Construction Bulletin articles from October 2008

Construction Bulletin archives from October 2008

MN contractors on NAMC board.
October 6, 2008... Staff The National Association of Minority Contractors elected two Minnesota contractors to officer positions on its national board. Richard Copeland , owner and CEO of Thor Construction, Fridley, is the new national president. Thor...

Nelson is new director.(Association of Equipment Manufacturers )(Scott Nelson has been appointed)(Brief article)
October 6, 2008... Staff Scott Nelson , president of Bobcat Company and CEO of Doosan Infracore International, West Fargo, ND, was named to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers board of directors. AEM directors help set guidelines and operating...

Ziegler Cat promotes three.
October 6, 2008... Staff Ziegler Caterpillar, Bloomington, MN, promoted Merlin Satrom to general line sales manager for the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. He is responsible for developing and managing all sales activities for heavy construction...

SD program funding.(The South Dakota Department of Transportation )(Brief article)
October 6, 2008... Staff The South Dakota Department of Transportation has awarded $702,258 to the cities of Parker, Hartford, Sioux Falls, and Brookings as well as Enemy Swim Day School to implement Safe Routes to School programs. A total of 14 schools will...

New iron ore facility.
October 6, 2008... Staff Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., Cleveland, OH, with three mines in Minnesota's Iron Range, will build a $15-million facility in Cusson, northern Minnesota. The plant will be a biomass fuel production plant with technology developed by...

Target sponsors ballpark.
October 6, 2008... Staff Minneapolis-based Target Corp. signed on as the naming-rights sponsor for the new Minnesota Twins ballpark and the adjacent plaza area. The 25-year deal between Target and the Twins gives the company the rights to name the ballpark...

Gehl Company acquired.(Manitou BF S.A. has acquired)(Brief article)
October 6, 2008... Staff Gehl Company, West Bend, WI, signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by its largest shareholder, Manitou BF S.A., a manufacturer and distributor of material handling equipment in France that serves the construction, agriculture...

Yanmar increases warranty.
October 6, 2008... Staff Yanmar North America's construction equipment division recently increased the warranty on its line of excavators, loaders and backhoes to three years or 3,000 hours. The warranty covers all elements of the machinery and is in keeping...

Paving Expands Highway 2.
October 6, 2008... By Ivy Chang With more traffic and people in western North Dakota, Highway 2 expanded to four lanes across the state. For years, North Dakota has been known as an agricultural state with few people and few industries. But oil discovery...

Grinding Out A New Trail.
October 6, 2008... By Richard Parrish Re-sizing railroad track ballast saved money and natural resources. It was difficult not to notice them. Monstrous pieces of equipment grinding up granite ballast made an incredible racket this past spring and summer...

Ledvina is ombudsman.(Minnesota. Department of Transportation's commissioner Tom Sorel appointed Deb Ledvina )(Brief article)
October 13, 2008... Staff Mn/DOT commissioner Tom Sorel appointed Deb Ledvina to the newly created position of transportation ombudsman. Her responsibilities will be to receive and collect information related to complaints against Mn/DOT; mediate resolution...

Scholarship winner.
October 13, 2008... Staff Andrew Retzlaff , Mankato, MN, earned a $1,000 scholarship in the ConstructMyFuture.com program, a cooperative effort of the Associated Equipment Distributors Foundation, Association of Equipment Manufacturers, and Associated General...

AGC award applications.(The Associated General Contractors of America)(Aon Build America and the Marvin M. Black Excellence )(Brief article)
October 13, 2008... Staff Applications for the 2009 Aon Build America and the Marvin M. Black Excellence in Partnering awards are available online at www.agc.org/awards . The Aon Build America award honors AGC members who build the nation's most impressive...

Equipment exports up 24 Percent.(Report)(Brief article)(Statistical data)
October 13, 2008... Staff The Association of Equipment Manufacturers reports that exports of U.S. construction machinery rose 24 percent in mid-2008 compared to the first half of 2007 with a total of $10 billion of equipment shipped to global markets. Exports...

Safety-on-the-Job contest.
October 13, 2008... Staff The American Society of Safety Engineers is launching its 7th annual kids' poster contest for ASSE members' children, grandchildren and other related children ages 5 through 14. Children will draw and submit posters no larger than 11...

