical College, Rosemount, Minnesota, and brings the number of AED accredited colleges to 20. To qualify, a post-secondary institution must have...

Highway and bridge funds cut.(Brief article)
June 16, 2008... Staff A print ad from the Transportation Construction Coalition says that the Highway Trust Fund is facing its first deficit, falling $3.7 billion short of meeting the SAFETEA LU highway investment guarantees. Unless Congress acts, every...

Cement use drops.
June 16, 2008... Staff Portland cement consumption is expected to drop 11 percent in 2008 and another 5.5 percent in 2009, according to the Portland Cement Association. The industry contraction began in 2006. High fuel prices, slow job creation and tight...

A New Commissioner and a Redundant Investigation.
June 16, 2008... By Ivy Chang Construction Bulletin welcomes the new commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Tom Sorel. Sorel knows and understands what Minnesota needs in its infrastructure, transportation and budget that will build...

New Technologies Produce Designer Concrete.
June 16, 2008... By Ivy Chang Today, concrete is specially designed for the applications served using technologies that didn't exist until 15 years ago. One of the many things people don't think about is technological advancement in the composition and...

Maintenance Begins on Hastings Bridge.
June 16, 2008... By R. Kent Barnard and Ivy Chang Major repairs began on one of Minnesota's bridges deemed unsafe. Although replacement of the Highway 61 Mississippi River Bridge at Hastings, Minnesota, is now planned to begin during the 2010...

David Peterson dies.(Obituary)(Obituary)(Brief article)
June 23, 2008... Staff David I. Peterson, vice president at Atlas Foundation Co., died on May 30 after 30 years of service. He worked as an estimator and project manager on many projects in Minnesota and surrounding states before his promotion to vice...

Nelson licensed in South Dakota.
June 23, 2008... Staff Henry D. Nelson, LS, vice president of Surveying at McCombs Frank Roos Associates, is now licensed in South Dakota. Nelson, a professional land surveyor, has over 30 years of experience, including supervision of surveying projects...

O'Connor named to board of directors.
June 23, 2008... Staff Ray O'Connor, president and CEO of Topcon Positioning Systems, was selected as an executive officer of Topcon Corp., Tokyo, the first person of non-Japanese descent and the youngest person ever to serve as executive officer. He is...

Careers in Construction Week.
June 23, 2008... Staff The fourth annual Careers in Construction Week will be held on October 13-17 this year. The week is designed to increase public awareness of the hard work and contributions of American craft professionals and promotes career...

2009 ASCC awards.(American Society of Concrete Contractors, Decorative Concrete Council)(Brief article)
June 23, 2008... Staff The American Society of Concrete Contractors, Decorative Concrete Council, announced its 2009 award program to recognize outstanding decorative concrete projects internationally. Entries must focus on 10 categories selected by ASCC...

Construction downturn continues.
June 23, 2008... Staff Difficult times for the construction industry are expected to continue into the latter half of 2009, setting the stage for a good recovery beginning in 2010, according to many organizations, including AGC of America, Association of...

LIUNA registers voters.(Laborers' International Union of North America)(Brief article)
June 23, 2008... Staff The Laborers' International Union of North America enlisted 5,000 volunteers to kick off its first "Make a Call to Build America" night on May 29 to register tens of thousands of new voters among its membership. LIUNA has a chapter...

Gene Grazzini Sr. Dies.(Eugene F. Grazzini Sr., Grazzini Brothers & Company)(Obituary)(Brief article)
June 30, 2008... Staff Eugene F. Grazzini Sr., Grazzini Brothers & Company, died on June 3 at age 93. Grazzini worked at the business that his father and uncle began in Minneapolis from 1930 until a week before his death and was its president from 1957 to...

New Council Formed.
June 30, 2008... Staff The Minnesota Concrete & Masonry Contractors Association (MC&MCA) and the Minnesota Concrete Manufacturing Association (MCMA) formed the Midwest Masonry Promotion Council this spring to recapture and grow the masonry market share in...

Industry News.
June 30, 2008... Staff Adolfson & Peterson Construction, Minneapolis, celebrated a topping off of its 8200 Tower project in Bloomington, Minnesota, on May 29. The Class A office building is the greenest building among the buildings at Normandale Lake...

Industry News.
June 30, 2008... Staff Carl Bolander & Sons Co. received a safety award from the Minnesota Safety Council for exceptional safety collaboration during the I-35W bridge collapse. Mark Ryan, president and co-owner, said the company was proud of its record of...

South Dakota SBA Award.
June 30, 2008... Staff South Dakota AGC member Dakota Traffic Service, Tea, received the Small Business Person of the Year award during Small Business Administration's 2008 Small Business Week. Cal Lottman and Mark Lottman, owners of Dakota Traffic...

Veit Acquires Layne Minnesota.(Layne Minnesota Company)(Brief article)
June 30, 2008... Staff Veit, a specialty contracting and waste management company, Rogers, Minnesota, acquired Minneapolis-based Layne Minnesota Company, a contractor specializing in the installation of large-diameter drilled piers/caissons. The new...

SMSC Releases 2 Reports.
June 30, 2008... Staff The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community released reports on the status and condition of the community's water supply, which it provides to its members and guests. Its water is tested daily for chlorine, fluoride and contaminants as...

Titan Acquires Mid-Land.
June 30, 2008... Staff Titan Machinery, Fargo, North Dakota, closed on its acquisition of Mid-Land Equipment Co. with six dealerships in Des Moines, Davenport, Clear Lake, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska. Mid-Land is a Case...