Build Your Future.
October 13, 2008... Staff Case Construction Equipment is sponsoring the 2008 Build Your Future campaign to increase awareness of rewarding careers in the construction industry. The campaign is a project of the National Center for Construction Education and...

Stahlman appointed VP.
October 20, 2008... Staff Doosan Infracore Portable Power appointed David Stahlman as vice president of global marketing. He is responsible for strategic marketing initiatives worldwide for the full line of Ingersoll Rand branded portable equipment. Stahlman...

Fabcon adds board member.
October 20, 2008... Staff Fabcon, manufacturer of structural fabricated concrete wall panels in Savage, MN, appointed Pat Bowe to its board of directors. Bowe is president of Cargill Sweeteners, North America with 24 years of service at Cargill, including...

Marketing director named.
October 20, 2008... Staff Vicki Sandberg was named marketing director for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, St. Paul Local 110 and Minneapolis Local 292. She will develop and implement marketing strategy and build awareness of members'...

ASLA names winners.(American Society of Landscape Architects)(Brief article)
October 20, 2008... Staff The American Society of Landscape Architects named student award winners for 2008 projects submitted from 11 colleges and universities. In the Collaboration category, students from the University of Minnesota, College of Design won...

Caterpillar has new service.
October 20, 2008... Staff Caterpillar, Peoria, IL, introduced Cat Auction Services, which allows buyers to purchase equipment online or in person and focuses on reducing risk and creating value for buyers and sellers. The service offers more assurance than...

AGC-MN board vacancies.(Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Minnesota)(Brief article)
October 20, 2008... Staff AGC of Minnesota has four vacancies on its board of directors after its annual meeting on January 15, 2009. Positions include two voting directors representing the Highway Division and two non-voting directors representing the...

Highway Trust Fund, I-35W Bridge, Crane Operator Rules.
October 20, 2008... By Ivy Chang $8 billion versus $700 billion Last month, Congress and President Bush passed legislation to transfer $8 billion from the Treasury's General Fund to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) to be spent during the fiscal year 2009. The...

Township Replaces A Bridge.
October 20, 2008... By Ivy Chang A small-town bridge demolition project led to a more stable road over the Maple River. A small excavating and grading project in North Dakota led to a more stable structure for a township that had to destroy a 60-year-old...

Interview With Darin Bergquist.
October 20, 2008... By Ivy Chang South Dakota does well to preserve its infrastructure investment but needs more federal funding to grow. Darin Bergquist became interim secretary of South Dakota Department of Transportation beginning in June 2007, and...

Bicycle safety.
October 27, 2008... Staff Across the country, more people are biking to work, school and on errands. However, bike accidents and fatalities are on the rise. Minnesota's Department of Public Safety and Department of Transportation advise motorists to share the...

Kinyon joins North Star.
October 27, 2008... Staff North Star Stone and Masonry hired Susan Kinyon in sales, administration and marketing/communication inAugust. Previously, Kinyon worked more than 10 years at a concrete products company in Red Wing, MN. She hasa bachelor's degree in...

Student design competition.
October 27, 2008... Staff The Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute is conducting its Big Beam Contest for university students in engineering. Teams of students will design, fabricate and test a precast, prestressed concrete beam with the help of a faculty...

WOA registration opened.
October 27, 2008... Staff Registration opened for the 2009 World of Asphalt Show and Conference and the 2009 AGG1 Aggregates Forum & Expo to be held from March 9-12 at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, FL. Register online at www.worldofasphalt.com...

Thawzall has new owners.(Brief article)
October 27, 2008... Staff Thawzall, LLC, is under new ownership in Glenwood, MN. The former T.H.E. Machine Company was sold to an investor group from Alexandria, MN, and changed its name. Thawzall manufactures hydronic heat equipment used for thawing frozen...

VeraSun cancels stock.
October 27, 2008... Staff VeraSun Energy Corp., Brookings, SD, ethanol producer, cancelled its stock offering and hired Morgan Stanley to help evaluate strategic alternatives, usually a sign of a possible sale. Last year, the company bought its competitor, US...